Miss Sam Tompson
I'm not sure the exact name, but I would like to know how these public ftp servers work. Ones that you can freely upload and download files from. Do they even exist?

Free Ftp servers do exist but they mainly only allow download only, thus ensuring that no file on their server is laden with viruses or spyware. Having said that, spyware originators also have free ftp servers, which simply trick you into downloading their spyware loaded apps.

How do you tell them apart? The old "nothing is free" adage is applicable in most places, though I would suggest looking at servers that have a good history online and other people comment about.

Hope that helps.

If you'd like a detailed explanation on how FTP servers work, go to: http://www.howstuffworks.com

For a list of FTP software: Google "free FTP software."

I hope this answers your question.

Ron Anderson