[vcf-midatlantic] ssh, sftp, etc

[Dave McGuire]

On 4/25/19 9:09 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> I was informed off-list: "SFTP is already installed on linux.You had to
> install FTP because no one uses it anymore as it has been deprecated. SFTP
> works just like FTP, and there are plenty of graphical clients for all
> platforms. It is, well, just secure (that's what the S in SFTP stands for)."
> 
> I didn't know that.
> 
> I will try it on my next trip down there this Saturday.

  Evan, it might help to understand that ssh and FTP are protocols, not
programs.  Many programs implement those protocols, and there are sure
to be more as time goes by.  Interestingly and confusingly, the common
program called sftp uses ssh (the protocol, via the ssh program) as its
underlying transport mechanism.

  If you're running under Linux, and I'm pretty sure OS X can do this
too, you can directly mount an ssh/sftp directory in the file browser,
and drag-n-drop until your eyes glaze over.  That actually works pretty
well and might better suit the things you want to do.

  And FTP is no more "deprecated" than any other protocol, some random
Linux distribution's assertions notwithstanding.  Don't use it in
cleartext on any unsecured network, but then that's good advice
regardless of the protocol.  As soon as I see an RFC that states that
FTP is deprecated, then I'll agree that it's deprecated.  Meanwhile, it
continues to be used, for various perfectly valid reasons, all over the
world.

  I'd not recommend its use for your application, though, except locally.

              -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA