What is FTP?

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Essentially it is a simple tool to move files from one computer to another computer.

How would FTP work for me?

Lets assume that you have created a web site for yourself, and you have seventy-five web pages that you want to display to people. Instead of copying all of the files to disks and manually placing the files on the Web Server, you could open an FTP client, find the Web Server, navigate to the directory where you need to place the files, and then upload the files.

Thus, FTP is simply used:

• to download a file from a server using the Internet, or

• to upload a file to a server (e.g. uploading a web page file to a Server).

FTP clients:

WinSCP >>
FileZilla >>
Core FTP >>
CuteFTP >>
SmartFTP >>
3D-FTP >>

What is SFTP?

SFTP, or secure FTP, is a program that uses SSH (Secure Shell) Protocol to transfer files. It is functionally similar to FTP. However, unlike standard FTP, it encrypts both commands and data, preventing passwords and sensitive information from being transmitted in the clear over the network.

FTP clients supporting SFTP:

WinSCP >>
FileZilla >>
Core FTP >>
CuteFTP >>
SmartFTP >>

What is FTPS?

FTPS (also known as FTP Secure or FTP-SSL) is an extension to the commonly used File Transfer Protocol (FTP) that adds support for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) cryptographic protocols.

FTP clients supporting FTPS:

WinSCP >>
FileZilla >>
Core FTP >>
CuteFTP >>
SmartFTP >>