When we talk about FTP we talk about remote access and file transfer, in the old way. You can then access an FTP server to upload, edit or download files from a computer remotely, using this communication protocol.
FTP is still used in companies to allow employees to access the general file archive and by webmasters to manage, upload and edit files on a website.
An FTP server can also be created to exchange files between computers on the same network, in the office or even at home, but it doesn't make much sense.
We do much earlier to share files between computers with the simple settings of Windows or other operating systems.
Also you can use external programs that allow the synchronization of files between computers in a much more convenient way.
Another way to use FTP is to download any file from the internet (including music and videos), looking for and connecting to public FTP servers around the world.
Anyway, let's see what are the best programs to have an FTP client on the Windows computer .
1) The easiest way to create an FTP server is by using a 10 year old program that remains the most used in the world: FileZilla .
FileZilla can be downloaded in both client and server versions, it is free and oppensource and is available for Windows, Linux and Mac .
Filezilla supports file transfers via FTP, SFTP, and FTPS (FTP over SSL / TLS).
FileZilla, according to Sourceforge statistics, is among the top 10 most downloaded opensource programs in the world, in the ranking of all time.
Aside from the fact that there are thousands of guides found on the internet, it is very easy to use and also supports file drag and drop.
Filezilla exists in the portable version downloadable on the Winpenpack website.
2) The FTP client number two is WinSCP, which is also a very popular and free program.
This program for transferring files from an FTP server to your computer, supports SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) and SCP (Secure Copy) communication using SSH (Secure Shell).
Its main purpose is to copy files between computers in absolute safety.
With WinSCP you can also work on files remotely, editing or deleting them also because there is an integrated editor to open text documents and save them after changes.
WinSCP has become very popular among users who have an iPhone unlocked with JailBreak because it becomes an easy way to transfer files from computer to iPhone and vice versa.
WinSCP also exists in a portable version, useful if you want to always have it available on the USB device.
3) Those who can no longer stand Filezilla because it has a very ugly interface and is always the same as itself can find better alternatives to Filezilla for Windows using one of these three programs:
- FTP Rush, very similar but more beautiful to look at.
- Free FTP
- GoFTP which claims to be the fastest.
4) The newest program that really seems the best ever for transferring files to FTP is CyberDuck, created for Macs and now also available for Windows PCs.
CyberDuck is much more than an FTP client, it allows you to access and edit files through the most used internet communication protocols.
Not only does it therefore support remote transfers via FTP, SFTP, FTP-SSL, but also via WebDAV and WebDAV SSL, the http or https communication protocol for downloading or uploading files from hosting sites via the internet (only if they support it, I tried already with SkyDrive but it doesn't work).
In addition Cyberduck allows you to access and manage files stored in Amazon S3 and allows you to upload files from desktop to Google Docs .
Cyberduck supports Drag and drop, imports bookmarks from other FTP clients such as FileZilla, has a sync function and allows you to preview files before downloading or doing anything else.
5) If you prefer, you can use an FTP client integrated in the browser, by downloading and installing SFTP clients as a Chrome extension.
Finally, if you have been good at reading this far even if you did not think you need to install an FTP client, you could find great satisfaction in looking for files of any type (including mp3 or video divx) from public FTP servers around the world and with the possibility of aninomo access.
The site that allows you to search for the FTP addresses of is Oth.net .
Just connect, in FTP, to the IP addresses found to be able to download all the files you want.
