Overview
Beginning Monday, November 15, 2021, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) will be the only allowed method for file transfer capabilities between campus networked hosts. The campus SFTP server is sftp://sftp.csulb.edu.
Standard FTP connections will no longer be supported, and as a result, the campus host server ftp.csulb.edu will be retired. Although SFTP clients are functionally similar to FTP clients, they employ different protocols, therefore you cannot use a standard FTP client to connect to an SFTP server.
What is SFTP?
Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) are tools for secure, encrypted communication across networks. SSH is typically used to run commands on remote systems while SFTP allows for the secure transfer of files. SFTP provides remote file system management functionality, allowing applications to resume interrupted file transfers, list the contents of remote directories, and delete remote files.
The command-line secure file transfer program (sftp) and graphical SFTP clients, such as WinSCP, use SSH2 encryption to authenticate and establish secure channels between networked hosts.
Why Use Secure Login and File Transfer?
SSH and SFTP allow for encrypted communications across the network, meaning that malicious users listening to your traffic would not be able to interpret the information they see. They are alternatives to their unsecured counterparts like telnet and regular FTP. If you do any type of remote command line administration or transferring of files, SSH and SFTP are recommended to provide confidentiality and integrity of data.
How To Get SSH and SFTP Software
Windows
WinSCP is a free, open-source SFTP client for Windows. Download WinSCP
Putty is a free, fully-featured SSH client for Windows. Download Putty
Mac OS X, Linux, and Unix
SSH and SFTP command line clients are built in to most Unix and Linux systems, including Mac OS X. To use the applications, open a terminal and run the ssh or sftp commands. To view program flags and usage, check the main pages for your specific version. There are also other third-party clients for Unix and Linux platforms.