As a former host and someone who manages both a semi-public linux server as well as Windows servers at work, let me ask a question. How does an enterprise claim security in their systems when they allow their users to use FTP to transfer files? The tried and true method of moving files to the internet for use on the web is File Transfer Protocol. Well, it’s tried anyways. The fact is that FTP broadcasts username and password in plaintext. People are getting sold a bill of goods if they believe they can’t get hacked, their sites can’t be exploited, they are on a “secure” web server when FTP is running. The same can be said of Telnet but thankfully, telnet is generally disabled.
So what to do about FTP? The answer? SFTP, or Secure File Transfer Protocol. Not a new technology. Just more unknown and uncommon. It is FTP over Secure Shell protocol. The same way users would login to the commandline of their linux web hosting is the same protocol that SFTP works on.
Next time you work on a website, try SFTP instead of FTP. You’ll find that your site is less likely to be hacked.
Cheers.
Aaron
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About the Author: Aaron Brazell is the lead editor of Technosailor.com and a social media expert. His passion is to see companies and individuals use the internet and web technologies wisely and effectively to promote their brands and companies. He is Business Development Manager for Lijit and he worked as Director of Technology at b5media from 2005-2008 and is currently an independent consultant.
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=&instead of=when assigning those data variables (title, artist, album, etc..)Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
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I am still torn between creativity and Section 508, but I have found that following simple coding standards eliminates many accessibility issues.
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Anyway, SFTP isn't really FTP. It's really just a wrapper around scp. But nice recommedation. I often don't run a FTP daemon by default.
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