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August 26, 2008

File Transfer Protocol

Kudos to Wayne Saunders for writing a real nice overview of FTP, including pointing out some very important positives and negatives of this aging but still very useful, relevant and commonly-used technology.

Wayne hits the nail on the head with his concern for security over basic FTP connections. "Some of the negatives about FTP is that it isn't very secure."

You see, FTP was created years ago before security was a real issue and as such, it lacks any sort of built in encryption that would protect files and data as they are moving from computer to computer. This hold true regardless of whether the files being transferred are personal photos, webpages, music or top-secret financial or other confidential business documents.

So, the big question is.... Are there any secure and encrypted alternatives to basic FTP? Well, Wayne actually answers this question for us also: "To minimise some of these problems with security you have to use SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) or FTPS (FTP over SSL) which add on more security and encryption when transferring files".

I will pick on one comment that Wayne wrote though: "Passwords and such are sent in clear text, so people looking in could find out passwords easily".

While this is generally a true statement, there is a client-server solution that combats this security problem. Basic FTP connections made between WS_FTP Server and the WS_FTP Professional secure file transfer client do protect usernames/passwords with encryption and they are never sent in the clear. Nice little homecourt advantage for the WS_FTP software....

Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page

August 22, 2008

FTP Hosting for Beginners

A few folks have emailed me recently asking for my opinion on FTP hosting solutions.

Here's a nice "FTP Hosting for Beginners" overview.

I believe that a hosted FTP solution can be a good option for people who don't have a physical server to store files. A hosted server solution provides online file storage.... And many solution providers deliver pretty secure services today.

That being said, you will still need desktop FTP software to connect to your hosted server and transfer files from your PC to the server.

As the FTP Hosting article points out, "You will require FTP Software. All you need to do is - install the application, fill in details of site address, name and related information, and just connect. Once connection has been restored, you can easily upload files from your PC to the site and download the files from the site to the local drive of your computer.

WS FTP - As file transfer client software, it is the most popular. With the help of this secure software, you can quickly and easily manage all the digital information. It helps to compress files into .zip format during file transfer. It guarantees security of data with the help of 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) keys and SSL transfers."

Posted by Hugh Garber at 08:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page

August 20, 2008

Create Custom Data Management Applications with WS_FTP Professional Software Development Kit

Calling all programmers! With Ipswitch File Transfer's WS_FTP Professional Software Development Kit, developers can create customized data management applications by embedding or integrating the functionality of WS_FTP Professional into core business applications and platforms. This would be useful in a sales, inventory, financial, database, or CRM system architecture.

Read more about the WS_FTP Professional SDK on the Ipswitch File Transfer website.

Posted by Erik Small at 12:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page

August 14, 2008

Webmastercourse.com is a great resource for people interested in learning how to design a simple website. Their "Quick Guide to FTP" does a nice job of highlighting how a webmaster would use a secure file transfer client to move files (ie: web pages) from their computer to the Internet for publishing.

And here's their plug for the WS_FTP Professional secure file transfer client: "You should get a professional FTP program such as WS_FTP offered by Ipswitch.com. This software has many great features for online business owners and enables you to transfer many pages at once. It's very fast as well."

Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page

August 12, 2008

Uploading Your Website with FTP

Here's a nice overview of file transfer software from Ben over at Advanced Wordpress Tutorials:

Once you've created your website, you're going to need to upload it to your web server. The easiest and fastest way of doing this is using FTP.

Here's what Ben had to say about my FTP program of choice: "WS FTP (www.wsftp.com) is another old, established FTP program, but recently became a lot easier to use than it used to be. Some useful features include its various wizards and tutorials for doing common things, editing files on the server using any software you like (a rare feature) and sorting options that let you find files quickly. It also has special features to help you out with blogging and digital photography."

I agree with Ben that the user interface of WS_FTP Professional was greatly improved with the last product release. And I also agree that the capability to edit files on the server is super handy and has saved me quite a bit of time. Love the integrated Google desktop search to help me quickly find files on my computer.... And the thumbnails makes finding the right photo that much easier.

In addition, I've found WS_FTP Pro to be much faster at uploading and downloading files than some other programs I've tried.... And the security capabilities are far greater than any other product as well.

Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page

August 07, 2008

Who is your friend or connection?

Social media networks are exploding this year. In just the past 12 months, the well-known social media networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Bebo are adding new members exponentially.

These social media networks each are trying to find a niche or specialization, example: LinkedIn = business networking.

What are the visitors of FTPplanet connecting to lately?

Facebook?
MySpace?
LinkedIn?
Friendster?
Plaxo?
Bebo?
Flicker?

Share your comments. We'd love to hear from you!

-FTPplanet team

Posted by Erik Small at 08:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page

August 06, 2008

Useful FTP Applications

Here's a great example of a very common use of FTP courtesy of Jared Holt of the Geek Inspired website.

"Just a few months ago, I was taking a short vacation down in Florida with my wife’s family. It was the first time our little nieces had ever been to the ocean, so I was sure to take lots and lots of pictures. Every evening, I would dump all of my pictures from my compact flash card onto my laptop.

I like to have several copies of all my important files. So, before turning in for the night, I would open up my favorite FTP program, connect to the FTP server running on my computer at home (600 miles away!), and transfer all of the precious photos I had taken that day. Indeed, FTP is a great tool that anyone with a broadband connection should use"

Jared also includes a great description of file transfer clients and servers.

But what I really like about this article are Jared's examples of common applications for FTP, such as:

"* Just about every webmaster uses FTP to transfer web pages, web application files, and images to their web server.

* Corporations use FTP servers to provide common files to their clients and branch offices.

* Friends use a collection of FTP servers to share photos, programs, and (Gasp!) the occasional mp3.

* I like to keep my favorite freeware accessible on my FTP so that I can use them no matter which computer I’m on.

One huge advantage to using FTP is that file sizes simply do not matter. In my opening example, I was uploading gigabytes of photos to my home computer. Try doing that with email… go on, I dare you"

Jared's last point is certainly an important one as well. Email simply isn't a practical way to share ginormous files.... The file size limitation of email (or the rules your system admin has put in place) is a key reason why millions and millions of people are using FTP (or encrypted SSL or SSH protocols) to move and share large files.

Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page

August 04, 2008

Podcast on Protecting Data

Here's a great podcast on the Realtime Windows Server website titled "Protecting Data In Transit and At Rest with Ipswitch". Host Greg Shields and industry guru Kevin Gillis talk about some pretty important data security topics.

They highlight some of the recent prolific data breaches, summarize some of the nuances of PCI DSS compliance, run through some of the technical ABC's of secure file transfer, and share some best-practices and tips for securing critical data in IT environments with the Ipswitch WS_FTP and MOVEit secure managed file transfer solutions.

I know both of these guys and they clearly know their stuff.... Trust me, it's definitely worth 20 minutes to listen to the podcast.

Here's the podcast excerpt: "Whether your IT organization is under the heavy hand of regulatory compliance or not, the perils of unencrypted data can be a big risk for your most sensitive data. That data, whether its sitting within your data stores or being transferred around the network needs some level of encryption to protect it against prying eyes. Even worse, if you are under the microscope of compliance, you can be liable for a disclosure of that information.

In this podcast, I talk with Kevin Gillis of Ipswitch about some of the more recent data breaches seen by IT organizations that didn't properly plan for hacking. We talk about the types of compliance laws that require encryption, and the tools and techniques you need to incorporate to protect yourself. Whether its HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, or even just the desire to stay safe, this podcast will enlighten you to some of the tools available today that keep that data secure no matter where it is"

Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page