Core FTP LE

Core FTP offers a LE version which is free for personal and educational use. It allows FTP with TLS encryption as well as SSH connections which means that it will encrypt your password when sending it accross the Internet. This program seems quite easy to set up and use which is why we recommend it's use for transferring files.

Encrypted FTP

When setting up the program to use the traditional FTP protocol on port 21 you must make sure you select "AUTH TLS" for the connection setting (as seen below). Currently there are issues with the server support of both the "SSL Listings" and "SSL Transfer" settings so please make sure that they are disabled. There are also two options for the SSL certificate verification and you should choose Windows SSL so that the program will look in the Microsoft certificate database (shared with IE) to verify the certificate of the server you are connecting to. If you receive a warning about the certificate and you have the Windows SSL setting selected please do not connect and get in contact with the Systems Administrator.

Jan 2010: Currently there seems to be a bug in the FTP daemon which causes SSL Listings to hang. If you deselect SSL Listings it should work properly again. You can also deselect SSL tranfers which will speed up the download rate (as there is no encryption overhead).

On of the advantages of using using the FTP protocol insead of SSH/SFTP is that the program can be set up to convert line feeds for you when moving in between Windows and Linux systems. This is especially important if you are uploading files for the web server or files to be compiled on Sandcastle itself (a Linux server). Please note .java files are not configured as TEXT/ASCII files by default but you can add them by clicking the Options toolbar button -> navigate to the Extensions page and click on the "Ascii Extensions" button and add .java to the list.

SSH/SFTP

More recent versions of the program also allow you to connect through SSH/SFTP which will tunnel your FTP transfers through an SSH connection. This protocol currently supports less features but may be easier to initially set up as well as more friendly in situations where firewalls may be preventing passive FTP transfers.

The homepage for CoreFTP is http://www.coreftp.com