> How secure is Secure FTP?
Just to add a bit of verbosity to the discussion, there are three main
secure file transfer methods:
SCP - Secure CoPy, i.e. a secure version of the UNIX 'cp' command.
This is based on the SSH 1 standard and is also compatible with SSH 2.
SFTP - a version of FTP that works via SSH 2. Not compatible with SSH
1.
Secure FTP - FTP using SSL or TLS.
There are clients and servers available that will work with different
standards, e.g. OpenSSH supports both SCP and SFTP whereas most common
FTP servers only do Secure FTP and not the others.
Client support is even more erratic. For Windows a really good
SCP/SFTP client is WinSCP which can work as a stand-alone two-pane
client or a single-pane app that works in tandem with Windows Explorer.
For MacOS there's RBrowserLite and many others. Linux has a large
array of clients, with each one seeming to favor one standard over
another, though KBear is good in KDE 3.2+.
Regarding security, SSL-based Secure FTP with a good key or SSH2-based
SFTP are my preferred methods; SCP is based on SSH1 which isn't as
secure as SSH2 (gross over simplification).
One way of making the process more secure would be to not use passwords
but instead use secure keys, as used with SSH 1 or 2. With SSL you
have to enter the password as it doesn't include a system for not doing
so (AFAICS).
--
Damien McKenna - Web Developer - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014
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