SSH Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

What is it, and where may I get a copy of it?

SSH Secure Shell and Secure FTP are freely available OIT Download Site.

Mac Users: SFTP comes with Mac OS X. You may freely download Fugu, a graphical user interface for SFTP, from this site:
http://rsug.itd.umich.edu/software/fugu/

If you are using an earlier OS version for your Macintosh, go to the OIT Download Site to get a free copy of SFTP.

This software creates an encrypted tunnel to and from a secure web server (or an email server, using Secure Shell), which protects our campus networking environment as well as your files. Also, the newest Dreamweaver MX 2004 has secure FTP built into it, but if you do not use DW software to produce your web pages, then you need to know about using SSH SFTP.

Why do I need SFTP?

UAF's new Web Server will require secure connections to upload and download files. This means your entire File Transfer session needs to be encrypted to protect the campus networking environment.

How do I use SSH Secure FTP?

You will see two SSH icons that are associated with SSH Secure Shell and Secure FTP.

For Secure FTP you will click on the yellow file folder icon (on the right). (The gray monitor icon on the left is for the SSH Secure Shell Client, which can be used to tunnel to the email server.)

1. Open Secure FTP by double-clicking the SFTP icon, or by going to Start --> Programs and selecting the SSH Secure FTP program from your Programs menu. You will see the window shown below when the program is opened:

Notice that on the left you see your local computer, and that the right side where the remote site will appear is grayed out.

2. The next step is to login to the appropriate server. First, click the Quick Connect button as seen below:

3. For faculty and staff who have their own web pages on the faculty/staff servers, you will login to your account as shown in the screenshot below.

At Host Name, type in fnabc.email.uaf.edu -- where "fnabc" is replaced with YOUR user name. You will then type just your user name in the User Name field.

Departments with pages served on the web server will log in directly to the webmail server, so the Host Name would be: www.uaf.edu, rather than an individual's account. For User Name, type in the appropriate account name you have for your department.

4. Type in your password at the Enter Password dialog box. For faculty and staff, this is the same password you use for your UAF email account. For departments, it is the password you've set for that account. Click OK.

5. Now you will see that the Remote window has opened, showing the files and folders associated with the account accessed. Faculty and staff will see that, in addition to their mail folder, they have a "www" folder for web page files.

6. If faculty or staff already have web pages up, they will see those files when they double-click the 'www' folder to open it. If they have not previously uploaded any web files, this folder may be empty.

7. To transfer files to your remote site, select the files or folders you wish to upload from the LOCAL window (YOUR computer files). Drag the files over to the Remote side of the window and drop them in the desired location. If you are replacing existing files, you will be asked to confirm whether or not to overwrite them.

8. You will see a log of your uploads and downloads below the split window during your SFTP session. When you are finished uploading files to the remote site, you will find a disconnect button on the standard toolbar (or in the File Menu).