Hi everybody!

I know that some of you are experts when it comes to IT. I could really need some advice.
I'll try to explain my problem, besides lacking of knowledge.

I want to set up a server at my dad's house because we need to work on the same files. So, the main purpose of the server is file sharing. The number of people using the server would be 3 tops.
The router at my dad's house is a D-Link DI-804V which is a VPN router, but I'm not quite sure if that VPN feature is really useful for me.

I want to use Windows because I have absolutely no experience with Linux and my Dad doesn't even know what Linux is. Unfortunately I don't own a Windows server operating system, so I would like to use a standard operating system like XP Professional or something like that.

Right now I see two possibilities: FTP or VPN, I haven't tried either before.
I know FTP is not really a safe connection and VPN seems to be a little complicated to set up, therefore I'm asking myself some questions and maybe some of you will find some time to help me answer it. I would really appreciate it.

1.) What should I choose as an easy and useful solution? (Maintenance is a problem, because I'm almost never home)
2.) Is FTP safe enough? Is it possible to modify files "on" the server or do I have to download and re-upload it via FTP?
3.) What do I need to set up a VPN server connection? Any additional software necessary on the server or client? I've read that I need to forward some ports, use a static ip-adress and maybe use DMZ (I really don't want to do that), but that seems a little easy to me to establish a vpn server.
Is it possible to have more than 1 VPN client at the same time if I use Windows XP ?

4.) Most importantly, what would you do? VPN, FTP or something else?

As you see I have no clue what to do (and I hate that) when it comes to networking. Since I don't know any admins and I don't want to admit my lack of knowledge (I should know this stuff) in the real world, so I hope to find some help at Sabresjunkie
If you have any advice, recommendations or hints for me, please post. I'm thankful for any help.

Thanks in advance,
STP

PS: I'm sorry for the extensive post.

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If all you want to do is share files, you don't need a "server" per se, you just need some network attached storage then the networking on top of that to make it available to everyone is a separate issue.

There are many consumer grade options when it comes to network attached storage, here are a few:
http://www.dlink.com/products/category/?cid=8
http://reviews.cnet.com/network-storage ... 90440.html
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_ ... k+attached

Some of those come with software that make the sharing part easier.
In general, I would highly recommend against exposing FTP to the world since, as you noted, it's insecure, but there are plenty of other options.
SFTP (secure ftp)
SCP (secure copy)
Even windows based permissions (a "network share") would probably be OK.

Can I assume you would be in a remote location? Because the actual networking part of it would be the part that's a bit trickier and more more specific to your setup.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

You know...reading the description on this thing...
http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-Network-At ... 677&sr=8-2

It says their software can take care of the whole "sharing you files over the internet" part.
Honestly, since this isn't an area of expertise for you, I'd just get something like that...the set up and maintenance of a home-spun solution may be more than you want or need to take on.

EDIT: let me add I find this conversation ironic since I used to work for online storage company Xdrive.com (now defunct). Services like that still exist if you're willing to pay a subscription fee.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

First of all, thanks for your answers. I'm gonna read through your links.

Yes, I'm in a remote location and my Dad could use it as well when he is travelling. I'm doing some work for him which is a pain in the ass doing by sending files back and forth. We need to have a common data base.

I have a PC which I don't use anymore and I thought I could use it as a server. I'm gonna look into these storage devices, I just assumed it's gonna be tricky to access them from a remote location.

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You're right, those devices would work, although I wouldn't need all the multimedia features, but who cares.

The part where I started scratching my head again:
It has a built-in FTP server which isn't as you confirmed a good solution. From the manual: "It is recommended that the end-user utilize a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to establish a secure FTP session."
How do I utilize a VPN without having a VPN server?

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