Secure ftp: Secure Enterprise-Class FTP server

FTP Server | Secure FTP server, providing secure file transfer.

Mention the GlobalSCAPE company's CuteFTP software family, it can be said that people know all. The secure FTP server to be introduced this time also belongs to the GlobalSCAPE company's FTP software PRODUCT line. Maybe it's just that the name CuteFTP is not very appealing to corporate users, since July 2002, GlobalSCAPE has renamed the FTP server in the CUTEFTP product line to secure FTP server (secure FTP servers). Its server clients still use the well-known cuteftp name.

Secure FTP Server installation files download about 4MB, after installation accounted for about 6MB of space. And now more than 100GB hard disk, it really does not occupy much space. Its installation wizard is very simple, in the installation process will ask you a few basic questions, after the installation of the server can immediately run. After the installation is complete, the server contains two components, Windows services, and administrative clients.

Management clients can provide management for local or remote secure FTP servers, and, of course, if remote administration is required for remote systems. The management interface is simple and straightforward, and it displays a large number of secure FTP servers as a tree structure with multiple servers, user groups, and shared files. However, this product does not provide a web-based management interface, which limits the use of remote administration to some extent.

Like its name, the secure FTP server focuses its attention on ensuring the integrity of file transfers. It includes additional features to enhance the security management and control of file transfers by business organizations. Its virtual file system (VM file SYSTEM/VFS) allows administrators to control the access rights of file systems. For example, a directory on the server has full access (read, write, delete, etc.) to the internal user, and the administrator can set only read access when the user accesses the directory via FTP. In addition, administrators can specify different permissions for different groups of users for secure FTP servers.

When it comes to user groups, Secure FTP uses an internal user authentication system by default, but you can also use the Connect to an ODBC user database or Active Directory service for user management, When centralizing user management in your network environment, you do not have to maintain an FTP user database separately.

A core feature of secure FTP is that it supports SSH2,SSH as the "Secure Shell" acronym, a system that encrypts communications with clients on the server side. The plaintext used by servers that do not use SSH to transmit information such as user names and passwords poses a security risk if they are intercepted on the network and your system is likely to be attacked. The SSH2 protocol generates key pairs for hosts and customers, and then encrypts data transmitted over the network using sophisticated methods.

GlobalSCAPE lets you easily generate and manage key pairs using graphical interface management tools, and this tool allows you to choose multiple encryption methods and access control logic, although secure FTP uses this feature as a core feature of the product to advertise Its SSH2 feature is an extended package for the product and is charged separately.

To some extent, the naming of products is a bit odd based on an extended function that requires additional charges. However, secure FTP also supports the ssl--of another secure connection technology. You can also use the graphical management interface to easily set the SSL authentication.

Beyond security, another enterprise with secure FTP values the feature that supports event-based rule definitions. With the automated system in the background, you can have the server perform the specified action when a particular event occurs. For example, you can create a rule that sends you an email after a specified file has been uploaded or downloaded, or you can create a time rule to enable encrypted transmissions at a specified time period.

If you do not consider the additional package you need to buy, Secure FTP price is more reasonable, for those who have special requirements for file transfer security, the product value for money.

Advantages: Easy-to-use management interface, support SSH, program event response function, reasonable price.

Disadvantage: The lack of a web-based remote management interface requires an additional charge for SSH functionality.

Editor's note: The evaluation version in this article is 2.0