Question : Disable PASV mode in IIS 6.0

Ok, I have recently had the problem of random XP Remote clients not being able to FTP into my Windows 2003 server, I have discovered why they cannot get access, it is because there browser had the "USE PASSIVE FTP" checked off under IE>Tools> Internet Options> Advance Tab.  This was a big problem but now I understand why it didn't work and know how to make it work for the clients that had problems.

What my problem is that i have way to many clients that log into my server for me to have to tell them what to do to fix this, is there a place in IIS that i can change it so that it does not use PASV mode(Passive Ftp).  In addition to the extra work that it would cost to instruct all these clients, i also read that PASV is an extra security risk due to all the extra ports you have to open, any help would be appreciated

Answer : Disable PASV mode in IIS 6.0

There is no way to disable PASV in IIS 6.0.  In order to be RFC compliant an FTP server *must* support both active and passive connections.

PASV is not a security risk in and of itself - the problem is poor support for Passive FTP in routers and firewalls.  If a router or firewall is properly developed it can see which port is needed for the return connection and open it dynamically for Passive FTP.  If it doesn't understand Passive FTP then you have to manually open all the ports in the range that Passive FTP will use and yes, that can be  a security risk.

Dave Dietz