WinSCP

Last updated
WinSCP
Developer(s) Martin Přikryl
Initial release2000;25 years ago (2000)
Stable release
6.3.6 [1]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg / 23 November 2024
Repository github.com/winscp/winscp
Written in C++
Operating system Microsoft Windows
Size 10 MB
Available in45 languages [2]
Type File Manager
License winscp.net/eng/docs/license
Website winscp.net

WinSCP (Windows Secure Copy) [3] is a file manager, SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), WebDAV, Amazon S3, and secure copy protocol (SCP) client for Microsoft Windows. The WinSCP project has released its source code on GitHub under an open source license, while the program itself is distributed as proprietary freeware. [4] [5]

Contents

Program

Its main function is secure file transfer between a local computer and a remote server. [6] Beyond this, WinSCP offers basic file manager and file synchronization functionality. For secure transfers, it uses the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) and supports the SCP protocol in addition to SFTP. [7]

Development of WinSCP started around March 2000 and continues. Originally it was hosted by the University of Economics in Prague, where its author worked at the time. Since July 16, 2003, the program and its source code is licensed under the GNU GPL. It is hosted on SourceForge and GitHub. [8]

WinSCP is based on the implementation of the SSH protocol from PuTTY and FTP protocol from FileZilla. [9] It is also available as a plugin for Altap Salamander file manager, [10] and there exists a third-party plugin for the FAR file manager. [11]

Features

An internal editor window WinSCP-6.1-Editor.png
An internal editor window

Source: [14] [15]

Apart from the standard package, three portable versions are also available: A generic package [14] [16] and two customized versions for LiberKey and PortableApps.com. The portable version runs on Wine [17] on several POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as Linux, macOS, and BSD. [18]

Some older versions of the WinSCP installer included OpenCandy advertising module or bundled Google Chrome. Since version 5.5.5 (August 2014) the installer does not contain any advertisement.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Secure Shell Protocol is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. Its most notable applications are remote login and command-line execution.

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and data connections between the client and the server. FTP users may authenticate themselves with a plain-text sign-in protocol, normally in the form of a username and password, but can connect anonymously if the server is configured to allow it. For secure transmission that protects the username and password, and encrypts the content, FTP is often secured with SSL/TLS (FTPS) or replaced with SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).

WebDAV is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which allows user agents to collaboratively author contents directly in an HTTP web server by providing facilities for concurrency control and namespace operations, thus allowing Web to be viewed as a writeable, collaborative medium and not just a read-only medium. WebDAV is defined in RFC 4918 by a working group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

In computing, the SSH File Transfer Protocol, also known as Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management over any reliable data stream. It was designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an extension of the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) version 2.0 to provide secure file transfer capabilities, and is seen as a replacement of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) due to superior security. The IETF Internet Draft states that, even though this protocol is described in the context of the SSH-2 protocol, it could be used in a number of different applications, such as secure file transfer over Transport Layer Security (TLS) and transfer of management information in VPN applications.

Secure copy protocol (SCP) is a means of securely transferring computer files between a local host and a remote host or between two remote hosts. It is based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. "SCP" commonly refers to both the Secure Copy Protocol and the program itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PuTTY</span> Free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application

PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. It can also connect to a serial port. The name "PuTTY" has no official meaning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far Manager</span> File and archive manager for Microsoft Windows

Far Manager is an orthodox file manager for Microsoft Windows and is a clone of Norton Commander. Far Manager uses the Win32 console and has a keyboard-oriented user interface.

sftp is a command-line interface client program to transfer files using the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), which runs inside the encrypted Secure Shell connection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FileZilla</span> Free software, cross-platform file transfer protocol application

FileZilla is a free and open-source, cross-platform FTP application, consisting of FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server. Clients are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Both server and client support FTP and FTPS, while the client can in addition connect to SFTP servers. FileZilla's source code is hosted on SourceForge.

Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) is a software interface for Unix and Unix-like computer operating systems that lets non-privileged users create their own file systems without editing kernel code. This is achieved by running file system code in user space while the FUSE module provides only a bridge to the actual kernel interfaces.

FTPS is an extension to the commonly used File Transfer Protocol (FTP) that adds support for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and, formerly, the Secure Sockets Layer cryptographic protocols.

An SSH client is a software program which uses the secure shell protocol to connect to a remote computer. This article compares a selection of notable clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SSHFS</span>

SSHFS is a filesystem client to mount and interact with directories and files located on a remote server or workstation over a normal ssh connection. The client interacts with the remote file system via the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), a network protocol providing file access, file transfer, and file management functionality over any reliable data stream that was designed as an extension of the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) version 2.0.

CrushFTP is a proprietary multi-protocol, multi-platform file transfer server originally developed in 1999. CrushFTP is shareware with a tiered pricing model. It is targeted at home users on up to enterprise users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ExpanDrive</span> Network filesystem client

ExpanDrive is a network filesystem client for MacOS, Microsoft Windows and Linux that facilitates mapping of local volume to many different types of cloud storage. When a server is mounted with ExpanDrive any program can read, write, and manage remote files as if they were stored locally. This is different from most file transfer clients because it is integrated into all applications on the operating system. It also does not require a file to be downloaded to access portions of the content. ExpanDrive is commercial software, at a cost of $49.95 per license. A 7-day, unrestricted demo is available for evaluation.

An SSH server is a software program which uses the Secure Shell protocol to accept connections from remote computers. SFTP/SCP file transfers and remote terminal connections are popular use cases for an SSH server.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenSSH</span> Set of computer programs providing encrypted communication sessions

OpenSSH is a suite of secure networking utilities based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, which provides a secure channel over an unsecured network in a client–server architecture.

CopSSH is an implementation of OpenSSH for Windows. CopSSH offers both SSH client and server functionality and can be used for remote administration of Windows systems. CopSSH contains DLLs from the Cygwin Linux environment and a version of OpenSSH compiled from Cygwin. An administration GUI is also provided as of version 4.0.0.

Bitvise is a proprietary secure remote access software developed for Windows and available as a client and server. The software is based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, which provides a secure channel over an insecure network in a client-server architecture.

References

  1. "Release 6.3.6". 23 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  2. "WinSCP Translations". winscp.net. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  3. "Project History :: WinSCP". winscp.net. February 16, 2023.
  4. "License :: WinSCP". winscp.net. June 18, 2024.
  5. "WinSCP". PCWorld. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  6. Bisch, Patrick (2011-12-21). "How to Automatically Backup Your Web Server Files With WinSCP over FTP". HowToGeek. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  7. "Introducing WinSCP". winscp.net. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  8. "Project History". winscp.net. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  9. "WinSCP Contributions". winscp.net. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  10. "WinSCP Plugin to Altap Salamander File Manager". winscp.net. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  11. "NetBox: SFTP/FTP/FTP(S)/SCP/WebDAV client for Far Manager". github.com. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  12. "WinSCP 5.7 - What's New?" . Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  13. "Editing/Opening Files". winscp.net. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  14. 1 2 Krause, Austin (9 March 2012). "Tired of Installing FTP Programs? Try WinSCP Portable". groovyPost. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  15. Neowin ·, Razvan Serea News Reporter (25 December 2024). "WinSCP 6.1: The Filezilla alternative that delivers with a major update". Neowin. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  16. "Portable Use". winscp.net. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  17. "WinSCP entry on Wine AppDB". winehq.org. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  18. "What is Wine?". winehq.org. Retrieved 28 February 2021.