But, again, I feel that SCP’s inherent lack of these functions does not necessarily degrade it since that can be worked around without much else needed. SFTP, on the other hand, has these functions built right into it so there is no issue there. So, at its base, SCP cannot help you with that, you would have to try and find ad hoc ways to implement SCP in order to be able to do those kinds of things. However, that underlying platform of SSH allows for that kind of functionality and many of the client-side applications have those kinds of functions built in. When it comes to stuff like listing folder contents, or folder management, SCP itself does not really have the ability to do so. SCP is really only meant for the one thing that was mentioned: moving files from here to there (or there to here). Now that we’ve finished our diversion, we can talk about the ways they diverge. Both have options for command line connection or nice, pretty interfaces.

Since SSH typically uses TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), both SFTP and SCP will, by default, use TCP, which guarantees traffic. Both protocols use SSH for the authentication and encryption of the connection. The Difference Between SCP and SFTPīefore we can get to the differences, we need to divert from the heading a bit and talk about the similarities. Again, this is for security purposes, so when it comes to websites and transferring sensitive information, it is always better to err on the side of security. There is one major difference between FTP and the other 2, though: FTP sends data in plain-text whereas SCP and SFTP use the SSH (Secure Shell) protocol for communication. Those alternatives are SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) or SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol).įTP, SFTP and SCP can help accomplish the same thing, which is to move files from here to there (or, based on relativity, from there to here) nice and quickly and over ethernet. While this is useful for certain things, namely (er, maybe…?) local, non-scheduled file transfer, there are non-plain (a pun you might get later) alternatives that should be used in a business or security-oriented implementation. Time after time at my last job I used to overhear co-workers using that most dreaded of acronyms: FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

In Hashing Out Cyber Security People still use FTP – No, that’s not a question, it’s a statement of fact.

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