Comments on: FTP client recommendations

Question: FTP client recommendations

billybunny — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 18:40:05 -0800

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a FTP program?

D'oh. I should have mentioned "Windows" somewhere in that question.

By: Danelope

Danelope — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 18:45:15 -0800

If you're considering retail software, I always liked GlobalSCAPE's CuteFTP.

If not, SmartFTP is an excellent substitute.

By: Danelope

Danelope — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 18:48:04 -0800

(And if the servers you're using are capable of the more secure SFTP or SCP protocols, I'd recommend WinSCP.)

By: jazon

jazon — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 18:51:27 -0800

It's not what you asked, but for Mac I highly reccomend Panic's Transmit.

By: nthdegx

nthdegx — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 18:57:32 -0800

WS_FTP LE is free, reliable, simple to use, and non-system intensive.

By: o2b

o2b — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 19:16:05 -0800

For PCs I second the WS_FTP suggestion.

For Macs I second the Transmit suggestion.

By: tranquileye

tranquileye — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 19:32:05 -0800

I like FTP Voyager quite a bit.

By: turbodog

turbodog — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 19:46:48 -0800

I recommend FileZilla, open source, freeware goodness.

I haven't used ws_ftp in a while, but I remember it having one of the most user hostile interfaces I'd ever seen.

By: rushmc

rushmc — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 19:49:03 -0800

I checked out about every one available about a year ago and liked FTP Voyager the best, well enough to register it. I second turbodog's assessment of ws_ftp, and would also note that I stopped using CuteFTP a long time ago when they started incorporating spyware (don't know whether they still do this, but once is enough for me).

By: ajr

ajr — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 19:50:39 -0800

I second the suggestion for FileZilla.

By: Keyser Soze

Keyser Soze — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 20:39:34 -0800

Another vote for WS_FTP. Solid, quick to grasp the use of.

By: SpecialK

SpecialK — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 20:41:35 -0800

What about windows explorer? Everyone seems to forget that in most versions of Windows you can open up "My Computer" and enter "ftp://user:password@domain.com" and you'll be logged in just dandy. No extra software to install, and you've got drag and drop (and even preview) functionality just like you'd have if you were working on your local drives.

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:10:46 -0800

True, SpecialK...but are there any issues with binary/ascii transfer, or the ability to CHMOD files/directories with Windows Explorer? I don't know -- just popped into my head.

FWIW -- I'll echo the WS_FTP vote.

By: weston

weston — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:17:11 -0800

or the ability to CHMOD files/directories with Windows Explorer?

You right click on a file, choose "properties", and there the permissions are.

just like you'd have if you were working on your local drives.

Not quite. If Microsoft were to make it so that you could actually just read/write files to the remote-mounted-via-ftp filesystem, I would almost forgive them for the number of things they've left broken in IE 6. But it's a pretty good implementation as it is -- I've given up on FTP.

What about windows explorer? Everyone seems to forget that in most versions of Windows you can open up "My Computer" and enter "ftp://user:password@domain.com"

Might be easier to choose "My Network Places" and use the "Add Network Place" pad-looking thingy. It gives you a wizard interface and stores it for quick access later.

By: SpecialK

SpecialK — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 22:07:09 -0800

*shrug* All I know is that I stopped using command-line FTP programs after I realized that I could ftp within Explorer. I've never had a problem, and I up/down load everything you'd need with a normal website on a daily basis.

Weston - true, but I like the shorthand. ;)

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 22:11:39 -0800

WinSCP, here.

By: majick

majick — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 22:19:34 -0800

Nothing takes the place of good old ncftp as far as I'm concerned.

By: vorfeed

vorfeed — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 00:24:20 -0800

Another vote for ncftp. Clean, classic, and convenient.

By: majcher

majcher — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 01:15:08 -0800

SecureFX. Not free, but very much worth it.

People still use straight FTP? *shudder*

By: twine42

twine42 — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 01:20:13 -0800

Another vote for the free and open filezilla wonderfulness. Even after I've knocked off points for blatently using the cliched 'zilla' suffix.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 01:38:25 -0800

Another vote for smartFTP, but if you're mainly editing text files, &c, then look at ftpedit.

By: swordfishtrombones

swordfishtrombones — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 03:08:36 -0800

What about SSH secure shell ? Both a terminal emulator and a (s)ftp explorer. There's a free license for non-commercial use. Unless you want to stick to unencrypted FTP of course...

By: anastasiav

anastasiav — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 04:33:28 -0800

I've used CuteFTP, and it 'works good' but I'm currently using CoffeeCup Free FTP and I like it just fine. Especially for freeware.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 04:50:04 -0800

SmartFTP is my FTP of choice as well. WinSCP for SSH'ing. And when I absolutely, positively have to suck up all the available bandwidth in the building because I have a huge site to upload, LeechFTP's threading ability does the job. I used to use it as my default, but the error reporting wasn't very good.

By: BigCalm

BigCalm — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 05:24:32 -0800

What Weston said above - I never realised you could do it in explorer before. Many thanks!

By: dg

dg — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 06:06:16 -0800

I have always used CuteFTP and found it excellent. I tried SmartFTP and it is a good substitute for occasional use, but I find it a bit clunky to use.

I did not know that you could use Windows Explorer for FTP (although I should have). That is a great boon, particularly for those times when you are using someone else's computer. I have a concern though - there does not seem to be a way to log out - doesn't that leave a security hole on the server? At least until the timeout breaks the connection, anyway.

By: Danelope

Danelope — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 07:30:38 -0800

While possible, the problem with using Internet Explorer (and, by extension, Windows Explorer) is that Microsoft is dropping support for the protocol due to phishing-related security issues. I suspect that, one of these days, running a Windows Update will disable the aforementioned functionality.

By: patrickje

patrickje — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 10:25:49 -0800

Another vote for FTP Voyager. It's rock solid, I think it cost me $50 USD to register it, but I've been able to download the newest version twice now. Very very handy and stable.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 12:49:37 -0800

only because it hasn't been mentioned before, bulletproof ftp is a good one, too.

I've always been a fan of cuteftp, but I've determined that their newest version is a complete dog.