Differences Between SFTP, FTP, FTPS and FTPES
FTP, SFTP, FTPS, and FTPES are the protocols used to transfer files over a network. While they are somewhat similar, they still have differences. Let's look at the common ones:
FTPS (FTP Secure or FTP-SSL). FTPS is an extension of the standard File Transfer Protocol. It is known to be more secure than the simple FTP protocol as FTPS adds the creation of encrypted sessions using the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol and TLS (Transport Layer Security) to the basic functionality of the FTP protocol. Actually, FTPS ensures a secure connection by encrypting both control and data channels.
FTPES (FTP Secure Explicit). FTPES is another form of FTPS. It uses the standard port 21 to create a secure TLS/SSL connection. Essentially, the user connects to the FTP server and explicitly requests the server to initiate a secure session.
SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol). SFTP is a network protocol that provides strong authentication and secure file transfers between client and server. It operates on port 22 and uses Secure Shell (SSH) encryption to protect the data being transferred.
SFTP, FTPS, FTPES and FTP are used for file transfers. They perform the same basic function but provide a different level of security. The main difference between these protocols is that SFTP, FTPS and FTPES add a layer of security and encryption while FTP doesn’t. The encryption protocols that SFTP and FTPS/FTPES are based on also differ: SFTP transfers files using SSH, while FTPS/FTPES uses SSL/TLS.
Commander One let you connect to remote servers via various protocols. It offers full support for all popular protocols, including FTP and FTPS and of course works as an SFTP client Mac.