Startup Profile: 1FTP - Making FTP Not Suck.

http://launchdfw.com/news/startup-profile-1ftp/

by sxates • 15 years ago

17 36 15 years ago

arkitaip• 15 years ago

I'm actually intrigued by this. I've pretty much stopped using FTP because it's easier to email files or use a web based file sharing service for very large files, but if someone actually managed to reinvent FTP that would be awesome.

lubutu• 15 years ago

The problem with FTP starts with the protocol. It's tragic that this startup doesn't use something like SFTP.

feydr• 15 years ago

agreed -- ftp use should have stopped in the 90s

sxates8• 15 years ago

Absolutely. 1ftp actually uses HTTPS on the client end to secure the connection, over port 80. There is no direct FTP connection for users, only on the backend to the server. The service acts as a gateway, though its transparent to the user.

coenhyde2• 15 years ago

At the end of the day this really isn't much better. I would prefer FTP to be recognised as the bad practice/evil it is.

1FTP looks like it has a nice interface though.

natesm2• 15 years ago

I'm not convinced that a web-based solution can "not suck" more than Transmit already doesn't (does?). Transmit mounts a drive on my desktop and I just use it like a drive. It stores my accounts in the keychain, which I much prefer to storing them in a decryptable format somewhere in "The Cloud". The experience is native and I don't believe a browser based experience is going to come close.

...except for the fact that I can access it anywhere if it's in a browser, I guess. Personally, I use Transmit with S3, so that's not an issue, but I suppose it could be for a privately owned server.

sxates8• 15 years ago

A native app is in the roadmap. What 1FTP does that no other FTP apps do is allow you to share access with others without giving them direct access to the server. It's great for temporary contractors, or even employees who may quit at some point. You can simply 'unshare' access.

natesm2• 15 years ago

Ok, that makes a lot of sense. It's not a situation that applies to me, but I can certainly see the appeal. Best of luck (assuming you're Brain Scates).

ioquatix• 15 years ago

SFTP? SCP? SSH?

knieveltech4• 15 years ago

Git? Rsync?

dools2• 15 years ago

This sounds like "online file sharing" which many people who work in "digital" refer to as "an FTP site".

So it's not actually FTP, it's HTTP, but you're using the common parlance amongst designers and video types of referring to anything used to share files with clients online as an "FTP site".

Such an annoying misappropriation of terminology ...

sxates8• 15 years ago

Not at all. 1FTP connects to FTP servers, that's it. There's no storing of any files on our servers, it's just a pass through to provide end-user security (no sniffing passwords over wifi) and user access.

1FTP sits between the user and the FTP server, controlling access. User > 1FTP > FTP Server. Result: More secure, easy to control access (share and unshare, like Dropbox), log all activity to know who's doing what.

The big problem is that today everyone shares a single log in to the FTP server which is often passed around via email - to coworkers, outside agencies, contractors, etc. Everyone is logging in as the same user, so you no longer know who is actually logging in. 1FTP solves this, among other things.

ceejayoz2• 15 years ago

How are you solving the password sharing problem?

dools2• 15 years ago

Okay so you're saying the bonus is that, using 1FTP, I can have a single sign-on ID which allows me to connect to multiple different FTP servers, so when someone wants to give me access to their FTP account they can do it via my 1FTP id rather than adding a user for me on their FTP account, and sending me yet another username and password.

Like OpenID for FTP (and presumably, you could accept login via Facebook or Twitter as well ... )

I get it now, sorry I didn't understand that you were proxying through to random FTP servers rather than supplying storage (a la dropbox).

One thing, though, unless you're using SFTP or SCP to connect to the destination server, wouldn't it be possible for someone to sniff network packets coming out of your servers to grab the plain text passwords for any of the myriad FTP servers you connect to? I don't really know much about the logistics of it but it seems as though your servers would become a bit of a hub for discovering insecure FTP logins to thousands of servers.

sciurus5• 15 years ago

"found myself constantly having to go dig through email to find FTP credentials when things needed updating, or when we needed to give a new worker access. When we had contractors or employees leave, for whatever reason, I’d have to worry about them leaving with access to our servers, as well as client’s servers, which we didn’t control, and hope that they didn’t use that access against us."

This literally makes no sense to me. When someone needs access to an account, add their public SSH key to it. When they don't, remove it.

sxates8• 15 years ago

How do you do this when you don't own or manage the server (ie, a client's server, or IT managed)?

sciurus5• 15 years ago

If the client allows you to transfer files to them via SSH, easy! If they don't, break out the clue-by-four.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I think you're providing a useful service. I just hope that people will start a conversation about FTP's problems and alternatives before turning to 1FTP to mitigate the problems.

tedunangst4• 15 years ago

The people who need access don't have SSH keys.

sciurus5• 15 years ago

They don't have the FTP password, either. Help them generate an SSH key.

Kwpolska• 15 years ago

1FTP = a FTP client = still sucks. Use SFTP.

schlegel• 15 years ago

SFTP is a protocol, and that isn't what 1FTP is all about. 1FTP is about bringing the convenience of Dropbox-like sharing to FTP shares. There are still a b-zillion FTP shares that companies use everyday to transfer files to vendors, partners, contractors, etc. Even shares that are at the root of their websites. Many of those shares use a single set of credentials that are passed around. No, that ain't smart, but that's how it's done when the process for getting real user accounts on a server involves way too much IT red tape. 1FTP allows access control to move into an easy-to-maintain web app.

Startup Profile: 1FTP - Making FTP Not Suck.

Related Stories