Our firewall at work does not allow access to ftp sites. I had to jump through hoops to get access to download from ni.com, but it works for me now. I would suggest talking to your system administrator. Remind them that you don't need ftp access to everywherre, just to NI stuff - this may or may not help. If nothing else, they could do it for you. If you have the need multiple times a week, they will get sick of doing it for you and give you access.