Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!batcomputer!cornell!rochester!kodak!uupsi!rodan.acs.syr.edu!jstewart From: jstewart@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Ace Stewart) Subject: Re: Questions on ftp and downloading files from a remote site Message-ID: <1991May30.152529.10984@rodan.acs.syr.edu> Organization: Syracuse Univ/Eastman Kodak Co. References: <1991May28.023300.8747@fcom.cc.utah.edu> Date: Thu, 30 May 91 15:25:29 GMT In article dpavey@cccbbs.UUCP (doug pavey) writes: >cryptkpr@cc.utah.edu (H. CARLTON DOE III) writes: >> I will (and can) telnet or ftp to the machine where I'm >> greated with a login prompt. I try "guest" with a for >> password and usually don't get any further. What are the magic >> words/phrases/incantations to get into these machines??? I missed the original thread of this; my apologies if had has already been answered. There are two major topics here, one is guest accounts; the other is anonymous FTP. Hmmm...where to start? On many sites throughout the world, there is a userid called "anonymous." This userid is only useable via FTP, nothing else really. If you FTP to a site (icarus.cns.syr.edu is one of my favourites, but I'm a prejudice person since it is a site I help manage for anon-FTP :) ) you are greeted with a login prompt, and then are greeted with a password prompt. Type 'anonymous' for the userid prompt. The best thing to type at the password prompt is your userid@host (clearly type this, its helpful to some site admins :) You are then in FTP and logged into a remote directory of the system, if that site does indeed have anonymous FTP to begin with. If not, you will then be told that you couldn't connect to that host using the anonymous account, so try another machine. After that, cd, ls, dir, get, put, etc. will all work and you may get the files you are interested in. One rule of thumb is that there is usually a README file at the top level, or in the directory "pub;" please read those if you've logged onto the site for the first time. Part II: Also, and MIT is a good place for these, are what are now termed "guest accounts." These accounts have the userid: guest and manytimes have the password: guest. You can log in, and then connect to anywhere throughout the Internet. You can't receive email on that host, since other people are using it. But, for the most part, its a cheap way to log onto somewhere else if you need to. It's handy, for sure. Hope this all helps; and that I said it all right. Flames to me, and questions to me, I like this stuff. Cheers! --Ace --