Is it possible to run a website from your own computer, lik eif you create a file and people could access it from their computers using the internet. They pretty much (download) the website off of my computer and access my files and stuff. Anyone know if this is possible or something similar to it?
im no expert but isnt that how a server works, except with a faster connection
smartass!
jk! hahah 
i wasnt tryen to b smug, im just as clueless as you 
Item why dont you just go to like freewebs.com or something. They give you free webspace.
You can create a website on your computer, without using the internet, but no one will be able to see them. You’ll need to upload them to a proper website.
I’m positive that you can run a website off your computer. I have no idea how to do it though. But I know that you need to leave your computer on all the time so that people can access it. Otherwise they won’t be able to connect. You’d also most likely need a fast connection. And I think most people use Linux, or something other than windows.
What does this mean? It’s much, much easier to find a free host for your webspace. FOR INSTANCE, unicyclist.com has freewebspace for unicyclists. NO ads like most free hosts, except for a lovable little icon in the upper right.
Good luck,
Jess
Jess is right. It is possible to use your computer as the host of a web page but it’s not recommended. You’ll have to get pretty good firewall if you want to keep your Top Secret -files on your comp too. And it has to be on all the time. Linux/Unix are better for hosting since they are a bit more secure and reliable (re-boot free most of the time). Usually if people use a server at home it’s another computer that is just used as a server. A friend of mine has an IRC server at home.
I guess at least Sofa might know a bit more about these. Isn’t he somekind of a webdesigner?
you could host your own site, but as mentioned (therefore left alone) the computer would need to on all the time.
There is more to it than that, I believe there are costs involved, but as I would much rather pay for webspace and let them deal with all the issues involved, I’ve never researched the matter any.
If you really want to do it, prepare to spend lots of time and money on it.
You will need a connection with a fast upload (most home connections are much faster towards your computer than away from it, as that’s what most of the traffic is), and an ISP who lets you run a server in the first place. Most don’t, and will probably charge you or throw you off when they find out. Ones that do usually charge a lot for the priviledge.
Then you need a web server on your computer of choice. Several exist for whatever operating system you want, but you will have to be as sure as you can that it’s not happily serving out your entire computer, or full of holes that let anyone fiddle. This depends on the server you choose and how you set it up. Microsoft’s IIS is crap, but no worse than Apache if you configure it badly.
Then you need to make sure it stays that way, keeping up with any and all patches released for anything on the system.
Sounds like an awful lot of effort for no particular reason if you ask me.
Phil
What can I say, I’m really bored, and it sounds like an adventure! O_O
Look into free web hosting. For my wife’s art website I searched for a free web hosting service that would provide FTP access (fast, convenient upload), no ads, no pop-ups, and provided at least 10 Mb of space and 100 Mb/month bandwidth. This is more than adequate for something like a personal website without all the annoyances. They also very politely allow you to put the subdomain name of your choice before their domain name. This is of the form <yourname.port5.com> The place is in the UK.
Click their free web hosting button.
As others have mentioned, doing it at home would be a huge pain. More importantly your ISP will say no. Still more importantly you would be hacked to death instantly.
brinkster.com is a great free site with no advertising, and a full screen site.
It even accepts ASP.net pages (lots don’t)
Well, I wasn’t going to make it globaly known, just for family and friends.
Hackers would still find it and hack all your precious stuff on your comp.
You would be sniffed out and hacked within 24 hours of someone accessing your site. Your family and friends tell everybody in cyberspace about it as soon as they make the first request.
Oh poop on you!