DataFreeway for FTP and SSH

If you maintain a web site, genealogy-related or not, you may have to transfer files to and from the site by using FTP (File Transfer Protocol). If you do not maintain a web site or do not know what FTP is used for, you probably will find little of interest in this article. However, if you use Windows and some sort of FTP program to maintain your web site, please read on.

FTP is one of the oldest protocols on the Internet, having been around for ten years or more before the invention of the World Wide Web. It used to be a product for UNIX, DEC VAX, and mainframes of the 1980s. For a technical discussion of FTP written for beginners, look at http://www.ftpplanet.com/ftpresources/basics.htm.

FTP has since been ported to Windows, Macintosh, and Linux, where it is still used to transfer files to and from servers. Sadly, FTP has changed little since the eighties, however. Even with fancier, mouse-driven interfaces, FTP is still somewhat awkward to use. However, this week I discovered a Windows FTP program that really simplifies the process. Best of all is its price: FREE.

To be sure, there are a number of FTP programs for Windows that use a mouse-driven, or GUI, interface. (GUI stands for "Graphical User Interface" and is pronounced "gooey." Most programs that use a mouse are referred to as GUI programs.) I have used a number of such programs, including WS_FTP_Pro, WS_FTP Lite, Filezilla, SmartFTP, FTP Explorer, and Putty. All are very good programs, and I would have recommended any of them until this week.

My new discovery is DataFreeway, created by Lukasoft Software. It supports standard FTP as well as the secure FTPS protocol. Best of all, on web servers that also support SSH (Secure Shell terminal access), you can also use that protocol in a manner that makes it look like Windows File Manger. (Normal SSH looks like a Dec VAX operator's console from the late 1970s.) I use SSH a lot but others who maintain web sites might go for years without needing SSH.

For the rest of this article, I will focus only on the FTP capabilities built into DataFreeway.

DataFreeway allows you to access remote servers from your Windows desktop in a manner that makes the server appear to be a part of your Windows desktop. You can open the server in one window, open File Explorer or other programs in a separate window, then drag-and-drop files back and forth from one window to another with ease. It is difficult to explain but very easy to accomplish. Sending files back and forth to a web server is as easy as copying from one folder to another on your local hard drive. I find it easier to use and more intuitive than any of the other FTP programs mentioned earlier.

I downloaded DataFreeway, double-clicked on the file, and followed the on-screen instructions, and the program was fully installed and operational within 30 seconds. Easy.

Best of all is the price: free. DataFreeway does not ask for payment or "beg" for voluntary payments. It does require you to register it within 21 days of first use, but registration is free.

One caveat: the producing company makes several products; some are free, and others require payment. All are registered on a single page. When I first saw the page, I thought it was asking for money. However, as I read closer and looked further down the page, I eventually found the section for registration of the free programs.

DataFreeway is a very useful program: easier to use than any of its competitors I have seen, easy to install, and available free of charge.

To learn more about DataFreeway, look at http://www.enginsite.com/ssh-webdav-ftp-sftp-client.htm. While you're at it, you might want to look at the program's user support forum at http://forum.enginsite.com/YaBB.pl .

You can download the free DataFreeway FTP and SSH program for Windows from http://www.enginsite.com/download/DataFreeway.exe

Comments

[Chuck Hield]

I tried downloading the DataFreeway FTP but it wouldn't work. It says that the publisher could not be verified. Is there some trick to doing this?
Chuck Hield

[Richard]

Based on your recommendation, I downloaded and installed DataFreeway. This program is nowhere near as easy to use as WS_FTP. DF shows only one set of files, the files on the web site. There is no window showing files on my computer like there is in WS_FTP.

WS_FTP is unbelievably east to use. The files on your computer are on the left side, the files on your web site are on the left. All you have to do is highlight the files you want to transfer and click on an arrow pointing in the appropriate direction.

DataFreeway doesn't show you the files in both places. In order to drag files from Windows Explorer to the DF window, you have to open both programs, resize the windows so they both show on the screen, then drag.

That's supposed to be easier than WS_FTP? I don't think so.

[filezilla is great]

Even more reliable is FileZilla it is a fast FTP and SFTP client for Windows with a lot of features.

http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/

[Dick Eastman]

There is no trick to installing it. I downloaded it, double-clicked on the newly-downloaded file and about 30 seconds it was fully installed and running. Looking at the other messages posted here, it seems that others have also installed it wth no problem.

I find DataFreeway easier to use than WS_FTP and much easier to use than FileZilla, both of which I have used many, many times. DataFreeway has also been very reliable in the 10 or 15 times that I have used it in the past week.

As to ease of use, the instructions point out that it is to be used in conjunction with other programs, typically Windows Explorer although it works well with others also. You quickly and easily drag-and-drop files or subdirectories from one window (Windows Explorer) to another (DataFreeway).

- Dick Eastman

[Ken]

Two observations:

1. The definition of "intuitive": it's easy when you know how.

2. The easiest program to use is almost always the one you use now.

P.S. I use FTP Commander (freeware version 7.33). It shows the local folder and the server folder side by side and allows drag-and-drop. See observations above.

[Dave]

I was interested in this product because it said it supported FTPs/SSL base as well as sFTP/SSH base transfers at #82 of http://3d2f.com/tags/ssh/ However, this doesn't appear to be true for FTPs/SSL base, and link also says based on Putty v0.56 which I understand is obsolete due to security bug. Am I reading docs right?

Lastly, does anyone have good comparison of FTP, sFTP, & FTPs on LAN & WAN in terms of speed, and probably recent versions/apps as I'm finding very different results depending on apps, much less protocol. My understanding is sFTP is inheirently less network friendly because based on SSH interactive protocol that ignored overhead concerns, but I'm trying to quanitfy it. Also, can anyone make good FTPs free app recommendation (I was even looking for all in one with sFTP support but looks like I need to check for seperate apps from initial look (except maybe freeware BatchSync Secure - does anyone know anything about it?).

Thanks in advance for any email reply's sent to david.m.abramson@saic.com.

Dave

[David Staub]

I've used several FTP programs over the years and though I haven't tried DataFreeway, I can't imagine anything easier and more intuitive than Filezilla. Not only does it show the local folder and the server folder side by side and allow drag-and-drop, if you double click on an item in the local folder, it moves the item to the open server folder and if you double click on an item in the server folder, it moves it to the open local folder. You don't even need to move your mouse.