FTPS
FTP over TLS
FTPS is ordinary FTP with TLS encryption added, so logins and files travel encrypted; it's different from SFTP, which runs over SSH.
Plain FTP sends your username, password and files unencrypted. FTPS wraps the same protocol in TLS, the encryption that secures web pages. The commands, folders and passive-mode data connections are still FTP; they're just protected. Many newsrooms, agencies and hosting providers offer FTPS because it works with their existing FTP servers.
FTPS is often confused with SFTP, which is a separate protocol that runs over SSH on a single port.
How it works
There are two styles. Explicit FTPS connects to the normal FTP port (21) and then asks the server to switch to TLS with the AUTH TLS command. Implicit FTPS starts encrypted from the first byte, traditionally on port 990. After the control connection is secured, the client usually asks for the data connections to be encrypted as well. Because FTPS keeps FTP's separate data connections, firewall and passive FTP settings still apply.
An example: filing to a picture desk
A sports agency gives its photographers an FTPS login to the picture desk's server. Each photographer's JPEGs land in an ingest folder, encrypted on the way, where the desk's software picks them up for captioning and distribution.
FTPS and CloudTether
CloudTether's FTP / SFTP destination offers FTP, FTPS and SFTP: choose the protocol, enter the host, port, username, password and folder, and tap Test connection. For FTPS, CloudTether uses explicit TLS (AUTH TLS) on the port you give it, and it uses passive mode for data. Credentials are stored encrypted. See tether to your own SFTP or FTP server.
FTPS or SFTP?
Use whichever your server supports. If you control the server, SFTP is usually simpler through firewalls because it needs only one port. If the desk already runs FTP, switching on FTPS is the smaller change.
Tips and common mistakes
- Ask the server admin whether they expect explicit or implicit FTPS — and which port.
- A certificate error usually means the hostname doesn't match the server's certificate.
- Always test with one file before the event.
See also
Put it into practice
CloudTether tethers your camera to your phone and delivers every shot to the cloud, live as you shoot — no laptop.