HFS or HTTP File Server is a great, FREE, file server
HFS isn’t a new program but it is definitely a goody. I have been using it for four years now for my file server because it is easy to use and can be run on any Windows OS along with Linux using Wine. It has a customizable HTML web interface and has the ability to setup user accounts. Their website says that there are 137, 775 users around the world. For a piece of freeware that is a great following. First lets start off with where you can find it, of course you can Google it or you can go to the HFS web site at the following link: http://www.rejetto.com/hfs/?f=intro or you can visit the HFS forum where you can download beta version and ask question and receive help from the users and programmer of HFS. The forum link is: http://www.rejetto.com/forum/index.php?c=6.
Installation is easy because it is a self contained executable. It can start with as the OS boots up and run minimized in the task bar.Here is the basic interface of the program. It allows for viewing of connections, shared folders, and current connections. This is a pic of my running server so I blurred out some information that I didn’t want the world to see.
Configuration can take a little bit of time to get the program set up for use in your environment or you can just turn it on and run it as is. However you may need to go over certain things for security, users, and to make folders available for viewing. Here are some pics of some menus that you will see by clicking on the menu button in the upper right corner of the programs window.
As you can see there are quit a few options that can be configured and once that is complete you can save it to a file so you don’t have to do it each time it is launched. This is done by the save options part of the main menu. You will also have to save the file system layout by clicking another option. I did not cover every possible option that HFS has because this is a basic over view. To learn more about it just download it and explore away. Now that the folders are added and the basics are configured you can setup users and password for the folder and access to the file server itself. This can be done by right clicking on the house icon in the file system menu on the programs main interface. Then select add users. Pics of these menus are as follows.
You can also make files browse able or chose to hide them. You can also assign access to each folder to different users or all users. I’m not sure if the passwords are sent encrypted or not soe I am not sure of the security of accounts. But I have used it for a long time with no problems. You can also have you logs saved to a file or just look at the scrolling window on the main interface.
HFS also has a built in HTML editor for the modification of the web site that is used to access the file server. Here is a shot of the editor, my web page for the file server, the default web page, and a pic of a player that I put in to play videos.
All in all this is a very good program and it keeps evolving every day. With the use of rejetto and the group of tester that are members of the forum. So if your looking for a good file server program or just want to check it out, I am sure you will like the price and functionality of this great freeware program.