There Is a Fast, Secure Alternative
How to send large files fast without FTP
So, we’re guessing you’re here because you no longer want to use FTP, or File Transfer Protocol. We don’t blame you. It was created in the 1980’s to facilitate file transfers between internal networks. It was not designed to be a secure protocol or to transfer files over public networks. It’s past time for an upgrade.
Why? Well, unless you take special precautions, FTP connections aren’t encrypted. Data is transferred in clear text, and it’s vulnerable to interception: packet capture, FTP bounce attacks, spoofing attacks, username enumeration, brute force attacks – good grief there’s a lot to worry about. During routine file sharing you could easily be exposed to serious security risks and the significant costs that go along with a data breach: lost reputation, lost trust, lost clients, stolen intellectual property, the list goes on.
There are so many massive data breaches these days, more people are concerned about data security, and they should be. But it’s tricky because the average person doesn’t have the advanced technical knowledge required to manage FTP. It’s a 40-year-old legacy technology, and it really can’t handle modern day data and large file sharing needs sufficiently.
Not to beat old tech when it’s down, but FTP is often synonymous with:
- Slow data transfers
- Complicated setups
- Unreliability
- Limited analytics and reporting capability
- Significant administrative overhead
Honestly? Transferring large files with FTP isn’t even that easy. There’s no simple way to verify that a recipient received sent files. It requires server administration, which costs in terms of IT support and hardware. FTP is mostly used to transfer files to web servers, and many businesses use it to transfer files between clients and offices. But there’s a secure alternative – and it’s not in the cloud.
The cloud doesn't always offer a secure, private large file sharing solution
Cloud-based file transfer is essentially an enhanced FTP with incremental improvement. It simplifies FTP server management by offloading server hardware and software management from client to server. However, the switch from FTP to MFT, or managed file transfers, introduces several new issues:
- There is a substantial cost increase, which is more expensive long term.
- Organizations need to be HIPAA compliant for certain kinds of data.
- Companies will not have control over their data.
- File transfers are only as secure as the cloud vendor’s security controls. At rest and in transit encryption methods are often unclear.
- The cloud, and by association MFTs, are often a prime target for hackers. There are high profile public breaches almost every week. Even more scary? Most go undetected.
Binfer has built an FTP alternative that knocks out each of these issues to give users a fast, secure option to send and receive large files of any type, size or quantity. Basically, we created a way to make large file sharing very easy – without the cloud. Plus:
- We’re very affordable. We offer free data, and when you run through that you can choose from a monthly subscription or pay-as-you-go option based on your particular data needs.
- You don’t need a server to store files for transfer. We never store data, ever. We believe in data privacy and data security so much, we built our software so that we can’t look at your data even if we wanted to – and we don’t want to.
- We encrypt all data transfers using AES 256 bit encryption.
- We understand the power of data and reporting. We maintain detailed logs for all file and data transfers in case you need to audit.
- We automatically update changed files because, well, data sync is life.
FTP
- The first step is to figure out which kind of FTP setup to deploy. If you don't know your options, you need a skilled IT pro to help you.
- FTP requires a server, either internal or external to your company.
- The server needs to be set up outside the DMZ, configured for NAT and firewall traversal. Appropriate protection technology should be installed to deflect any Internet attacks.
- FTP is inherently insecure and should be very carefully planned before opening it up to the outside world.
- FTP implementation is expensive. You have to pay for server and client software individually. The cost of an entry-level, professional class FTP server for a 10 user license starts at $2,600
- FTP has a high learning curve, and both senders and recipients need to learn some commands and operations: Should the file be sent in ASCII or EBCDIC mode? When should you use compress, block or stream mode? What ports should be open? What is NAT traversal?
- You also have to decide how are clients going to send files to you and how will they receive them. Plus, how will you handle FTP vulnerabilities like: brute force attacks, bounce attacks, spoof attacks, packet captures and port hijacks?
Binfer
- Binfer can be easily installed on any computer in minutes. It works on a variety of Windows, OSX and Linux operating systems.
- We don't require any server software, client license or special setup. As soon as you create an account, you can send and receive files immediately from a desktop.
- We offer some free data, and once you consume that you can choose a monthly subscription or a pay-as-you-go plan based on your data needs.
- The Binfer interface is very intuitive and easy to use. If you've ever sent an email, it will be familiar.
- By using Binfer's Sync product, rules to automatically synchronize files between multiple devices can be set with just a few clicks.
Check out this video on how to use Binfer Sync.
With Binfer you or your organization can:
- Send any size, type or quantity of files with a simple drag and drop.
- Whether they’re videos, pictures or entire folders or directories, files will transfer fast. There is no throttling or bandwidth sharing and no need to compress or zip files.
- Binfer deploys quickly and easily using your existing IT infrastructure.
- We also offer web drop, file sharing, encrypted transfers and detailed reports.