Why use sftp instead of ftp

We all know about the good old FTP which we have used so many times to upload or download data from/to a web server to/from our computer. But do we know how much risk is involved in using FTP? Many of us don’t. So through this post, I will try to highlight why one should and how to use SFTP for the tasks we still use the vulnerable FTP.

FTP

In a FTP connection, the login credentials (username & password) are passed in clear text format and anyone spoofing on the packets can get to know about the login credentials. Moreover, any sensitive data being transferred over a FTP connection is not safe either. The spoofer can have the data very easily. Hence we need something better which overcomes the risky nature of FTP but still can connect like FTP.

SFTP

SFTP is just like a FTP connection with the exception that all of its data is in encrypted form and no-one spoofing on the data can make sense out of it because the data is encrypted. This clearly eliminates the security concern of FTP.

How to use SFTP?

Just like you need a FTP client for connecting via a FTP connection, you need a client which supports SFTP connection over SSH tunnel. My all time favorite Filezilla is capable of connecting via SFTP too. You can see how to use Filezilla for SFTP.

You only need to specify the different port being used for SFTP and the rest are like the FTP credentials only.

You can get to know your SFTP port from your cPanel. Select FTP accounts, then under Account Management, select the option Configure FTP Client and there you can view your SFTP port.

Now just specify the new credentials in the SFTP client and you will be connected to your server safely without the risk of anyone spying on your data.

Enjoy Happy Computing! If you have any questions, then feel free to ask via the comments.