Maximum PC

I have a desktop with a ton of data on it, and I mostly keep it synced with my laptop via Windows Live Mesh. However, the music folder won't sync (I'm guessing it's too big? I don't know, but I can't find any information or help on that piece of software). And I'd also like to access the data that I don't sync between the two computers automatically.
I want to be able to access any folder on my desktop from my laptop over the internet, from anywhere.
I found this thing called filezilla server and installed it on my desktop. I installed the client software on both my desktop and laptop. I have no idea how to use it, though.
First off, is an FTP server what I want to use? I've set up the server to acknowledge a user name and ive chosen which drives are accessed, but I can't access it from my laptop. the connection always fails.

Does anyone know of a tutorial on how to use this software? Or is there something else I can use?
Thanks

Personally I have only used the Filezilla FTP client, not their server, but you can find some documentation on their wiki.

The thing I would be most concerned about is security. FTP is one of the original means of file transfer that came along with the Internet itself. Along with email and telnet, it is an inherently insecure medium, and anyone in the right place at the right time can intercept your data in transit. I might argue that FTP is even less secure than email, because many email servers now use secure authentication methods for login, whereas FTP (by the nature of the protocol) transmits your username and password over an unencrypted connection.

The Filezilla Wiki has information on setting up additional security for the server (turning it into 'FTPS', which uses SSL/TLS like secure web sites do), but configuring it seems like it might be a bit convoluted (I haven't done it myself, but it seemed a bit involved at first glance)

In my opinion, one of the best ways to access your files remotely would be to use an SFTP server, which uses the *nix SSH2 protocol for security. Wikipedia has a list of SFTP server software, including some free options that might be easier to set up. I haven't tried it, but from looking at the list, Core FTP looks like it might be worth a look.

I personally use an SSH and SFTP server that I run on my Linux box, and use Filezilla (client) under Windows on my laptop to access my files on the go. If you set up an SFTP server, you should be able to use the Filezilla client to access your server securely.

I also suggest signing up for a free service like DynDNS, so that you can point your SFTP client software to a hostname that won't change if your home IP address does.

If you have any questions about setting up port forwarding, SFTP, DynDNS, or anything else, fire away! Hope this helps

Sounds like you want to use something like Hamachi or Logmein rather then setting up an FTP service.

Good point!

TeamViewer is also free for personal use, can run as a service, and has a file transfer component. Like Logmein or Hamachi VPN, it also traverses firewalls, so you don't have to worry about setting up port forwarding.

so i found out that windows live mesh does all this stuff too, and it's free and I already use it. I'll look into these, but for the short term windows live mesh will fulfill my needs.
I absolutely love that piece of software. Top 5 best things MS has ever done is make windows live mesh.

Glad you found a solution that works for you. Windows Live Mesh sounds very convenient, I didn't even realize it existed!