What is Passive FTP mode?
Passive FTP (sometimes referred to as PASV FTP because it involves the FTP PASV command) is a more secure form of data transfer in which the flow of data is set up and initiated by the File Transfer Program (FTP) client rather than by the FTP server program. Separate FTP client programs, such as FTPSurfer, usually allow the user to select passive FTP. Most Web browsers (which act as FTP clients) use passive FTP by default because corporations prefer it as a safety measure. As a general rule, any coprorate firewall server, which exists in order to protect an internal network from the outside world, recognizes input from the outside only in response to user requests that were sent out requesting the input. The use of passive FTP ensures all data flow initiation comes from inside the network rather than from the outside. How It Works Using normal or passive FTP, a client begins a session by sending a request to communicate through TCP port 21, the port that is conventionally assigned for
