File Transfer Protocol With SSL Security

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What Does File Transfer Protocol With SSL Security Mean?

File Transfer Protocol with SSL Security (FTPS) is an extension to the FTP protocol that adds Secure Socket Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS)-based mechanisms/capabilities on a standard FTP connection.

It mainly enables performing or delivering standard FTP communication on top of an SSL-based security connection.

FTPS is also known as FTP Secure.

Techopedia Explains File Transfer Protocol With SSL Security

FTPS is mainly used to provide secure server-to-server communication; however, it can also be used to access a server from desktop or end-user devices.

FTPS uses a combination of symmetric (Data Encryption Standard (DES)/Advance Encryption Standard (AES)) and asymmetric (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)/Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA)) algorithms to deliver security and uses X.509 certificates for authentication.

FTPS is delivered in two different forms:

  • Explicit FTPS — Selected parts or components for communication are encrypted.
  • Implicit FTPS — All communications are encrypted.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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