Is there any secure method to establish an ftp connection except for SFTP or FTPS (explicit/implicit encryption)? The remote server does not support either. I tried VPN (TunnelBear) but got stuck at listing up the remote directory. Is there any way to hide the username and password that are sent over network?
-
4No. If your remote endpoint does not support encryption, you cannot use encryption. Simple as that. Even if you use a VPN, the connection between the VPN server and the FTP server would be unencrypted (and raises more questions about who owns the VPN server and can therefore see the traffic there).– BobOct 31, 2017 at 11:57
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
If the server doesn't support FTPS or SFTP it's probably unlikely it supports SSH either... but in the case it does, you can use an SSH tunnel. The tunnel will be invisible to the FTP server and the connection will be secure. The principle is that you create the FTP connection against a port on localhost, and your SSH client picks it up and forwards it to the server. The actual setup will be different depending on the SSH client, so I won't cover them all here – make a web search on "ssh tunnel ftp (your ssh client)" and I'm sure you'll find some helpful guides.
-
Just noticed that the question is tagged "Windows" – here's a guide for the most common (I believe) tools there, WinSCP and PuTTY: winscp.net/eng/docs/guide_tunnel#ftp_putty Dec 17, 2017 at 1:16
-
Instead of leaving a comment which likely will be deleted or keeping your answer in a state which doesn’t apply to the question you should edit your answer so it’s applicable to the question– RamhoundDec 17, 2017 at 1:43
-
@Ramhound The answer is in a state that applies to the question. I have no idea if OP uses WinSCP or PuTTY. I'm not comfortable making a software recommendation either based solely on a random guide I haven't tested myself. Dec 19, 2017 at 12:33