File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

File Transfer Protocol (FTP), also known as disambigulation, refers to the process of sending or receiving photo files over a network supported by a transmission control protocol, such as the internet. If the receiver of the file has an FTP server, he can not only download photo files, but also manipulate them in a variety of ways. File transfer protocol belongs to an open, standard network that any server equipped with FTP can access.

People use file transfer protocol to share files, to use servers from remote locations and to create a consistent source of information. However, while FTP has its benefits, it also has its drawbacks. Some of the negative aspects of FTP include:

• data can be transferred to a third party computer,
• files can be sent incomplete without the receiver knowing whether or not he has received the entire file
• lax security allows others to gather information from a supposedly two serer exchange.

FTP can occur through either Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or through Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). This method of communication can transfer binary files (as well as ASCII text) without losing information, as long as the file is received in its entirety. The Xmodem, Ymodem and Kermit are all traditionally modes of file transfer protocol.