Thanks bigstar I will try that tonight, but the thing is.. I can log in , so connecting is not a problem... I just can't get a directory listing when I try it from my school for example.
However I have a friend across the Pacific who can log in and view files just fine, yet another friend in california gets the same error I do. I think it's something to do with two firewalls...
PS: When passive mode is on it can't get past the "entering Passive mode" command.