How To Use Filezilla to Transfer

and Manage Files Securely on

your VPS
TAGGED I! MIS"E##AE$US% GETTIG STA&TED ' DIFFI"U#T(! )EGIE&
Introduction
Are you a recent cloud hosting convert and find yourself
struggling to figure out how to best manage the files on your
first virtual private server (VPS)? Do you find yourself
intimidated by the command line? If so you will be happy to
learn that !ile"illa provides a user#friendly graphical
interface that can securely transfer files to#and#from as well
as move files around within your VPS$
Secure Communication
%he two most common methods of securely transmitting
information between two computers are the (i) Secure Shell
(SS&) and (ii) %ransport 'ayer Security (%'S) and its
predecessor Secure Soc(ets 'ayer (SS') cryptographic
protocols$ )oth are public#(ey cryptography tunneling
protocols that aim to create a secure confidential e*change
of data and connection across a networ( (particularly the
internet)$ %he encryption technologies used by both protocols
are very reliable and are (when configured correctly) nearly
impossible for hac(ers to brea( into$ &owever while both
protocols provide similar services they are not the same$ In
fact they have several significant differences that are beyond
the scope of this article$
%oday +penSS& is a default software pac(age found on
,ni*#li(e operating systems such as -ac +S . and 'inu*$
%hus programs or subsystems that are based on the SS&
protocol will wor( /out#of#the#bo*/ without having to go
through the additional steps of either purchasing or creating
the re0uisite SS' certificate needed for certain modes of
secure data transmissions via %'S1SS'$
FTP vs. SCP vs. SFTP vs. FTPS
2hen needing to upload or download files from your VPS in
real time you essentially have the following options3
4 !ile %ransfer Protocol (!%P)5
6 Secure 7opy Program (S7P)5
8 SS& !ile %ransfer Protocol (S!%P)5 or
9 !%P over %'S1SS' (!%PS)$
5 FTP *not secure
: Among the various file#transfer options one should
never ever e*er connect to a remote server via !%P5
S7P and S!%P are ;ust as easy to use but provide much
more security$ In addition while !%P re0uires the
installation of !%P server software such
as vs!%P orPro!%P both S7P and S!%P utili<e the SS&
protocol and as a result will wor( /out#of#the#bo*/
when connecting to a remote ,ni*#li(e machine such as
-ac +S . or 'inu*$
7 SCP vs. SFTP
= >iven that both S7P and S!%P utili<e the SS& protocol
in connecting to another computer the two methods are
fairly e0ual in regard to security$ S!%P has a slight edge
in regard to efficiency because an interrupted file#
transfer can resume where it left off in the event of a
bro(en connection that is later re#established$
9 SFTP vs. FTPS
4? S!%P should not be confused with !%PS because the
two methods are incompatible with each other$ 2hile
!%PS can provide e0ual security it does re0uire
additional steps to deploy if one does not already have
an SS' certificate$
11 SFTP Clients
46 %here are several 0uality S!%P clients out
there3 7yberduc( !ile<illa or 2inS7P to name a few$
%his article however will focus on !ile<illa @ an open#
source (i$e$ free) !%P client for 2indows -ac +S .
and 'inu*$ In addition to being able to download the
program thefile<illa#pro;ect$org site also contains a
documentation 2i(i and a Support !orum$
13 Key-ased !ut"entication
49 2ith S!%P you have two user#authentication options
when connecting to a cloud server3 (i) passwords or (ii)
SS& (eys$ !or a discussion on the benefits of SS& (eys
over passwords and1or instructions on setting up
password#less logins on your server please refer to &ow
%o 7reate SS& Aeys with Pu%%B to 7onnect to a VPS$
15 SFTP via SS#$ Key-ased !ut"entication
4: !ile"illa has a built#in (ey management page in the
Settings dialog which allows you to save your Public
(SS&) Aey and to (securely) automate the process of
connecting to a remote server$
17 Pre%uisite
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