[ILUG] FTP, SSL & firewalls

[Gary Pigott]

Hi all,

I've got a web developer that wants FTP access to our web server. Now I'm
not going to accept passwords floating about the place in clear text, so
I've suggested SSL encryption, which his FTP client of choice (SmartFTP on
Win32) and my server of choice (vsftpd on Debian) support out of the box.
Now this would be fine and dandy except both the webserver and the
developer's PC are behind firewalls. Neither normal or PASV FTP will work
because while the control connection data on port 21 gets through, the
firewalls cant decode the datastream (it's encrypted, remember) to figure
out what high port (it a random port) to open for the data connection, and
the server firewall isn't smart enough to proxy the entire transfer.

I need to know if there is a drop in replacement for FTP that is secure,
works on a single port, and has a Windows GUI client available. I'm thinking
SCP might do the job, but I'm open to other suggestions....

Regards,

Gary


-- 
Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
http://www.garypigott.net