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Are you still using FTP? Beware

Published on 12 September, 2006 in Editorial and Security & Encryption. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Recently I acquired a software that required FTP access to my server, without which it cannot work.

I was shocked!

You see, in the last 7-8 years I have not use FTP on my servers. Even on the local office server I refuse to allow FTP to be installed. For file transfer I just use SFTP (Filezilla supports this).

Are you still using FTP, you might want to read the following and discover why it is time to take note

The traditional FTP protocol is highly insecure: it sends passwords in the clear. For this reason FTP has been recognized as one of the largest remaining security liabilities in most UNIX systems. As of 2006 FTP still remains one of the Internet’s most popular file upload mechanisms.

Another security risk lies not with FTP itself but with the widespread use of wireless internet connection.

With wireless, your FTP password travelling in clear over the air can be easily captured. You may be surprised that wireless attack is actually very easy. The kid next door may just be looking at your wireless traffic now.

So, if you are using FTP on your hosting server and at work, ask why. Security file transfer like SFTP, SCP, FTP over SSL are widely available. Perhaps it is time to ask if the hosting provider support them or move on to a more knowledgable hosting provider.

At this point I am still talking to the vendor to see how the FTP requirement can be relaxed or best removed.

Reference:

Filezilla FTP client

Published on 30 July, 2006 in Utilities & Drivers. 0 Comments Tags: , .

FileZilla Filezilla has nothing to do with Mozilla or the numerous “-zilla” out there. It is an FTP (and SFTP) client (there is also a Filezilla FTP server).

Beside web browser and email client, FTP client is probably one of the most used net-applications.

But unlike web browser and email, there are far more choices for FTP programs around. Commercial, sharewares, freewares/open source, some with really long history. Do you remember WS_FTP? A quick search shows that it is still around. It was very popular once but not many people seems to be using it now. And there were CuteFTP, SmartFTP, just to name a few.-

Personally I had not try alot of FTP clients. There might be another good Open Source FTP client around that I am not aware. However Filezilla had served me well for a few years now and I will gladly recommend it.

If you are using an unregistered or cracked copy of shareware FTP client, give your conscience a break. consider switching to Filezilla, an opensource alternative.

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