WinSock File Transfer Protocol, or WS_FTP, is a secure
file transfer
File transfer is the transmission of a computer file through a communication channel from one computer system to another. Typically, file transfer is mediated by a communications protocol. In the history of computing, numerous file transfer protoc ...
software package produced by
Ipswitch, Inc.[ Ipswitch is a ]Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
-based software producer established in 1991 that focuses on networking and file sharing.[ WS_FTP consists of an FTP server and an FTP client and has over 40 million users worldwide.][
In 2019, Ipswitch Inc was acquired by Progress Software Corporation, who is the current owner of the product.
]
History
John A. Junod, a decorated Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
master sergeant, developed WS_FTP in 1993.[ WS_FTP was originally released as ]Shareware
Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer. ...
.[ The rights were sold to Ipswitch in 1996, when Junod retired from the Army and joined Ipswitch.][
]
Overview
File Transfer Protocol
The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and d ...
s are used to transfer large files. FTP clients add stability and encryption
In Cryptography law, cryptography, encryption (more specifically, Code, encoding) is the process of transforming information in a way that, ideally, only authorized parties can decode. This process converts the original representation of the inf ...
options over traditional FTP transfers.[ The WS_FTP client has a "classic" GUI with two panes, one showing the local computer and the other accessing the remote host, though newer versions of the software have updated interfaces, including a ]web browser
A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...
interface.[ The WS_FTP secure server encrypts files using SSL/]FTPS
FTPS (also known as FTP-SSL and FTP Secure) is an extension to the commonly used File Transfer Protocol (FTP) that adds support for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and, formerly, the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL, which is now prohibited by RFC756 ...
, SSH, or SCP2 and HTTPS
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It uses encryption for secure communication over a computer network, and is widely used on the Internet. In HTTPS, the communication protoc ...
transfers.[ It is self-contained, eliminating the need for an external database.][ WS_FTP's additional built-in capabilities include ]email client
An email client, email reader or, more formally, message user agent (MUA) or mail user agent is a computer program used to access and manage a user's email.
A web application which provides message management, composition, and reception functio ...
integration, alerts and notifications, server failover, and transfer scheduling.[
]
See also
* Comparison of FTP client software
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite web, url=http://www.serverwatch.com/server-reviews/article.php/3891961/Getting-Started-With-Ipswitchs-FTP-Server--WSFTP-Server-75.htm, title=Getting Started With IPswitch's FTP Server -- WS_FTP Server 7.5, author=Joseph Moran, date=July 8, 2010, publisher=ServerWatch, access-date=July 24, 2016]
[{{cite web, url=http://www.itjungle.com/fhs/fhs092413-story03.html, title=Ipswitch Adds iOS and Android Clients to MFT Suite, date=September 24, 2013, author=Alex Woodie, publisher=IT Jungle, access-date=July 24, 2016]
[{{Cite web, url=http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/article.php/3902936/Software-for-Web-Developers-Top-Five.htm, title=Software for Web Developers: Top Five, author=Scott Clark, date=September 10, 2010, publisher=HTML Goodies, access-date=July 24, 2016]
[{{cite web, url=http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/article.php/3902936/Software-for-Web-Developers-Top-Five.htm, title=Ipswitch Offers Products for Diverse Businesses, author=Mark A. Miller, date=September 11, 2009, publisher=Enterprise Networking, access-date=July 24, 2016]
[{{cite web, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FAEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22WS_FTP%22+AND+John+Junod&pg=PA58-IA3, title=WS_FTP makes downloads painless, author=Mike Avery, publisher=InfoWorld, date=March 30, 1998, access-date=July 24, 2016]
[{{cite web, url=http://old.chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1998/08/04/tec_235107.shtml, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820113010/http://old.chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1998/08/04/tec_235107.shtml, archive-date=2016-08-20, title=Area man's software wins honor, author=Brandon Haddock, date=August 4, 1998, publisher=Augusta Chronicle, access-date=July 24, 2016]
[{{cite web, url=http://www.va.gov/trm/ToolPage.asp?tid=5785, title=WinSock File Transfer Protocol (WS_FTP), publisher=United States Department of Veterans Affairs, access-date=July 24, 2016]
External links
Progress websiteIpswitch blog
WS_FTP Professional
WS_FTP Server
FTP clients
Windows-only shareware
Articles with underscores in the title