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Overview of WinSCP program capabilities. Reliable FTP manager WinSCP. Installing and configuring WinSCP

Why WinSCP and not other programs is a question that any user has the right to ask. As an answer, I will give a small digression based on personal experience.

For a long time I used Filezilla, which is rightfully considered the leader among FTP managers. I used it until all my sites and the sites of my clients were infected with a virus - in javascript files was implemented malicious code. An analysis of the situation showed that the FTP protocol passwords were leaked and the sites were infected in this way - a Trojan virus was found on one of the computers on the network, which probably stole the passwords that were subsequently used for infection. Standard situation, generally.

After cleaning the sites, I went online and found out some unpleasant details - Filezilla stores passwords in clear, unencrypted form in the sitemanager.xml file (see screenshot, Pass line).

You can argue for a long time and uselessly that you cannot remember passwords in FTP managers, but we are all human and no one can remember many passwords. It will also be useless to talk about reliable protection computer - there is no antivirus that will protect against all viruses.

The current situation forced me, as you understand, to look for another FTP manager and half a day of searching, tests and several subsequent weeks of work led to the conviction that WinSCP is what I need. The reasons are as follows:

  • Firstly, passwords are stored in encrypted form in a file or system registry of your choice.
  • Secondly, there is an option not to save passwords.
  • Thirdly, the interface and working with files seemed to me more convenient than in other programs, but this, of course, is a subjective feeling.
  • Finally, WinSCP is free and can be used anywhere.

The disadvantage of WinSCP is that it is more complex to configure - whatever you say, Filezilla is more intuitive. If you make money with file hosting services, then Filezilla is quite suitable, but if you work via FTP with websites, you should think about using WinSCP. If you decide to try working with her, then the suggested instructions for setting up WinSCP will save you a certain amount of time.

For beginners: FTP (FTP) - File Transfer Protocol(File Transfer Protocol). Simply put, it is a way to exchange files with a server. Full description can be found on Wikipedia, we won’t go into details. We only note that to establish a connection, the following attributes are needed, called different programs differently:

  • FTP server name. May be called: “FTP Host Name” or simply “Server”
  • Username. May be called: “Login”, “User” or “Account name”
  • Password

If you have the above attributes, then you can begin installing WinSCP.

Download and install WinSCP

Go to the WinSCP download page. If you are a fan of portable programs, you can download this version by following the “Portable executables” link.

After downloading the full version of WinSCP, install it by running the downloaded exe file. Installation is simple, but there is no Russian language in the package, so you don’t have to look for it in the drop-down list - we’ll upload the Russian localization later. Having reached the confirmation step, mark “I accept the agreement” and click “Next” until the end of the installation, without touching anything - everything that is offered can then be changed in the program itself.

If you have downloaded portable version, then the archive needs to be unpacked to any location, after which the program will be ready for use.

Now let's go download the Russian language. Launch WinSCP.exe, click on the “Languages” button, then on “Get More”.

Scroll the page that opens almost to the end, having found the Russian localization of WinSCP, download it. The ru.zip archive contains the file WinSCP.ru, which we put in the folder where the program is installed. Restart WinSCP, click the “Languages” button again and select Russian. Now you can start working and configuring WinSCP.

WinSCP settings and getting started

On the first launch, the program will open a window where you need to enter the connection attributes, which is what we will do. The settings are given for a regular, unencrypted (not to be confused with password encryption) connection, which is used in most cases.

In the “File Protocol” list, select “FTP”, in the “Encryption” list, set “No encryption”. In the “Server”, “Username” and “Password” fields, enter the attributes that we talked about at the beginning of the article, assuming that you have them. Click the “Save” button.

We've come to key point- after entering a connection name that is convenient for you, you need to decide whether the password will be stored in WinSCP. By default, the program stores settings and passwords in the system registry; if desired, they can be stored in the program folder. In any case, they are stored in encrypted form, but it is believed that from system registry they are more difficult to kidnap. Absolute security is provided by the option in which the password is not stored at all and must be entered each time a connection is established. By deselecting the “Save password (not recommended)” checkbox, which means “Save password (not recommended)”, you will select the last, most secure option.

I have chosen the following options: at home, where the computer is well protected, I still save the passwords. At work, where other people may be using the computer and clients bring viruses on flash drives, passwords are not saved for particularly important connections.

Now you can establish a connection, Click “Login”. will appear modal window with a connection status that will disappear after a few seconds. If the option of not saving passwords is selected, you will be required to enter a password in this window. If connection errors occur, you need to cancel it and check the entered data by highlighting the line with the connection name and clicking the “Edit” button.

After fixing the errors first save the settings under the same name, and only then connect.

So, the connection is established, on the left side are the computer files, on the right side are the servers. The interface is common for FTP programs; there is no point in describing it in detail; we will only focus on the main thing.

Navigation is aided by panels (see screenshot below) located above each part, on which you can use a drop-down list to go to any parent directory. By clicking the icon on the right side of the panel, we will enable the display of the folder tree, making it even easier to navigate through directories.

At the bottom of the WinSCP window there is a panel where you can standard actions with files and folders - creating them, deleting them, getting properties, etc.

To copy a file, drag it from the computer window to the server window, just as files are dragged into Windows Explorer. After this action, a confirmation window will appear in which to start the transfer you need to click the “Copy” button.

In the same window, you can set the transfer mode and prohibit its appearance by checking the “Do not display this window again” checkbox. After the transfer starts, a window will appear with its status and the percentage of the file downloaded, which will disappear when the transfer is completed.

So, the connection is established, files are being transferred, but such work is inconvenient. If you put it on loading a large number of files, the transfer status window will not allow you to perform other tasks. Therefore, we will set up connections like in Filezilla - take its convenience and combine it with the reliability of WinSCP. Exclusively flexible settings WinSCP allows you to do this without special problems, which is what we will do, ensuring fast, non-irritating work

Setting up WinSCP

If a connection to the server is established, then you can proceed with the settings, if not, then you need to connect - we will make the settings from this mode. The reason is simple - all changes will be applied immediately and you will clearly understand which function is responsible for what. Go!

IN top menu go to “Settings”, and then again to “Settings”, or press the button with the gear.

In the settings window that opens, a screenshot of which you see below these lines, we will go through some of the tabs that are linked on the left side, making the necessary changes.

Environment Tab

By default, we immediately go to the root of this tab, where you can configure the appearance of annoying warnings, outstanding program before performing any actions or after they are completed. Obviously, warnings about closing the program and copying files are not needed. In general, customize the messages in accordance with your own ideas about convenience, but be sure to leave the checkbox about deleting files checked.

In chapter "Interface" There’s nothing special, you can only customize the manager’s appearance. By default (Commander mode), the most convenient option, so we won’t linger here.

Skip the “Window” section and go to "Panels". It is of interest in actions on double click mouse on the file. This option will be useful for those who switched to WinSCP from Filezilla, in which double-clicking was used to copy rather than open files. By default, double clicking causes file editing, which is done in the built-in editor. Therefore, it makes sense to change the action to open a file, which will open in the program corresponding to the file type - you will work as in Windows Explorer.

In chapter "Norton" you can make some changes to the interface, but by default everything is configured normally, we skip it, just as we skip "Conductor".

Editors Tab

In this tab, you can, if necessary, set associations of file extensions with programs. As already stated, full version WinSCP picks up all associations from the system registry, but there will always be a user who wants to edit files with their favorite editor. For many, this editor is Notepad++ and the screenshot shows the settings necessary for opening and editing CSS files using Notepad++.

It’s easy to add a new or change an existing association - click the “Add” or “Change” button. In the window that opens, select the “External editor” item, use the “Browse” button to indicate the path to it, and enter your extension in the “Use for files” field.

Files Tab

Having configured the editors, we move on to the file transfer settings. This is where a lot of changes will be made.

First of all, let's go to the default download settings. It MUST have the “How to” checkbox checked. binary files" For those who like order on the site, I recommend checking the checkbox for renaming files in lower case- a mess with different case in file names and extensions does not contribute to normal operation.

By going to the section "In the background", check “Show” list of queues. Let’s close the settings and see that a download queue area has appeared at the bottom of the manager, just like in Filezilla. This thing is very convenient; it will allow you to control the progress of downloads and work with several hosts at the same time. Clicking right click mouse on the download area, we will cause a small menu to appear, on which, by checking the “Toolbar” item, you can display this very download control panel.

We'll be back background settings. You can directly get to them by clicking on the gear of the download panel (see screenshot below), which we just called up. By checking the first three checkboxes “Enable queue processing by default”, “Upload in the background by default” and “Transfer each file individually in the background” we will ensure convenient and reliable operation without any windows or confirmations. The first checkbox “Enable queue processing by default” plays a special role in this. If you deselect it, the files will be placed in the queue, but will not be uploaded to the server until the “Enable queue processing” button is clicked (see screenshot below).

If this mode of operation is convenient for you, then leave the above checkbox unchecked. In general, it’s worth paying attention to the settings in the background Special attention and customize them as you wish.

The background mode, as already mentioned, will allow you to work with several connections simultaneously.

Clicking the plus button at the top of the manager will open the familiar hosts window, where you can select another server and log into it. Once the connection is established, it will appear new inset, in which you can work with the host. You can navigate through the tabs by pressing the buttons with the names of the connections located next to the plus button (see screenshot above). Right-clicking on the connection name will bring up a small menu where you can close the connection.

Security Tab

On this tab you can set a master password, which will increase the reliability of working with the program in a public place and will not allow to strangers make a connection. When entering simple password of two or three letters a warning will appear indicating that it is unreliable, so it is better to immediately enter a password that is at least 6 characters long. No one is forcing you to come up with super-complex passwords for this purpose that are impossible to remember, but everyone has a combination of different dates and names, doesn’t it?

Changing the password occurs on the same tab, as well as canceling it, to confirm which you need to enter the current password. Therefore, if you decide to use this option, try not to lose your password.

Please note that the master password in no way affects the reliability of storing passwords to hosts, it just denies access to unauthorized users, no more.

Storage tab

We choose where the program data will be stored. By default, they are stored in the system registry, but you can also select a file that will be located in the root folder of the program as their storage.

That's all. We installed, configured WnSCP and started working. Concluding the article, let’s talk once again about the reliability of the FTP manager we described. It is undoubtedly higher than that of Filezilla, but passwords are also stolen with WinSCP. If your computer's security is leaky, the most reliable program- passwords are stolen from both files and the system registry. At the time of writing, no free programs FTPs that would store passwords in truly encrypted form using reliable algorithm AES encryption or another. You must understand this and ensure your workplace is protected accordingly.

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To transfer a site from localhost to hosting and further work with it we will need an FTP client. In my opinion, for the operating room Windows systems, the most convenient and reliable is WinSCP FTP client . Where to download it, how to install and configure it will be discussed in this article.

Where can I download WinSCP?

WinSCP is distributed under the GNU GPL license. This means that you can download it for free from the official website and freely use it for your pleasure. Here is the link to the download page: WinSCP free download. Click on the “Installation Package” link there. Working version at the time of writing WinSCP 5.1.7. Do not rush to look for the Russian version of the program - the language can be configured after installing the program, to which we are moving on.

Installing WinSCP

Run the downloaded file (currently winscp517setup.exe). Leave the installation language in English, since there is no Russian in the proposed options. Don't worry, this is not the program's interface language, but the language that will be used during the installation process.

In the next welcome window, simply click “Next >”. I’ll skip the screenshot - everything is clear there.

In the next window we leave the typical installation

Next, we are asked to select the program interface. The first option is like the program Total Commander. Two panels: the left one is for local directories, the right one is for remote directories. The second option is only the remote directory as in Windows Explorer. Actually, I like the commander-style interface and recommend that you choose this one. If desired, you can switch to the second interface option after installing the program in the settings.

The last window is the final one. It lists all the settings we just selected. Just click Install. I also skip the screenshot. The installation of the program will begin and the last window will appear at the end. I unchecked it so that it does not open home page, left a tick to start the program. Click Finish.

Installation FTP client WinSCP completed successfully. The program starts and the authorization window opens.

Setting up WinSCP

Setting up the Russian language in WinSCP

First, let's set up the promised Russian language for the program interface. In the window that appears after launching the program, click the “Languages” button at the bottom and then “Get More...”

You will be redirected to a web page with a table available languages. You need to find Russian and click on the link as shown in the screenshot.

The downloaded ru.zip archive must be unzipped and the WinSCP.ru file copied to C:\Program Files\WinSCP\ - this is the folder in which the WinSCP program was installed by default. Now you will have the “Russian” item in the Languages ​​menu.

Setting up a WinSCP connection to a hosting server

For further actions you need to find the email you received from your hosting provider after registering your account. This letter must contain information for access via FTP and SSH.

Server address: host_name

Username: user_name

Password: password

Enter this data into the appropriate fields in the “WinSCP Login” window.

We leave the file protocol as default SFTP (SSH FTP) - this is network protocol, which encrypts all traffic so your connection to the server will be secure. Some hosting providers have access via SSH protocol You will need to enable it in your hosting control panel. If your hosting provider does not provide access via SSH, you can choose file FTP protocol, But It’s better to change hosting to normal!

Click “Save”. A window will appear in which you can change the name of your connection or leave what is offered by default. For security reasons, it is better not to check the box for saving the password, but if you want to save it, then in WinSCP it is possible to set another password to enter the program itself - the so-called master password. If you save the connection password, I recommend setting a master password. How to do this, read further in the article.

Click OK. The connection you just created will appear in the list of connections. If you have not checked the “Save password” checkbox, then each time you connect you will need to enter an access password. When you connect for the first time, you may be prompted with a message regarding public key server. In this case, confirm that you trust this server. If, of course, you trust your hosting provider. =)

Enabling the master password

To improve security, WinSCP has the ability to enable a master password.

Now, when connecting to hosting, you will be asked for this password. Why is using a master password convenient? If you have many sites on different servers– you can enter all your connections into WinSCP, save passwords (which are probably different for each connection) using the “Save password” checkbox, and set a master password. Now you don't need to remember or constantly copy passwords from a file for different connections. You just need to remember one master password and enter it when connecting to any of the servers.

So, we have installed and done the basics FTP settings WinSCP client. Using this program, we can now connect to the hosting provider's server, copy files to it, retrieve files from it, and even edit files directly on the server. We will need this when transferring the site to hosting and for further work with it.

I look forward to your questions and comments.

Have a comfortable and safe job everyone!

Perhaps this article will not go into all the intricacies of setting up the connection, exceptions, options, etc. This article will be used as a reference for other materials. If somewhere else I have to reference it to make sure you can connect to the remote server.

And so, to connect to the server we will use one of 2 programs. Putty or WinSCP. Both programs are free and can be downloaded from official sites without any problems. So go for it.

A few words about each.

Both support this is the protocol transfers as SSH, and WinSCP also FTP. WinSCP also has GUI and columnist. The same cannot be said about Putty. But the second one works faster.

If you need to start entering commands in WinSCP, then you need to open the built-in console (this is the built-in Putty module =)).
While Putty is already the console itself)

I also noticed that when working with the console in WinSCP it is not possible to work as root and use sudo. Maybe this can be treated somehow, but I don’t know how. If you know how, write a comment.

In general, both have their advantages. I use both programs and don’t worry.

Setting up a connection to a server in WinSCP

No problem. Just open the program and see a window with a list of saved connections. If they exist, of course. Otherwise, you will have the "New connection" option selected.

Fill in all the required fields:

Transfer protocol: SFTP = SSH or FTP

Hostname: Domain or IP address of our server

Username: Username

Password: Password

Port: If you haven’t changed it, then leave it as it is.

If you need to save the connection, click save, then save. In the window that appears, enter the name of the connection and save the password, if necessary.

Most likely, the program will inform you about connecting to a server that is still unknown to it. If you trust this server, then just click on Yes.


Soon you will see a connection window and, if everything is OK, then you will be connected and see the hierarchy on the server.

Files can be viewed and edited. )

Attention! Hidden by default in WinSCP hidden files and folders. .

By the way, by default you are taken to the folder of the user you logged in as. This only applies to SSH. Via FTP you are taken to a folder to which you have access.


Also in WinSCP, as I already said, you can use the console. To do this, you need to find its black icon at the top of the program window.


The console requires a different type of connection, so the program will prompt you to reconnect. Click OK.


Great. Now we are in the console.


Setting up a connection to a server in PuTTY

There's nothing complicated either. Open the program and start filling out the required fields:

Hostname: Domain or IP of the server

Port: If you haven’t changed it, then leave it as is

Connection type: SSH

In the "Session Management" block in top line you can enter a name to save the connection. This line is also used to search the list of saved connections.

Click on Connect.


Let's connect. Please note that we entered the Login and Password in the connection settings. This is all because the server itself requests this data in the console. Enter your Login first, then Password. If you have not worked with Linux, please note that when you enter your password, it will not be displayed!


That's all, essentially. Go for it!

Basic setup

Be sure to customize the background color of the WinSCP panel. The color should be chosen so that in the team (if there is teamwork) it was the same for everyone. This is very psychologically important and allows for more effective exchange of information, since each person gets used to perceiving images precisely in accordance with established cliches. To select a panel color, click Select Color (below and to the right File Protocol) and select a color.

Save the profile for future use by clicking Save button. When you save your profile, you will be prompted to save your password. We recommend that you do not save the password, but rather use the public key authentication mechanism described below. We chose the profile name [email protected] to distinguish it from the profile name saved in PuTTY:

WinSCP will take us to the list of saved profiles window. You should choose our [email protected] and click Login

WinSCP will begin to establish a connection with the server and ask you to confirm the identity of the server:

This is what a two-pane style window will look like with the panel color reconfigured. In the left panel there are files on our computer, and on the right - files on the hosting:

Public Key Authentication

WinSCP understands the PuTTY key format, so first you should go through the procedure for creating a key in PuTTY, or take a ready-made one The secret key. In the configuration window it should be entered in the field Private key file:

Like PuTTY, WinSCP can use an authentication agent to store keys. It is the PuTTY agent that he actually uses. Therefore, all agent settings coincide with

Updated: 09.22.2017 Published: 10/14/2016

Description

WinSCP is file manager for working via SFTP (using SSH), SCP, FTP, WebDAV protocols. Convenient to use for transferring data to computers running Linux and cloud services. WinSCP operates using secure protocols that include data encryption.

Installing WinSCP

If it was downloaded Portable version, just unpack the archive.

If the installation version has been downloaded, run the file and accept it license agreement and press Further, leaving all settings at default. At the end we press Install and wait for the installation process to complete. Then leave the “Run WinSCP” checkbox and press the button Ready.

How to use

Connection

Working with the program is not difficult. After launching it, the “Login” window will pop up. Enter the data to connect to a computer with Linux:

And press To come in. If the system prompts you to accept the certificate, agree by clicking Yes.

A list of folders and files will appear on the right side of the program window. remote computer, on the left - folders on the local computer:

To transfer data, select any file or folder with the cursor and press the key F5. In the window that appears, click OK— the data will be copied to the opposite window.

Useful settings

With the default settings, the program works fully, but for ease of use you can do the following.

We launch the program - in the “Login” window that opens, click on Tools - Settings:

1. Language

Go to the section Languages and select the one you need. If necessary, add a new one. Afterwards the program needs to be restarted.

* If the program is launched in English, to launch the settings, click on Tools - Preferences- in the window that opens, go to Languages- select the one you need or add by clicking Get more.

2. Hidden files

By default, the program does not show hidden files on remote servers. It's not entirely convenient. Go to the section Panels and put a tick.

3. Editor

If we are used to using our own editor, for example, Notepad++, go to the section Editors- press Add- specify the path to the desired program - OK- we move our editor to the very top.

4. Security

If we want to save passwords for connecting to servers, it would be a good idea to set a common master password. To do this, go to the section Safety- put a tick Use master password- in the window that opens, enter the password you want to use twice - you can also check the box Remember your password during the session so that we don’t get bored with the program - OK.

5. Updates and statistics

To avoid annoying warnings about the availability of new updates when starting the program, go to the section Updates- set “Check frequency” to position Never- uncheck the box Notify about update on startup.

If you don’t want to send statistics, uncheck the box Allow anonymous statistics collection.