Public FTP sites usually require the login "anonymous" and the user's e-mail for a password. People cannot transfer files to or from any computer system--they can only access computers that are set up as FTP servers. There are several lists on the Internet that point to FTP sites, like the "Monster FTP Sites List."
Downloading files often requires some knowledge of compression techniques. Many files are compressed--made smaller--so that they download faster. After downloading a compressed file, the user needs a software utility to uncompress the file. Some popular compression utilities include pkzip, sit, and binhex. Many of these programs are available at public FTP sites.
About transfers
The electronic transfer of ASCII and/or binary files during an FTP session
is described as uploading or downloading. To initiate any FTP session,
there needs to be a "local" and "remote" computer.
UPLOADING
If the local computer is designated as the sender and the remote computer
designated as the receiver, then the electronic transfer is termed
uploading.
DOWNLOADING
If the local computer is designated as the receiver and the remote
computer designated as the sender, then the electronic transfer is termed
downloading.