These well-known and recognized security concerns for the protocol were addressed by the IETF in an informational RFC document RFC 2577. All passwords and data are transferred in the clear. The file transfer protocol was not designed to be secure – it offers no protection for the privacy nor integrity of the files that are transferred, nor does it protect the identity of the communicating parties. When FTP was initially specified and designed, the importance of network security was less pronounced than today. However, it has been largely replaced by SFTP due to security concerns, robustness issues (especially in relation to Network Address Translation (NAT)), and ease of use. The protocol used to be widely used by system administrators and software developers for moving files and folders from one computer to another. There is a selection of client applications available for all common desktop operating systems. Most operating systems offer an FTP server, and client software is also widely available. Consequently, it has been included as a standard component in many operating systems. Availability and UsageįTP is one of the oldest data transfer methods in IP networks. Once an authenticated connection has been established between the client and server, the files and folders can be transferred to either direction between the two connected computers. This means that the file transfer connections are (usually) initiated by an FTP client and responded to by an FTP server. How Does It Work?įTP is an application layer protocol and runs on top of the TCP/IP protocol. The current standard is described in RFC 959. The widely adopted protocol has been standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Since then FTP has gained wide acceptance by the general computing audience.
Abhay Bhushan wrote the original protocol specifications in the early 1970s.
Contents FTP – Protocol and Application How Does It Work? Availability and Usage Inherently Insecure Popular Implentations and a Secure Alternative FTP – Protocol and ApplicationįTP is an application and a protocol for transferring files and directories between computers over a data network.
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