FTP Servers and Security - Three methods that Secure FTP Servers use
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) has been the basis for file transfer since the dawn of the internet. The truly remarkable feature about FTP was that it was operating system independent. Files could be smoothly transferred between Unix, Windows and any other operating system. The other cool feature about FTP was that a simple validation mechanism consisting of a username and a password could be used to limit access to files. However, the actual data itself was transferred unencrypted and it was easy to intercept and listen in on an FTP connection. The internet itself had very minimal security built into it. Consisting of many smaller independent networks that stretched across the globe, the path that a data packet took to get from point A to point B was unpredictable. With the popularity of the internet, it became essential to be able to transmit many types of critical data with some amount of security. Netscape Communications solved the security problem on the internet by developing the Secure Sockets Layer Protocol (SSL) which used public key cryptography to encrypt data transmitted over the internet. This is still the widely accepted security mechanism and is implemented by all web browsers. FTPS Secure File Transfer Modifications to the FTP protocol were proposed to incorporate the use of SSL for encrypting file transfers over the internet. The modified mechanism is referred to as FTPS. In order to maintain backwards compatibility with the original file transfer protocol, an FTPS connection could either be explicit, where the connection between the client connection and the server starts out as regular FTP and then negotiates a secure connection, or implicit where the connection starts out being encrypted. HTTPS Secure File Transfer Since a web browser is already capable of public key cryptography, simple downloads and uploads can be performed directly through a web browser using the HTTPS protocol. This means that special FTP Client software is not required. SFTP Secure File Transfer The Secure Shell protocol also known as SSH was developed by Tatu Ylonen to enable secure access to remote shells using public key cryptography and replace Telnet and other non secure shells. This protocol has since evolved to also support a file transfer mechanism known as SFTP. The main advantage of this mechanism is that it did not require the opening of an additional data channel connection for transferring files. All of these three methods of secure file transfer are based on public key cryptography and all of them are equally capable of securing the transfer of critical files across the internet. The only drawback of these methods is that there is a data overhead associated with encrypting files. There is also a performance overhead associated with encrypting the files at the source and decrypting them at the destination. Because of this, system administrators sometimes use regular FTP for file transfers within a secured internal network. However, for transferring files over the internet, this is a small price to pay in exchange for the guarantee that sensitive files reach their destination without being intercepted or tampered with.Okay, you now know about the three types of secure ftp servers. If you are looking for a secure FTP server to run on your windows system that can support all three secure file transfer mechanisms, be sure to visit <a href ="http://www.sysax.com/">http://www.sysax.com/</a> and download <a href ="http://www.sysax.com/download.htm?c=48#sysaxserv">Sysax FTP Server</a>
Source: www.ArticlePros.com

A Simple Way to Make Your PC Fast
Slow computers are one of the biggest problems facing computer users today Not only does a slow computer make you extremely frustrated, but it also prevents you from enjoying your computer and even doing work on it It’s a terrible problem which affects millions of machines world wide, but luckily, there’s a solution . .You see, almost every slow computer in the world has a simple problem that’s causing the decline in speed - the registry The registry is the core database for Windows, and is actually one of the most important parts of your system It acts like a memory for all your options and settings on your computer, allowing Windows to store everything from your latest emails to your desktop wallpaper in there and then retrieve it at another time . .Because the files inside this database are needed so much by Windows, it’s constantly updating and using them Each time you use your PC, you can end up having 100’s of registry files all being processed without you even knowing This is okay, but the reason why it’s responsible for slowing your computer down is simple - because Windows is using these files so much, it often gets confused and actually corrupts the same files that it needs . .When your computer corrupts registry files, it actually makes them harder to read, which in turn makes your computer run slower as it tries to access them The truth is that one or two of these bad files are okay - they only slow your PC down a little bit - but the real problems start when your PC gets 1,000’s of these files all slowing it down When this happens, your PC just gets slower and slower as it collects more corrupt files every day . .Luckily, to fix this and to make your PC fast, you simply need to fix these corrupt registry files However, because the registry is such a big database, you need to rely on a special tool to do it for you These tools are called registry cleaners and are pieces of software which actually scan through the entire registry and check every file If it then finds a corrupt file, which needs fixing, it will then fix that file or replace it .
Source: www.rsstnx.com