Term:
File Transfer Protocol
Acronym:
FTP
Definition:
FTP is a protocol used to transfer files to and from an FTP server. This is a common method to load your website onto a web server. Other files besides web pages can be loaded to a server in this way. Often your web server will have you load graphic or other files up which may later be accessed using the “http://” protocol.
Using FTP requires that you have client software installed on your computer. There are many forms of client software that can be used many are freeware or share ware that can be uploaded from the Internet. Many web browsers like Internet Explorer also have FTP capabilities. To use ftp in a web browser type “ftp://” in front of the URL instead of “http://”. FTP requires that the web server be configured to allow this protocol.
Although FTP may be set for “Anonymous” access, in most cases you will be asked for a user name and password in order to upload or download files to a FTP server.
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