There’s a good chance that, at some point in time while interacting on the Internet, you’ve transfered files to (upload) or from (download) a web server. Whether you realized it at the time or not, there is a pretty good chance that the web server was using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) behind the scenes. FTP is one of those protocols that has been around nearly as long as the Internet itself and is still used frequently today. Anyone who works on web servers, or works with a company that hosts files on web servers, needs a reliable way to transfer files to those servers — that’s where an FTP client comes into play. There are several FTP clients available, and many for free, but the undisputed champ of free FTP client applications is, without doubt, FileZilla.
Now, I feel I need to mention that FileZilla also makes a free FTP server application as well (which is awesome, but only available for Windows-based PCs), but this article is focused on the FTP client application. FileZilla is cross-platform — there are Windows, Apple / Mac, and Linux / Unix clients available, so whichever Operationg System you choose, there is likely a FileZilla client available for you. Now, let’s talk about what FileZilla can do. It’s not limited to only FTP, it also supports the more modern, secure protocols: SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) and FTPS (File Transfer Protocol over SSL).
FileZilla boasts an extensive feature set. Some of my favorite features are its tabbed UI, built-in directory comparison, and the site manager which let’s you save connection profiles for quickly connecting to different servers. Another great thing about this free FTP client is the fact that the interface is incredibly customizable, so if there’s something you don’t like, there’s a good chance you can change it. So, if you’re in need of a reliable, full-featured FTP client, download FileZilla below.
Check back on Fridays for more awesome free software recommendations from Netris.
Brian Dunham is a Cisco and Microsoft certified network and systems engineer with over a decade of experience in the Information Technology field. When he is not in front of a computer he can be found out in the wilderness canoing, hiking, fishing, or camping.
Contact: brian.dunham@netris.us