FileZilla Server on Windows 8 and Xfinity

Purpose: To install FileZilla Server, an FTP server, on Windows 8 on an Xfinity network with an ARRIS TG1682G Gateway.

Note: It's very cumbersome to safely open ports with Xfinity. Next time, I'll just set up a cygwin SSH server so I only have to open one port.

Configure server

Install FileZilla Server

Once installed, to change startup behavior, run services.msc and edit settings for FileZilla Server FTP server.

Add user

Edit > Users > Users > Add
General > Check "Enable account".
Enter Password.
Shared folders > Add, browse to a directory.
Select permissions, e.g.  check all the boxes for full access.
OK

General Settings

Miscellaneous > Check "Start minimized"
Passive mode settings > Check "Use custom port range", input an arbitrary range above 1023, e.g.: 56960-56965
FTP over TLS settings > Check "Enable FTP over TLS support (FTPS)".
Check "Disable plain unencrypted FTP".
Click "Generate new certificate.."
2-Digit country code e.g.: US
Click Browse... and browse for a place to save the certificate.
Click "Generate certificate".
OK

Windows Firewall

Control Panel > Windows Firewall > Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall
Change settings
Allow another app...
Browse... > Browse to installed location of FileZilla server, e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\FileZilla Server\FileZilla Server.exe
Check Private, uncheck Public.

Get IP of server

https://duckduckgo.com/ip
Note the IP listed after "Your IP Address is".

Configure Xfinity port forwarding

Xfinity Internet/xFi > Network > Network Devices > Gateway > Advanced Settings or https://internet.xfinity.com/network/gateway.
Near bottom: More > Advanced Settings
Port Forwarding
Add port forwarding
Select the device running the FTP server.
Add TCP/UDP for 21, 990, and the custom port range for Passive mode set above, e.g. 56960-56965.

Configure client

Install FileZilla client.
Site Manager... > New site
Protocol: FTP
Host: input the IP of the server noted above.
Encryption: Use explicit FTP over TLS if available.
Input User and Password configured in server above.
OK (to save)
Site Manager... > Double click the newly added host to try to connect. It will fail to connect because of Xfinity's threat detection.

Allow exceptions on Xfinity

Xfinity's threat detection will block incoming requests on every port you've just opened, so you must allow them here.

Xfinity Internet/xFi > Network > Advanced Security or https://internet.xfinity.com/network/security.
Under the device running the FTP server, you will see 1 or more "threats" detected.
Click "Can't Access This Device?" > Threat History.
For each line with Source IP that matches the client's source IP and time of attempted connection, click Allow Access.
On the client computer, disconnect and reconnect to the server as many times as needed to get all the passive ports listed as a "threat" so you can then click Allow on them.

Note that these access exceptions only last 30 days, so you'll have to repeat them then or when the client's IP changes.

VirtualBox Windows XP Guest File Sharing

How to share files hosted on a Windows XP VirtualBox guest on a Mac OS X host to a real Windows XP computer.

1. Plug in Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter to host Macbook Air.
2. Connect Ethernet cable between client computer and host Mac.
3. Mac Host > Network Preferences > Thunderbolt Ethernet
   
   1. Configure IPv4: Manually
   2. IP Address: 10.11.0.1
   3. Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0
4. VM Settings > Network settings > Adapter [n]
   1. Attached to: Bridged Adapter
   2. Name: en3: Thunderbolt Ethernet
5. Guest VM > Network Connections > Wired network > Properties >
   1. Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
      1. Check Use the following IP Address or Alternate Configuration
      2. IP Address: 10.11.0.2
      3. Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0
   2. Advanced > Windows Firewall > Settings > Exceptions > Check File and Print Sharing.
6. Client computer > Network  Connections > Wired network > Properties > Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
   1. Check Use the following IP Address or Alternate Configuration 
   2. IP Address: 10.11.0.3
   3.  Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0
7. (Optional test) Ping from each computer to the others.
8. Guest VM > Share a folder
   
   1. Make folder C:\share
   2. Right click folder > Properties
   3. Check Share folder on network.
9. Client computer > My Network Places > share on Guest VM
10. Done

Backing up Windows 8.1 with GPartEd and Clonezilla

When I get a new Windows computer, I back up the OS so that I can revert to it should OS updates or other software make it fail in ways that are too complex for me to untangle. I generally don't trust bundled backup programs because they often don't back up system files in a predictable way or the restore process takes too long. After backing up, I run the latest OS updates and back up again.

1. Disable hibernation:
   Running cmd as administrator, enter,
   powercfg /h off
2. Disable swap:
   Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Advanced tab > Performance > Settings > Advanced tab > Virtual Memory > Change... >
   • Uncheck "Automatically manage".
   • Select "No paging file" for partitions to be backed up.
   • Click "Set".
3. Re-partition drive:
   
   • Note: For the initial backup, do not execute this step and instead back up the entire disk to capture the factory restore partition if it exists.
   • Run GPartEd live CD and re-partition the drive to create a partition for user documents and data if one doesn't exist already
4. Move user docs:
• In Windows Explorer, open C:\Users and Documents\[Your User].
• Move user folders (Documents, Downloads, Favorites, Music, Pictures, Videos, etc.) to the newly created user partition using Properties > Location tab.
5. Clone partitions:
   Run Clonezilla with image mode (as opposed to partition mode).

To restore:

1. Clone partitions back to drive.
2. Re-enable swap:
   Virtual Memory > Select "System manage size".
3. Re-enable hibernation:
   powercfg /h on

My temporary development environment

Here is how I set up my tools on a computer I'm temporarily using, such as one at the library.

Putty

1. Download putty from www.chiark.greenend.org.uk
2. Putty > Window > Colours > ANSI Blue > Red: 60, Green: 60, Blue: 255
3. Putty > Session > Default Settings > Save
4. Save a new session with the following set:
1. Session > Host Name
2. Connections > Data > Auto-login username.

 Vim

~/.vimrc:

syntax enable
set ic
set expandtab shiftwidth=4 smarttab autoindent

Note: Superseded by Vim for Python, which is more comprehensive.

 Screen

~/.screenrc:

shell -$SHELL
termcapinfo * ti@:te@
startup_message off

Bash

~/.bash_profile

# EDITOR
export EDITOR=vim

Websites

https://www.blogger.com for note taking
https://github.com