WinSCP Free SFTP, FTP and SSH Explorer Style Server Management Program

Free SFTP, FTP and SSH Explorer Style Server Management Program

What is WinSCP?

WinSCP is an open source free SFTP client and FTP client for Windows. Its main function is safe copying of files between a local and a remote computer.

Why use WinSCP?

WinSCP has many great tools and features such as support for the SFTP, SCP, and FTP protocols; command line interface, an integrated text editor, and support for SSH authentication. It also boasts a very user friendly interface. Windows users will find it very familiar with it’s Explorer like functionality.

Personally, I use WinSCP’s SFTP feature over a standard FTP client because using SFTP is much more secure. Why is SFTP more secure? Well, think of it this way (SFTP vs. FTP):

Whenever you open a “normal” ftp session, the entire transmission made between you and the host (server) is sent in plain text. Which means, that anyone who has the ability to “snoop” on the network packets can read the transmitted data, including password information. If an unauthorized user can login, they then have an oppurtunity to compromise the system.

When using SSH’s SFTP instead of FTP, the entire login session, including transmission of a password, is encrypted. It is therefore much more difficult for an outsider to observe and collect passwords from a system using SSH/SFTP sessions.

How to use WinSCP

Using WinSCP is simple. First, of course, you have to download it! You can do so, here. Next, if you plan on using the SFTP feature you’ll want to make sure you have SSH access. You will find that on many shared hosts, they do not allow this.

After installation, when you open WinSCP, you should see something like this:

At this point, you’ll need to decide how you want to connect to your host/server. You’ll see a dropdown labled “File Protocol”, and SFTP will be the default option. If you want to use SFTP, enter the Host name (either IP address or domain name), and choose the port. Since this uses SSH, and the common port for SSH is 22, you should be able to leave the port alone. Next just enter the Username and Password, and click “Login”.

If you’d rather use FTP, then choose FTP from the “File Protocol” dropdown, then enter your Username and Password, and click “Login”.

That’s it, simple as that!

For more information about WinSCP, including tips & tricks, visit WinSCP’s Guide section.

You can download WinSCP here

This article was written exclusively for Monsoon Domains by Secondversion