By Erik Small -

Selecting a secure file transfer method can be a very critical component of your organization’s security policy — and even a requirement! Many different industries require compliance and regulations around how data is shared, transferred, uploaded, downloaded and stored from PCs to file servers.

This concise chart below provides a breakdown of the different secure file transfer methods available in most business-grade file transfer programs.
The WS_FTP Professional Security Guide provides more information around the different layers of security.

By Erik Small -

Ipswitch File Transfer launched a brand new file transfer product today – WS_FTP Server Ad Hoc Transfer Module.

This new module eliminates the need for email attachments which burden corporate email servers. IT managers can use WS_FTP Server Ad Hoc Transfer Module to enforce file sharing policies and have full visibility into the company’s file sharing activities.

Ipswitch’s website has been updated with all the details and features of the new module.

The simple benefits are summed up like this:

 1.Complete visibility into all file sharing activities
2.Proactively manage all file sharing interactions, both internal and external to the company, organization or domain
3.Enforce administrator defined policies and rules for sending files to other people
4.Remove the “file attachment” burden from the email server

By Erik Small -

Great post on how Jason Slater, technology blogger, used WS_FTP Professional to move  massive amounts of data to a new web server.

Mass Transferring Files With WS_FTP Professional

In the post, Jason writes: “I have used WS_FTP for quite some years and seen the product develop into the essential application it is today. Today, the file transfer utility supports Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, and Windows 7 and it has adopted the familiar Windows look and feel.”

By Erik Small -

SC Magazine just published an article with an interview with Frank Kenney, VP of Global Strategy.  He recently spoke in London at a press conference for InfoSecurity Europe, Europe’s leading information security event which took place on April 27-29, 2010.

A basic theme of the interview addresses the FTP market and the growing number of files sent back and forth in business environments.

From the article: “Referring to Gartner statistics, Kenney said that the market is growing in FTP, and two million MP3s are moved via email systems every four weeks.

He said: “From the iPhone and iGoogle portal pages to web mail and file-sharing websites to USB drives, corporate IT has to manage and control both sanctioned and ad-hoc applications, processes and systems.”

Read the full article: Problem with the professional consumer is leading to an information security headache

By Erik Small -

FileTransferPlanet.com has been a long-running resource for FTP Help and How-To-Guides. The community site also hosts a Forum area to ask questions, seek advice, or troubleshoot issues relating to FTP, file transfer, website updates, digital photography, software deals and more! Feel free to check out the Forums. Registration is free to post or reply to questions from others.

FileTransferPlanet Forums

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By Erik Small -

Microsoft has officially approved WS_FTP Professional 12.2 as a Windows 7 compatible FTP client. This includes compatibility for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 operating systems.

The Windows 7 Compatibility Center and the IpswitchFT “Knowledge Transfer” blog both include information regarding the announcement. 

By Erik Small -

Ipswitch is running a special promotion until the end of the year.

Use coupon code DECWSFTP15 during checkout to receive 15% off. The coupon expires on December 31, 2009 at midnight Eastern US time and applicable to new, online orders.

WS_FTP offers ftp clients for transfering files and ftp servers for receiving and storing data.

View all WS_FTP file transfer products on their website:

WS_FTP Software Store

By Erik Small -

A concise 2-minute overview of Ipswitch’s client + server secure file transfer relationship. This video describes old FTP processes, and how the environment has changed with encrypted transfers and stronger client to server security.

By Erik Small -

Micah, Ipswitch File Transfer’s Technical Support Specialist, demonstrates how to create an SSL certificate in WS_FTP Professional. 

By Erik Small -

Ipswitch announced a promotion for new WS_FTP purchases, which could make you eligible for up to $250 in Amazon gift cards.

The details are on this special promotion page:
Warm Up Your Holiday Shopping with WS_FTP & Amazon

A qualifying purchase includes WS_FTP Home & WS_FTP Professional 2-pack license with Service Agreement. Also applies to 5-pack licenses or more! A great way to add licenses for additional computers in your office or to provide FTP software for contractors/freelancers working with your organization!

By Erik Small -

This week, Ipswitch File Transfer released a new version of the popular WS_FTP program – version 12.2.

The new version is Windows 7 compatible in both 32-bit and 64-bit modes. Other enhancements include:

• Improved Interface: Several usability improvements have been made to the user interface, including new toolbar icons; customizable display options that apply evenly to all visible controls; and availability of the licensing application in the German language.
• Enhanced SSL Performance: SSL sessions can now be reused, resulting in improved interoperability and resource efficiency.
• Ensured Security: Now digitally signed by Ipswitch, enabling users and organizations to ensure the validity, integrity, and safety of their desktop applications.

Here the Press release that hit the wires today:

Ipswitch’s WS_FTP Professional And WS_FTP Home Support Microsoft Windows 7

By Erik Small -

At File Transfer Planet, we often see the same type of questions monthly. One common issue is error codes. It’s typically starts with “Hey – I’m getting an annoying error code while using my FTP client. How do I get around it?”

Below is the full list of common FTP Error Codes. If you want to dig deeper, we suggest searching the Ipswitch Support Knowledge Base or post your issue to the File Transer Planet Forums.

FTP Return Codes in Numeric Order:

110 Restart marker reply. In this case, the text is exact and not left to the particular implementation; it must read: MARK yyyy = mmmm where yyyy is User-process data stream marker, and mmmm server’s equivalent marker (note the spaces between markers and “=”).
120 Service ready in nnn minutes.
125 Data connection already open; transfer starting.
150 File status okay; about to open data connection.
200 Command okay.
202 Command not implemented, superfluous at this site.
211 System status, or system help reply.
212 Directory status.
213 File status.
214 Help message.On how to use the server or the meaning of a particular non-standard command. This reply is useful only to the human user.
215 NAME system type.Where NAME is an official system name from the list in the Assigned Numbers document.
220 Service ready for new user.
221 Service closing control connection.
225 Data connection open; no transfer in progress.
226 Closing data connection. Requested file action successful (for example, file transfer or file abort).
227 Entering Passive Mode (h1,h2,h3,h4,p1,p2).
230 User logged in, proceed. Logged out if appropriate.
250 Requested file action okay, completed.
257 “PATHNAME” created.
331 User name okay, need password.
332 Need account for login.
350 Requested file action pending further information
421 Service not available, closing control connection. This may be a reply to any command if the service knows it must shut down.
425 Can’t open data connection.
426 Connection closed; transfer aborted. Please see: WS_FTP – Error: 426 Connection closed; transfer aborted
450 Requested file action not taken.
451 Requested action aborted. Local error in processing.
452 Requested action not taken. Insufficient storage space in system.File unavailable (e.g., file busy) etc.
500 Syntax error, command unrecognized. This may include errors such as command line too long.
501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments.
502 Command not implemented.
503 Bad sequence of commands.
504 Command not implemented for that parameter.
530 Not logged in.
532 Need account for storing files.
550 Requested action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file not found, no access). (550 a:\: no such directory means no diskette in a: drive.)
551 Requested action aborted. Page type unknown.
552 Requested file action aborted. Exceeded storage allocation (for current directory or dataset).
553 Requested action not taken. File name not allowed.

By Erik Small -

Question/Problem:
What is a Hot Drop Folder and how do you create one?

Answer/Solution:
A Hot Drop folder is a shortcut to a remote folder. Once created, you can drop files/folders onto the Hot Drop folder and they will automatically be transferred to remote site.

To set up a HotDrop:

-Connect to a remote site, using a Site profile.
-Navigate to the directory you want to use as your HotDrop destination.
-Right-mouse click in the remote pane and select Create HotDrop. The Create HotDrop dialog appears.
-Verify or enter the location of the destination in the Destination Folder box.
-Enter the local folder WS_FTP Pro opens if you double click the HotDrop shortcut.
-Click OK.
-Select where you want to save the HotDrop file, and what you want to call it.
-Click Save.

By Erik Small -

Question/Problem: Ever since I upgraded to WS-FTP Professional version 12, it becomes non-responsive for 10-45 seconds. Sometimes it will freeze when I initiate a transfer, but mostly by just clicking on the window. When WS-FTP freezes, I have noticed the CPU percentage for wsftpgui.exe will go to 97-99%, even when the program shouldn’t be doing anything. I run two other versions of this software on other machines. In all the years I have been using this WS_FTP Professional, this has never occurred. Now the program freezes several times a day, everyday. How can I fix this problem?

Answer/Solution: Make sure you are running WS_FTP Professional version 12.0.1, if you are not then go to http://www.myipswitch.com and download v12 again. Run this over the top of your existing installation to create a patch that will solve this issue.

=================================

Question/Problem: How can I move my sites to a new machine or make a backup of my site configurations? I upgraded my copy of WS_FTP Professional and now I cannot see my sites.

Answer/Solution: The answer varies depending on which version of WS_FTP Professional you are using, and which Operating System you are running.

Please do a search on your computer for “original.ini” and “ws_ftp.ini”. When you find these files, please open them and verify that your site information is listed. If so, you will want to copy the files and paste them in the following directory (check OS).

In WS_FTP Professional version 12, there is an option, Import Sites, in the Tools menu. Use the table below to determine where your site profiles are kept. Then, use the Site Import Wizard to import your sites. Tools | Import Sites.

On Windows2000 and on Windows XP:
c:documents and settingsuser-nameapplication dataIpswitchWs_ftpSites

If you are still not able to see your sites when you open WS_FTP, go back into the ws_ftp.ini file and be sure that there is no path after filename. 

By c-emmons -

The “client-server relationship” is a very common term when it comes to file transfer.. but what exactly is a “client” and what is a “server”?  The networking of a “client-server relationship” involves a distributed application architecture that divides tasks between service providers known as servers and a service requester, or a client.  Clients and servers generally operate over computer networks, such as office LANs or even the Internet.

The server is the more dominant machine in the relationship, being a high-performance host that runs one (or more than one) server applications.  The server applications are what the client “talks to”.  Applicaitons on the client system initiate communication sessions with servers.

Simply put, “client-server” describes the relationship between two computer programs where the client makes request to the server.  This relationship is seen in such tasks as sending emails and accessing the web. Many business applications currently use the client-server model as well as the main Internet application protocols (HTTP, SMTP, telnet etc.)

The simplest type of client-server uses only two systems, a client and a server.  This may also be referred to as “two-tier” and it allows for the sharing of files. Some examples of clients in this relationship would be web browsers, email clients,and online chat clients.  Servers would include web servers, ftp servers, application servers, mail servers, file servers, and most web services.

Client-server architecture enables the responsibilities of a system to be distributed amongst several individual computers. These individual computers  are accessed only through a network so it is easier to maintain and repair or even relocate a server without affecting the clients.  Another benefit exists in that data is stored on servers which generally have greater security than clients. Servers can also control user access and resources.  Client-server technologies are abundant in the world today,  designed to ensure safety and security. One example  of an innovater in this field is Ipswitch – a software company which has been offering FTP software since 1991.  As the field of file transfer continues to grow, so will the need for safe servers and happy clients who together form a healthy, networked relationship.