What are the Advantages of Using SFTP Over FTP?Īside from the advantage of having multiple layers of encryption, there are other benefits to installing SFTP server software. What are the Advantages of Using SFTP Over FTP?.Next, SSH keys are used to verify the user ID and password, which requires having a public and private key the SSH keys can also be used alone, but two-factor authentication provides better security. First, the authentication mechanism asks for a password and user ID that allows a connection to the system. SFTP server software makes use of SSH and requires a dedicated SFTP client for performing the file transfer.Īuthentication with SFTP server software encrypts data in two ways. SSH protocol on the other hand provides a set of rules and guidelines for the safe conduct of data communications in unsecure environments. Unlike the legacy FTP protocol which requires a control/command connection (TCP port 21) and a data connection (TCP port 20), the SFTP protocol works exclusively over TCP port 22.Īside from security, why do you need to use SFTP software?įile transfer protocol (FTP) is used to send data packets from one server to another, but data packets are not encrypted. With this software, the commands and data are encrypted and transported in secure packets through one secure connection running on TCP port 22. It also supports file access and management in environments that don’t have data or command channels. SFTP was created as an extension for the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) 2.0 as a way to bolster security during file transfers. This popular file transfer communication protocol is able to make sure that your data is able to travel to remote servers safely over unsecured mediums such as the Internet etc. That’s where software products like Secure File Transfer Protocol, better known as SFTP, comes in.įile Transfer Protocol has been around since 1971 the encrypted version was developed in 1994. With the rise of distributed networks, finding a secure way to transfer files and data is essential.

Top 10 free ftp software