An excellent daily multivitamin supplement does not only develop your general bodily functions but also improves your mental and physical condition and well being. Occasionally specification is needed in appropriately supplementing nutrients to deal with any individual needs. An example would be in heart disease patients, they would have to take in CoQ10 in preventing the said condition. Alzheimer’s disease can be effectively prevented by a regular combination of Vitamin C and E intake.

Multivitamin supplements necessarily include all the vitamins and nutrients essential for recommended daily dosage. Multivitamin supplements may also be formulated to meet the needs of individual conditions like pregnancy and specific age brackets. It is a well settled fact that multivitamins in liquid form are more efficient than the ordinary pill forms. This is due to the fact that the body can easily absorb liquid nutrients five times more than ordinary multivitamins in tablet or capsule form.

Basically, the body needs 13 essential vitamins to function properly. In regulating the crucial performance of the body, it has to have vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K, B12, and the 7 B-complex vitamins. Majority of these vitamins are obtained by our body through the food that we eat. The danger of illness or even mortality is in the deficiency of some of the essential vitamins. This is where vitamin supplementation comes in. It counteracts the illness caused by such deficiency. With this fact, it is very unlikely for someone to refuse vitamin supplementation on a daily basis. So the question now is, why is it necessary for individuals to take multivitamins when majority of our daily diet can provide us with the basic nutrients we need? It may not be compulsory, but everyone can profit from daily multivitamins.

As previously mentioned, the clear benefit of daily intake of multivitamins it to prevent vitamin/nutrient deficiency. Some personal circumstances may increase dietary needs. Pregnant women, during their first trimester, are recommended by their doctors to take multivitamins. This does not only provide the mothers with sufficient nutrition but also proper vitamins to benefit the unborn child inside their womb. Taking multivitamins everyday reduces the risk of transmitting malnutrition from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby. Other conditions such as old age, alcoholism, smoking, and exposure to excessive pollution have long-term detrimental effects to the body system which can be successfully counteracted by multivitamins.

Stress is also one risk factor which needs serious supplementation that multivitamins can provide. Especially with people who have so much to do and have a hard time in keeping up with their health needs, multivitamins are a must to keep them always on the go without any health complications in the long run. Stress formulations benefit both your mental ability and daily endurance. Aside from the mentioned benefits, daily multivitamins also minimize the risk of cancer or any cardiovascular disease.

Several people, if not all, testify to have a feeling of comfortable health in regularly taking in multivitamins. This is due to the synergistic or combined effects of the supplemental ingredients found in multivitamins. A fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin, like the Vitamin E, works to neutralize probable harmful free agents in the body. This vitamin also maintains healthy skin through protection of cell membranes, blood circulation, heart, nerves, red blood cells, and muscles. Another antioxidant is the Vitamin C which effectively fights blood cell infection and is vital in collagen formation, wound healing, and formation of bone structures, capillaries, and teeth. Vitamin is also helpful in the iron absorption from plant sources. Vitamins A, D, K and other supplemental nutrients found in multivitamins have specific functions that benefit the bodily functions.

While daily intake of multivitamins may have proven beneficial, it is not a 100% guarantee to be free of serious illness attributed to other factors. It is often a misconception that symptoms of disease may always be cured by taking multivitamins. Health experts have the better opinion of immediate medical assistance rather than resorting to multivitamins alone

Today, a lot of people are spending more money just to have their teeth whiter. They make use of the best teeth whitening treatments , dental implants , and undergo procedures to achieve the brilliant white teeth.

Teeth whitening had been an effective procedure to lighten the color of the teeth, without taking away any of the tooth surface. It will not completely whiten the whole set of teeth; it will just lighten the existing color of the teeth.

Only a few are blessed with pearly white teeth, and our teeth normally become discolored as we grow up.

Our teeth can also be stained on the outer part because of the food and drink. Coffee, tea, blackcurrant and red wine have effect on the discoloration of our teeth. Smoking is another cause of teeth discoloration. Most people may encounter staining beneath the surface which is caused by tiny cracks in the teeth or certain antibiotics that absorb the stains.

But what are these teeth whitening treatments and procedures? And are these done?

Bleaching. This is most common form of teeth whitening procedure. Your dentist will advice you if this is the best teeth whitening treatment suitable for you.

Bleaching is done by placing a gel or rubber to shield the soft tissue of your gums. Then, the whitening product will be applied on your teeth by using a special tray which shapes into your mouth like a gum shell.

The teeth whitening product usually contains carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide as the ‘active ingredients’. When these ingredients break down, the oxygen enters the enamel of your teeth thus, making the color lighter. The entire treatment can be completed in three to four weeks time.

For those who wish to undergo to this treatment, you will need at least three visits to the dentist. On your first visit, the dentist will create a mouth-guard and take a caricature or impressions of it. Once the treatment has started, it is recommended that you continue it at home. You have to regularly apply the teeth whitening product over four weeks, for at least 30 minutes at a time.

Most of the known and best teeth whitening products can be applied for up to several hours at a time. The treatment can be done even while you’re sleeping. Ideally, a good result can be attained in as little as one week.

Laser Whitening. This is also called the “power whitening”. Though expensive, a lot of people especially artists consider it as the best teeth whitening method.

During this process, a rubber dam is placed over your teeth to shield the gums, and the whitening product is then painted on your teeth. A laser will be used to stimulate the chemical. The light will help boost the chemical reaction of the bleaching product, thus the color change can be attained more rapidly.

Dentists believe that the result of laser whitening treatment is good. It can make your teeth up to six shades lighter.

Unfortunately, not everyone can get a chance to undergo laser treatment. The dentist will have to check your teeth and ensure that you are fit for the treatment. The total procedure is usually done in an hour.

The effects of this power whitening is said to last up to three years depending on the person. The dentist still advice not to smoke, eat and drink products that may cause a stain in your teeth. Others may find their teeth vulnerable to cold after the treatment. But these symptoms usually vanish within a few days.

These are just two of the famous and best teeth whitening methods available. Despite the fact that they may cost a lot, the effect is still worth it. Through these methods, you’ll surely flash everyone a perfect smile.

Properties & Real Estate in Thailand

Purchasing an property in Thailand is not an challenging task and this is the reason that there is a huge demand for property in Thailand. Still, for foreigners purchasing property is a bit complicated because there are many laws associated with real estate market regarding residential permit and buying an house in Thailand. However, there are numerous ways to acquire property in Thailand and real estate agents are the best medium in this concern. Condos are the best choice for foreigners as there are minimum laws associated with the purchase of these property options and people can effortlessly choose the location where they wish to purchase the property.

Thai Property

Investing money in Thai property is a great deal as property rates are not too high and so most of the investors get attracted. Buying a property can be made easy by simply hiring an agent who is well acquainted will associated laws and is also experienced in these fields. Thailand property is famous world wide because the place has mix cultures and miraculous sceneries. Most people prefer to rent a home in Thailand, as they are much cheaper as compared to opting for hotels. Phuket property is a boom in the real estate market as it is a well developed city and incorporates all the facilities. People can effortlessly opt for Thailand property and real estate companies for making fruitful investments. So, if you also wish to make investment in Thai property, make sure you hire an agent and get facilitation in following laws and commandments.

Email : info@kohbaanresort.se

Planning Your Luxury Trip

With your budget in mind, it is easy to plan a chartered yacht vacation. Companies often have a fleet of sailing vessels that can accommodate parties of various sizes. You may want to make it a more intimate trip with only close family. There are charters that can be rented for as few as two people. These include either a sailboat or motorboat and can come with or without a crew and captain to sail the ship for you. If you choose not to hire a crew, you will have to show that you are knowledgeable of sailing and can handle the ship competently.

The next part of planning is to determine your starting and ending ports. This could be a place close to home and sail in one area or start and finish at two different ports. Generally, starting and stopping in the same port will save you money and is usually more convenient.

You can also fly to a destination far from home and then sail another exotic sea. There are luxury yacht charter companies that cruise the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas or around Alaska, the Panama Canal, or anyplace you can imagine.

Determining the type of cruise is another aspect of planning a chartered yachting trip. You can have as little or many crew members as the ship will hold. A captain takes all the worries out of navigating and onboard housekeeping services make it a real vacation that rivals the finest hotel services. You can also choose to have a chef and service crew as part of your vacation package.

If you like the idea of knowing what it is really like to sail, but don’t want to risk safety, you can charter a sailing cruise that puts you in the role of deck hand. A competent crew will direct you as to your “chores” for keeping the ship in top shape and on course.

Destinations & Ports of important Charter Companies

One of the greatest benefits of choosing a chartered cruise as a vacation is the choice. You will most likely have a rough itinerary and that can be affected by weather. However, you are flexible in deciding how long you want to stay in a particular port and if you want to add or subtract stops along the way.

Your yacht is your hotel that travels with you. There is only one flight and one hotel to book! Then you take all of your luggage and unpack it just once to enjoy several days of new destinations.

If you have never experienced cruising before, a chartered experience is a great way to get your feet wet. It is different from cruise lines with thousands of guests because the people on your ship will be your friends and family. The personal touches of a chartered trip will help you develop your love for the sea with all the best benefits of commercial cruises.

Author : Clinton Maxwell distributes very often to the spezialised website http://www.luxury-yacht-charters-guide.com .

Both sides of the island have their own unique attractions but what is becoming clear is that there is a merging of ideas from both camps and the appeal of the island is no longer confined to one or the other.

The East is rising.

Just recently I had a client that emphasised this point. He was looking for a resort style condominium on the west coast, close to the sea with a great view. Of this he was adamant. The problem was he only had six million baht to spend. After hours of deliberation I finally all but blindfolded him and drove him to the Bel Air Panwa development at Cape Panwa.

I think he was unaware we were driving south-east until I finally told him upon arrival we were not actually on the west coast at all. He immediately loved the development and the location and promptly signed on the bottom line.

The point here is simple: the styles of development on each side of the island are merging. The west coast no longer represents the face of outright commercialism while the east coast is not simply the gateway to Phang Nga Bay. This is echoed right through the complete range of developments. Take Andara on the West Coast at Kamala and Cape Yamoo on the East Coast.

Draw a line across the island and they are diametrically opposite but their appeal is not dissimilar – outstanding luxurious multi-million dollar villas in an exclusive setting with stunning sea views.

Without a doubt the east coast is now getting the attention it so rightly deserves. To get a fine meal you will no longer need to rely upon either a trip to Phuket City or The Watermark – Royal Phuket Marina will soon have a number of fine restaurants and caf?s along its Boardwalk, not to mention a host of new eating establishments that are planned for the forthcoming year along the whole length of the east coast.

The same goes for accommodation – besides the well-established Evason and Mangosteen hotels between Chalong and Rawai, soon to join them are the 5-star Conrad at Cape Panwa and possibly Phuket’s first 6-star establishment at Cape Yamoo.

Undoubtedly the previously ignored east coast is being discovered. The sheer awe of Phang Nga Bay is beyond question. But while the east coast appears calm and serene no-one can doubt the alluring appeal of the west coast – and the sun will always set in the west.

I recently returned from the UK having visited two major overseas exhibitions in London and in the process missing the Phuket Post anniversary party and the Lalvani/Cadbury wedding, despite being fortunate enough to receive invitations to both (unfortunately after I had booked to go).

Despite all the recent publicity and my own observations about the high number of enquiries we have been receiving from the UK of late, the Thailand Phuket presence was still insignificant and could easily have been overlooked altogether by a large number of the visitors.

Of course, who but the big developers can afford to be represented there? Well actually, I hope in my own small way to go some way to correct that oversight. I intend to take a selection of some of the finer developments – by finer I do not necessarily mean expensive – to the major exhibitions in the UK next year.

Unfortunately it means time away from paradise to walk the mean streets of Britain, but courage and determination was never for the faint hearted.

Tourist visas are exactly what they are stated to be – visas for tourists. Those of us who wish to stay here indefinitely have a number of means by which we can do that.

Why should we be so surprised about this latest enforcement of the law? Ask a Thai travelling to Europe or, for that matter, a member of the EU travelling to the States. Could a Thai fugitive accused of murdering his daughter hide so easily in the US for almost two years?

Anyway enough political debate, let’s take a refreshed look at the local property market. If you are a regular reader of this column you will know I have been in Europe for the best part of two months. Unlike most of Europe, I am pleased to report that Thailand, and Phuket in particular, is still booming.

What I have also noticed is an increase in enquiries from countries that one would normally count as a holiday destination in their own right. By that I mean Italy and Spain, not to mention Mexico and Brazil.

Additionally we are seeing an increasing number of enquiries from expats living in other parts of Thailand, especially Pattaya, who are considering a purchase in Phuket and seeking a permanent residence here.

The surprise for many of them is the cost of moving here. We had an enquiry last week from an expat based in mainland China seeking a three bedroom apartment for one million baht! I had to ask him if he was referring to a rental. Not surprisingly he did not reply.

I am a little concerned about a trend I first warned about several months ago. Some developers are increasing their prices out of line with usual upward movement during construction. Increased prices are going to happen during construction for a number of reasons – why else would anyone buy off-plan?

As the development gets closer to completion, and to reflect the increasing costs of construction during the course of the development, fair price rises are inevitable.

That is not my concern. I am more worried about developers raising prices out of pure optimism – and perhaps a little greed. I have seen this happen all over the world and it is disastrous for the market. Too much boom is almost certainly followed by bust, ask any market man, not that I see that happening here.

Most developers look to the long term and see Phuket as I do, as one of the future, if not already, most desirable upmarket destinations in the world.

There is another problem I see for some developers. There are already too many developments on Phuket that are not answering the demands of the buyer.

It is frustrating to take a sincere client around the island to look for a certain type of property only to find that property does not exist – in one particular case that meant a good western quality apartment close to any coast for less than ten million baht.

Six months ago I could have shown the client a number of developments around the island but now these are selling out and very little is coming along to take their place.

If you are a developer with just such a development and I have somehow missed you, please give me a call. To paraphrase the usual salesman’s hype: we have clients waiting!

By David Wade, Tropical Homes Real Estate

Well, since many of us have always wondered this, here it is. Long and drawn out. Also, before attempting this, realize one thing; You will have to give up your time, effort, bandwidth, and security to have a quality ftp server.
That being said, here it goes. First of all, find out if your IP (Internet Protocol) is static (not changing) or dynamic (changes everytime you log on). To do this, first consider the fact if you have a dial up modem. If you do, chances are about 999 999 out of 1 000 000 that your IP is dynamic. To make it static, just go to a place like h*tp://www.myftp.org/ to register for a static ip address.

You’ll then need to get your IP. This can be done by doing this:
Going to Start -> Run -> winipcfg or www.ask.com and asking ‘What is my IP?’

After doing so, you’ll need to download an FTP server client. Personally, I’d recommend G6 FTP Server, Serv-U FTPor Bullitproof v2.15 all three of which are extremely reliable, and the norm of the ftp world.
You can download them on this site: h*tp://www.liaokai.com/softw_en/d_index.htm

First, you’ll have to set up your ftp. For this guide, I will use step-by-step instructions for G6. First, you’ll have to go into ‘Setup -> General’. From here, type in your port # (default is 21). I recommend something unique, or something a bit larger (ex: 3069). If you want to, check the number of max users (this sets the amount of simultaneous maximum users on your server at once performing actions – The more on at once, the slower the connection and vice versa).

The below options are then chooseable:
-Launch with windows
-Activate FTP Server on Start-up
-Put into tray on startup
-Allow multiple instances
-Show “Loading…” status at startup
-Scan drive(s) at startup
-Confirm exit

You can do what you want with these, as they are pretty self explanatory. The scan drive feature is nice, as is the 2nd and the last option. From here, click the ‘options’ text on the left column.

To protect your server, you should check ‘login check’ and ‘password check’, ‘Show relative path (a must!)’, and any other options you feel you’ll need. After doing so, click the ‘advanced’ text in the left column. You should then leave the buffer size on the default (unless of course you know what you’re doing ), and then allow the type of ftp you want.

Uploading and downloading is usually good, but it’s up to you if you want to allow uploads and/or downloads. For the server priority, that will determine how much conventional memory will be used and how much ‘effort’ will go into making your server run smoothly.

Anti-hammering is also good, as it prevents people from slowing down your speed. From here, click ‘Log Options’ from the left column. If you would like to see and record every single command and clutter up your screen, leave the defaults.

But, if you would like to see what is going on with the lowest possible space taken, click ‘Screen’ in the top column. You should then check off ‘Log successful logins’, and all of the options in the client directry, except ‘Log directory changes’. After doing so, click ‘Ok’ in the bottom left corner.

You will then have to go into ‘Setup -> User Accounts’ (or ctrl & u). From here, you should click on the right most column, and right click. Choose ‘Add’, and choose the username(s) you would like people to have access to.

After giving a name (ex: themoonlanding), you will have to give them a set password in the bottom column (ex: wasfaked). For the ‘Home IP’ directory, (if you registered with a static server, check ‘All IP Homes’. If your IP is static by default, choose your IP from the list. You will then have to right click in the very center column, and choose ‘Add’.

From here, you will have to set the directory you want the people to have access to. After choosing the directory, I suggest you choose the options ‘Read’, ‘List’, and ‘Subdirs’, unless of course you know what you’re doing . After doing so, make an ‘upload’ folder in the directory, and choose to ‘add’ this folder seperately to the center column. Choose ‘write’, ‘append’, ‘make’, ‘list’, and ‘subdirs’. This will allow them to upload only to specific folders (your upload folder).

Now click on ‘Miscellaneous’ from the left column. Choose ‘enable account’, your time-out (how long it takes for people to remain idle before you automatically kick them off), the maximum number of users for this name, the maximum number of connections allowed simultaneously for one ip address, show relative path (a must!), and any other things at the bottom you’d like to have. Now click ‘Ok’.
**Requested**

From this main menu, click the little boxing glove icon in the top corner, and right click and unchoose the hit-o-meter for both uploads and downloads (with this you can monitor IP activity). Now click the lightning bolt, and your server is now up and running.

Post your ftp info, like this:

213.10.93.141 (or something else, such as: ‘f*p://example.getmyip.com’)

User: *** (The username of the client)

Pass: *** (The password)

Port: *** (The port number you chose)

So make a FTP and join the FTP section

Listing The Contents Of A Ftp:

Listing the content of a FTP is very simple.
You will need FTP Content Maker, which can be downloaded from here:
ht*p://www.etplanet.com/download/application/FTP%20Content%20Maker%201.02.zip

1. Put in the IP of the server. Do not put “ftp://” or a “/” because it will not work if you do so.
2. Put in the port. If the port is the default number, 21, you do not have to enter it.
3. Put in the username and password in the appropriate fields. If the login is anonymous, you do not have to enter it.
4. If you want to list a specific directory of the FTP, place it in the directory field. Otherwise, do not enter anything in the directory field.
5. Click “Take the List!”
6. After the list has been taken, click the UBB output tab, and copy and paste to wherever you want it.

If FTP Content Maker is not working, it is probably because the server does not utilize Serv-U Software.

If you get this error message:
StatusCode = 550
LastResponse was : ‘Unable to open local file test-ftp’
Error = 550 (Unable to open local file test-ftp)
Error = Unable to open local file test-ftp = 550
Close and restart FTP Content Maker, then try again.

error messages:

110 Restart marker reply. In this case, the text is exact and not left to the particular implementation; it must read: MARK yyyy = mmmm Where yyyy is User-process data stream marker, and mmmm server’s equivalent marker (note the spaces between markers and “=”).
120 Service ready in nnn minutes.
125 Data connection already open; transfer starting.
150 File status okay; about to open data connection.
200 Command okay.
202 Command not implemented, superfluous at this site.
211 System status, or system help reply.
212 Directory status.
213 File status.
214 Help message. On how to use the server or the meaning of a particular non-standard command. This reply is useful only to the human user.
215 NAME system type. Where NAME is an official system name from the list in the Assigned Numbers document.
220 Service ready for new user.
221 Service closing control connection. Logged out if appropriate.
225 Data connection open; no transfer in progress.
226 Closing data connection. Requested file action successful (for example, file transfer or file abort).
227 Entering Passive Mode (h1,h2,h3,h4,p1,p2).
230 User logged in, proceed.
250 Requested file action okay, completed.
257 “PATHNAME” created.
331 User name okay, need password.
332 Need account for login.
350 Requested file action pending further information.
421 Too many users logged to the same account
425 Can’t open data connection.
426 Connection closed; transfer aborted.
450 Requested file action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file busy).
451 Requested action aborted: local error in processing.
452 Requested action not taken. Insufficient storage space in system.
500 Syntax error, command unrecognized. This may include errors such as command line too long.
501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments.
502 Command not implemented.
503 Bad sequence of commands.
504 Command not implemented for that parameter.
530 Not logged in.
532 Need account for storing files.
550 Requested action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file not found, no access).
551 Requested action aborted: page type unknown.
552 Requested file action aborted. Exceeded storage allocation (for current directory or dataset).
553 Requested action not taken. File name not allowed.

Active FTP vs. Passive FTP, a Definitive Explanation

Introduction
One of the most commonly seen questions when dealing with firewalls and other Internet connectivity issues is the difference between active and passive FTP and how best to support either or both of them. Hopefully the following text will help to clear up some of the confusion over how to support FTP in a firewalled environment.

This may not be the definitive explanation, as the title claims, however, I’ve heard enough good feedback and seen this document linked in enough places to know that quite a few people have found it to be useful. I am always looking for ways to improve things though, and if you find something that is not quite clear or needs more explanation, please let me know! Recent additions to this document include the examples of both active and passive command line FTP sessions. These session examples should help make things a bit clearer. They also provide a nice picture into what goes on behind the scenes during an FTP session. Now, on to the information…

The Basics
FTP is a TCP based service exclusively. There is no UDP component to FTP. FTP is an unusual service in that it utilizes two ports, a ‘data’ port and a ‘command’ port (also known as the control port). Traditionally these are port 21 for the command port and port 20 for the data port. The confusion begins however, when we find that depending on the mode, the data port is not always on port 20.

Active FTP
In active mode FTP the client connects from a random unprivileged port (N > 1024) to the FTP server’s command port, port 21. Then, the client starts listening to port N+1 and sends the FTP command PORT N+1 to the FTP server. The server will then connect back to the client’s specified data port from its local data port, which is port 20.

From the server-side firewall’s standpoint, to support active mode FTP the following communication channels need to be opened:

FTP server’s port 21 from anywhere (Client initiates connection)
FTP server’s port 21 to ports > 1024 (Server responds to client’s control port)
FTP server’s port 20 to ports > 1024 (Server initiates data connection to client’s data port)
FTP server’s port 20 from ports > 1024 (Client sends ACKs to server’s data port)

In step 1, the client’s command port contacts the server’s command port and sends the command PORT 1027. The server then sends an ACK back to the client’s command port in step 2. In step 3 the server initiates a connection on its local data port to the data port the client specified earlier. Finally, the client sends an ACK back as shown in step 4.

The main problem with active mode FTP actually falls on the client side. The FTP client doesn’t make the actual connection to the data port of the server–it simply tells the server what port it is listening on and the server connects back to the specified port on the client. From the client side firewall this appears to be an outside system initiating a connection to an internal client–something that is usually blocked.

Active FTP Example
Below is an actual example of an active FTP session. The only things that have been changed are the server names, IP addresses, and user names. In this example an FTP session is initiated from testbox1.slacksite.com (192.168.150.80), a linux box running the standard FTP command line client, to testbox2.slacksite.com (192.168.150.90), a linux box running ProFTPd 1.2.2RC2. The debugging (-d) flag is used with the FTP client to show what is going on behind the scenes. Everything in red is the debugging output which shows the actual FTP commands being sent to the server and the responses generated from those commands. Normal server output is shown in black, and user input is in bold.

There are a few interesting things to consider about this dialog. Notice that when the PORT command is issued, it specifies a port on the client (192.168.150.80) system, rather than the server. We will see the opposite behavior when we use passive FTP. While we are on the subject, a quick note about the format of the PORT command. As you can see in the example below it is formatted as a series of six numbers separated by commas. The first four octets are the IP address while the second two octets comprise the port that will be used for the data connection. To find the actual port multiply the fifth octet by 256 and then add the sixth octet to the total. Thus in the example below the port number is ( (14*256) + 178), or 3762. A quick check with netstat should confirm this information.

testbox1: {/home/p-t/slacker/public_html} % ftp -d testbox2
Connected to testbox2.slacksite.com.
220 testbox2.slacksite.com FTP server ready.
Name (testbox2:slacker): slacker
—> USER slacker
331 Password required for slacker.
Password: TmpPass
—> PASS XXXX
230 User slacker logged in.
—> SYST
215 UNIX Type: L8
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp> ls
ftp: setsockopt (ignored): Permission denied
—> PORT 192,168,150,80,14,178
200 PORT command successful.
—> LIST
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list.
drwx—— 3 slacker users 104 Jul 27 01:45 public_html
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> quit
—> QUIT
221 Goodbye.

Passive FTP
In order to resolve the issue of the server initiating the connection to the client a different method for FTP connections was developed. This was known as passive mode, or PASV, after the command used by the client to tell the server it is in passive mode.

In passive mode FTP the client initiates both connections to the server, solving the problem of firewalls filtering the incoming data port connection to the client from the server. When opening an FTP connection, the client opens two random unprivileged ports locally (N > 1024 and N+1). The first port contacts the server on port 21, but instead of then issuing a PORT command and allowing the server to connect back to its data port, the client will issue the PASV command. The result of this is that the server then opens a random unprivileged port (P > 1024) and sends the PORT P command back to the client. The client then initiates the connection from port N+1 to port P on the server to transfer data.

From the server-side firewall’s standpoint, to support passive mode FTP the following communication channels need to be opened:

FTP server’s port 21 from anywhere (Client initiates connection)
FTP server’s port 21 to ports > 1024 (Server responds to client’s control port)
FTP server’s ports > 1024 from anywhere (Client initiates data connection to random port specified by server)
FTP server’s ports > 1024 to remote ports > 1024 (Server sends ACKs (and data) to client’s data port)

In step 1, the client contacts the server on the command port and issues the PASV command. The server then replies in step 2 with PORT 2024, telling the client which port it is listening to for the data connection. In step 3 the client then initiates the data connection from its data port to the specified server data port. Finally, the server sends back an ACK in step 4 to the client’s data port.

While passive mode FTP solves many of the problems from the client side, it opens up a whole range of problems on the server side. The biggest issue is the need to allow any remote connection to high numbered ports on the server. Fortunately, many FTP daemons, including the popular WU-FTPD allow the administrator to specify a range of ports which the FTP server will use. See Appendix 1 for more information.

The second issue involves supporting and troubleshooting clients which do (or do not) support passive mode. As an example, the command line FTP utility provided with Solaris does not support passive mode, necessitating a third-party FTP client, such as ncftp.

With the massive popularity of the World Wide Web, many people prefer to use their web browser as an FTP client. Most browsers only support passive mode when accessing ftp:// URLs. This can either be good or bad depending on what the servers and firewalls are configured to support.

Passive FTP Example
Below is an actual example of a passive FTP session. The only things that have been changed are the server names, IP addresses, and user names. In this example an FTP session is initiated from testbox1.slacksite.com (192.168.150.80), a linux box running the standard FTP command line client, to testbox2.slacksite.com (192.168.150.90), a linux box running ProFTPd 1.2.2RC2. The debugging (-d) flag is used with the FTP client to show what is going on behind the scenes. Everything in red is the debugging output which shows the actual FTP commands being sent to the server and the responses generated from those commands. Normal server output is shown in black, and user input is in bold.

Notice the difference in the PORT command in this example as opposed to the active FTP example. Here, we see a port being opened on the server (192.168.150.90) system, rather than the client. See the discussion about the format of the PORT command above, in the Active FTP Example section.

testbox1: {/home/p-t/slacker/public_html} % ftp -d testbox2
Connected to testbox2.slacksite.com.
220 testbox2.slacksite.com FTP server ready.
Name (testbox2:slacker): slacker
—> USER slacker
331 Password required for slacker.
Password: TmpPass
—> PASS XXXX
230 User slacker logged in.
—> SYST
215 UNIX Type: L8
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp> passive
Passive mode on.
ftp> ls
ftp: setsockopt (ignored): Permission denied
—> PASV
227 Entering Passive Mode (192,168,150,90,195,149).
—> LIST
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list
drwx—— 3 slacker users 104 Jul 27 01:45 public_html
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> quit
—> QUIT
221 Goodbye.

Summary
The following chart should help admins remember how each FTP mode works:

Active FTP :
command : client >1024 -> server 21
data : client >1024 <- server 20

Passive FTP :
command : client >1024 -> server 21
data : client >1024 -> server >1024

A quick summary of the pros and cons of active vs. passive FTP is also in order:

Active FTP is beneficial to the FTP server admin, but detrimental to the client side admin. The FTP server attempts to make connections to random high ports on the client, which would almost certainly be blocked by a firewall on the client side. Passive FTP is beneficial to the client, but detrimental to the FTP server admin. The client will make both connections to the server, but one of them will be to a random high port, which would almost certainly be blocked by a firewall on the server side.

Luckily, there is somewhat of a compromise. Since admins running FTP servers will need to make their servers accessible to the greatest number of clients, they will almost certainly need to support passive FTP. The exposure of high level ports on the server can be minimized by specifying a limited port range for the FTP server to use. Thus, everything except for this range of ports can be firewalled on the server side. While this doesn’t eliminate all risk to the server, it decreases it tremendously.

(Mark Tiernan , Tiernan , Tiernan & Co)

This is well written explanation about bandwidth, very useful info.

BandWidth Explained

Most hosting companies offer a variety of bandwidth options in their plans. So exactly what is bandwidth as it relates to web hosting? Put simply, bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is allowed to occur between your web site and the rest of the internet. The amount of bandwidth a hosting company can provide is determined by their network connections, ( Mark Tiernan  )both internal to their data center and external to the public internet.

Network Connectivity

The internet, in the most simplest of terms, is a group of millions of computers connected by networks. These connections within the internet can be ( Mark Tiernan  ) large or small depending upon the cabling and equipment that is used at a particular internet location. It is the size of each network connection that determines how much bandwidth is available. For example,( Mark Tiernan  ) if you use a DSL connection to connect to the internet, you have 1.54 Mega bits (Mb) of bandwidth. Bandwidth therefore is measured in bits (a single 0 or 1). Bits are grouped in bytes which form words, text, and other information that is transferred between your computer and the internet.

If you have a DSL connection to the internet, you have dedicated bandwidth between your computer and your internet provider. But your internet provider ( Mark Tiernan  ) may have thousands of DSL connections to their location. All of these connection aggregate at your internet provider who then has their own dedicated connection to the internet (or multiple connections) which is much larger than your single connection. They must have enough bandwidth to serve your computing needs as well as all of their other customers. So while you have a 1.54Mb connection to your internet provider, your internet provider may have a 255Mb connection to the internet so it can accommodate your needs and up to 166 other users (255/1.54).

Traffic

A very simple analogy to use to understand bandwidth and traffic is to think of highways and cars. Bandwidth is the number of lanes on the highway and traffic is the number of cars on the highway. If you are the only car on a highway, ( Mark Tiernan  ) you can travel very quickly. If you are stuck in the middle of rush hour, you may travel very slowly since all of the lanes are being used up.

Traffic is simply the number of bits that are transferred on network connections. It is easiest to understand traffic using examples. One Gigabyte is 2 to the 30th power (1,073,741,824) bytes. One gigabyte is equal to 1,024 megabytes. To put this in perspective, it takes one byte to store one character. Imagine 100 file cabinets in a building, each of these cabinets holds 1000 folders. Each folder has 100 papers. Each paper contains 100 characters – ( Mark Tiernan  ) A GB is all the characters in the building. An MP3 song is about 4MB, the same song in wav format is about 40MB, a full length movie can be 800MB to 1000MB (1000MB = 1GB).

If you were to transfer this MP3 song from a web site to your computer, you would create 4MB of traffic between the web site you are downloading from and your computer. Depending upon the network connection between the web site and the internet, the transfer may occur very quickly, or it could take time if other people are also downloading files at the same time. If, for example, the web site you download from has a 10MB connection to the internet, and you are the only person accessing that web site to download your MP3, ( Mark Tiernan  ) your 4MB file will be the only traffic on that web site. However, if three people are all downloading that same MP at the same time, 12MB (3 x 4MB) of traffic has been created. Because in this example, the host only has 10MB of bandwidth, someone will have to wait. The network equipment at the hosting company will cycle through each person downloading the file and transfer a small portion at a time so each person’s file transfer can take place, but the transfer for everyone downloading the file will be slower. If 100 people all came to the site and downloaded the MP3 at the same time, the transfers would be extremely slow. If the host wanted to decrease the time it took to download files simultaneously, it could increase the bandwidth of their internet connection (at a cost due to upgrading equipment).

( Mark Tiernan  ) Hosting Bandwidth

In the example above, we discussed traffic in terms of downloading an MP3 file. However, each time you visit a web site, you are creating traffic, because in order to view that web page on your computer, the web page is first downloaded to your computer (between the web site and you) which is then displayed using your browser software (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) . The page itself is simply a file that creates traffic just like the MP3 file in the example above (however, a web page is usually much smaller than a music file).

A web page may be very small or large depending upon the amount of text and the number and quality of images integrated within the web page. For example, the home page for CNN.com is about 200KB (200 Kilobytes = 200,000 bytes = 1,600,000 bits). This is typically large for a web page. In comparison, Yahoo’s home page is about 70KB.

How Much Bandwidth Is Enough?

It depends (don’t you hate that answer). But in truth, it does. Since bandwidth is a significant determinant of hosting plan prices, you should take time to determine just how much is right for you. Almost all hosting plans have bandwidth requirements measured in months, so you need to estimate the amount of bandwidth that will be required by your site on a monthly basis

If you do not intend to provide file download capability from your site, the formula for calculating bandwidth is fairly straightforward:

Average Daily Visitors x Average Page Views x Average Page Size x 31 x Fudge Factor

If you intend to allow people to download files from your site, your bandwidth calculation should be:

[(Average Daily Visitors x Average Page Views x Average Page Size) +
(Average Daily File Downloads x Average File Size)] x 31 x Fudge Factor

Let us examine each item in the formula:

( Mark Tiernan  ) Average Daily Visitors – The number of people you expect to visit your site, on average, each day. Depending upon how you market your site, this number could be from 1 to 1,000,000.

Average Page Views – On average, the number of web pages you expect a person to view. If you have 50 web pages in your web site, an average person may only view 5 of those pages each time they visit.

Average Page Size – The average size of your web pages, in Kilobytes (KB). If you have already designed your site, you can calculate this directly.

Average Daily File Downloads – The number of downloads you expect to occur on your site. This is a function of the numbers of visitors and how many times a visitor downloads a file, on average, each day.

( Mark Tiernan  ) Average File Size – Average file size of files that are downloadable from your site. Similar to your web pages, if you already know which files can be downloaded, you can calculate this directly.

Fudge Factor – A number greater than 1. Using 1.5 would be safe, which assumes that your estimate is off by 50%. However, if you were very unsure, you could use 2 or 3 to ensure that your bandwidth requirements are more than met.

( Mark Tiernan  ) Usually, hosting plans offer bandwidth in terms of Gigabytes (GB) per month. This is why our formula takes daily averages and multiplies them by 31.

Summary

( Mark Tiernan  ) Most personal or small business sites will not need more than 1GB of bandwidth per month. If you have a web site that is composed of static web pages and you expect little traffic to your site on a daily basis, go with a low bandwidth plan. If you go over the amount of bandwidth allocated in your plan, your hosting company could charge you over usage fees, so if you think the traffic to your site will be significant, you may want to go through the calculations above to estimate the amount of bandwidth required in a hosting plan.

Mark Tiernan – Bandwidth Explained

A pension mortgage may seem lucrative at the first sight. However, they seldom are, if the customers who took pension mortgage are to be believed.

Nevertheless, before delving into the ill consequences of the mortgage, let us observe why pension mortgages seem lucrative. The most eye-catching feature of pension mortgages, which lures people, is that the pension mortgage requires to be paid out of the pension amount, which one receives on retirement. This is the feature, which drives people to go for pension mortgages. Mark Tiernan

While in most of the mortgages, the customer would have to pay the full repayment amount himself; in pension mortgage, he gets assistance from the government, though not directly. (Mark Tiernan) Therefore, a customer is actually paying just 78 and 60 percent respectively. Besides, the customer is also getting tax relief for paying into the pension plan.

People normally do not like to burden their present life. Their optimism assures them that their future will be secure. Pension mortgage is basically an interest only mortgage. This means that they will have to pay significantly less on the mortgage as they are paying only the interest. People(Mark Tiernan) who desire more of immediate relief shall be pleased with the idea of paying less.

However, they have to pay the mortgage amount drawn. At the end of the term of repayment of the pension mortgage, the principal amount will remain unaffected. This is because all through the period of repayment the customer has been paying just the interest. This principal amount will have to be repaid with the help of pension. Normally 25% of the pension amount is available in cash. This may be used to pay the pension mortgage.

Taking these into account, pension mortgages seem to be the perfect mortgage. Neither is the customer forced into paying more on the monthly installment, nor does he face any difficulty in the final repayment.

But, what of the life after the pension mortgage is paid. Is the life ahead as smooth as the repayment? No, it is not. You have retired and have lost a source of income. You are not in the prime of age to device new sources of income. You(Mark Tiernan) need something to rely upon once you retire. Utilizing cash from pension fund for paying a pension mortgage will be inappropriate. This reduces the amount of pension available for the customer to use.

Another feature, which can be seen as exploitative, is that one cannot go for full and final repayment until the age of 50. This is because a person is not authorized to use any part of the pension fund before they reach the age of 50. Therefore, one will be able to repay the pension mortgage before maturity only out of other resources.

Yet another feature of pension mortgage, which(Mark Tiernan) will give you goose bumps, is that there is no guarantee of the pension fund being able to pay the pension mortgage. A pension fund is an investment linked to the stock market. The amount available on the pension fund will depend on the whims of the stock market. Thus, there can be a scenario where the lump sum received through pension is not able to pay the pension mortgage in full. The borrower in such cases may be called upon to meet the deficit through other resources.

A similar scenario may occur when the borrower is not able to pay into the pension fund because of unemployment or death. The house will be repossessed to pay off the pension mortgage. Taking a life assurance policy can be a counteractive measure. This will help pay off the pension mortgage at the time of repayment.

There are numerous lenders in the UK offering pension mortgages. Many of the lenders are available online. After having screened the lenders and making a list of few lenders, it will be good to contact the lenders personally.

Tiernan and Company Solicitors (Mark Tiernan)
Tiernan and Company Inc (Mark Tiernan)
Tiernan and Company Ireland (Mark Tiernan)