SFTP

What is SFTP?

SFTP stands for Secure File Transfer Protocol, or SSH File Transfer Protocol depending on who you ask. It is a method for securely transferring files between a local computer (the client) and a remote computer (the server). It is very similar in operation to the older FTP standard.

How is it different than FTP?

SFTP is very similar to FTP (short for File Transfer Protocol) in operation. However, SFTP encrypts all communication with the server, ensuring that your username, password, and data are kept safe at all times. The older FTP protocol did not do this encryption, so anyone with access to the client or the server's network could easily read the transferred information, including usernames and passwords.

In addition, SFTP and FTP are pretty different internally, which means that not all FTP client programs support SFTP yet.