The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a legacy protocol. However, FTP remains a useful service because it can accept files from remote users or users of a different file system.
FTP always uses user-level security, meaning the user must log on to gain access to the FTP server. The Internet Information Server FTP service can use the Windows NT user account database to authenticate users logging on. However, all FTP transmissions are in clear text, thus exposing user names and passwords.
The problem of exposed passwords is eliminated when an FTP server is configured to permit anonymous logons. Anonymous logon requires the user to type anonymous as their user name and their Internet e-mail address as their password. Anonymous users get access to files under the IUSR_computername account.
You can also allow anonymous-only logons to the Windows NT Internet Information Server FTP service. Anonymous-only logon is useful because it prevents real passwords from being revealed on a public network. FTP is configured for anonymous access by default.
For more information about configuring FTP for anonymous access, see the Internet Information Server Installation and Administration Guide.
You can create a drop box for your Internet customers to leave files in. The drop box must be on a drive formatted with NTFS. To create a drop box, right-click the folder that will become a drop box. Click Properties, click Security, and then click Permissions. Set the permissions for all users to write-only. After you have set write-only permissions, Internet users can put files in the drop box directory, but cannot see or copy any of the files left there. Only internal users with appropriate permissions can read the files.