IMPORTANT: If you are on a shared account, you MUST use your cPanel user/password in order to use SFTP otherwise you will have to use plain FTP. įor this example we will configure a secure FileZilla site profile. Here is a tutorial that will step you through the process. NOTE: If you have a HG VPS or dedicated server account, you can further enhance security by using SSH Keys and disabling username and password authentication for your SSH connections. For example: secure FTP (SSH enabled) on a Hostgator shared account is free but on LunarPages it costs $2/mth IF you’re on a server that supports SSH. Check with your web host for availability, ports and possible cost. The following examples explain how to configure FileZilla and WinSCP as secure FTP clients connecting to a shared account on Hostgator. The good news is that it’s easy to prevent this or at least make it more difficult by using secure FTP.

With wifi and hotspot access becoming ubiqutous, it’s now fairly trivial for hackers to grab your data stream which could contain potentially sensitive information such as your username and password. The intercepted packets of data are clearly readable.

Before the widespread deployment of wifi, intercepting these data packets required a determined hacker with the means to intercept this traffic between point A (e.g. Basic FTP however is not secure and all transmissions are in clear text. Secure FTP (SFTP) for fast easy file transfer is hard to beat.

Database filezilla vs winscp