The internet can be a dangerous place. There are always stories cir­cu­lat­ing of unau­tho­rized parties gaining access to sensitive in­for­ma­tion. Trans­fer­ring data via email also carries a potential risk when using un­en­crypt­ed channels. Popular transfer protocols such as FTP (file transfer protocol) or the now outdated RCP (remote copy protocol) are sus­cep­ti­ble to data theft since they transfer file content (i.e. user names and passwords) in plain text. The SFTP protocol (SSH file transfer protocol) and SCP (secure copy) offer a more secure al­ter­na­tive. These enable an encrypted, au­then­ti­cat­ed con­nec­tion between the server and client using SSH (secure shell). An SSH-pro­fi­cient client program is available to Windows users with WinSCP. But what ad­van­tages does WinSCP offer and how can it be im­ple­ment­ed?

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What is WinSCP?

WinSCP (Windows secure copy) is a client program written in the pro­gram­ming language, C++. It enables secure data transfer between two computers. The free software supports multiple au­then­ti­ca­tion and en­cryp­tion methods and therefore presents itself as a Windows-based al­ter­na­tive to OpenSSH and PuTTY. Based on SSH, the SFTP, and SCP protocols are used to form an encrypted con­nec­tion, which is of great sig­nif­i­cance. The program supports the un­en­crypt­ed transfer of FTP as well as the standard WebDAV. Just like other client programs (e.g. FileZilla), WinSCP serves as a file man­age­ment on web servers via remote access. Generally, a con­nec­tion is es­tab­lished between a local Windows PC and the web server. This makes it possible to download files from the server to the client, to upload from the client to the server as well as to manage them on the server. In this way, WinSCP offers a multitude of ad­van­tages:

  • User-friendly operation: WinSCP benefits from its graphical user interface that is available in two versions: the Commander interface offers the user two folder views in one window. The local computer’s file directory is shown on the left, and on the right are the remotely accessed files. The Explorer interface, on the other hand, resembles that of Windows Explorer and offers just one folder view. The data transfer takes place on both user in­ter­faces using the drag and drop feature. You can make use of the Windows shortcuts on the Explorer interface.
  • In­te­grat­ed text editor: WinSCP allows the direct editing of text files in the remote directory on the server. The software also provides an internal text editor. HTML, PHP, or CSS files can be opened and adjusted in the client program. During the writing process, WinSCP creates a copy in the cache, which is loaded in the remote directory after the saving process and replaces the original file. External editors such as Notepad++ or Eclipse can al­ter­na­tive­ly be in­te­grat­ed into WinSCP.
  • Automatic syn­chro­niza­tion: WinSCP allows the syn­chro­niza­tion of 2 di­rec­to­ries. This fa­cil­i­tates data man­age­ment for ad­min­is­tra­tors since files on the web server can be au­to­mat­i­cal­ly syn­chro­nized with local databases on the PC. If WinSCP is requested to keep a remote directory up-to-date, the program monitors the data in the local directory, in­de­pen­dent­ly uploads modified files, and deletes the old version at the server’s request.
  • Free usage: WinSCP is licensed under the general public license (GNU). As a free software, the program can be changed and dis­trib­uted. The program code for SSH and SCP is based on the client program PuTTY (the FTP program code on FileZilla).

Encrypted con­nec­tion via SSH

WinSCP is par­tic­u­lar­ly at­trac­tive for users because with this client software as they can send their data securely over an unsecured network. The in­te­grat­ed SSH client es­tab­lish­es an encrypted network con­nec­tion between the local PC and a remote device (usually a web server). Like SCP, SFTP relies on the network protocol SSH and uses its en­cryp­tion and au­then­ti­ca­tion ca­pa­bil­i­ties. There are several dif­fer­ences regarding the range of functions.

  • Secure Copy (SCP): an encrypted data transfer via SCP that uses SSH-1 and ex­clu­sive­ly supports the transfer of files from one computer to another. Since the in­tro­duc­tion of SSH-2 and the more flexible transfer standard, SFTP (which was built on SSH-2), SCP has become less and less popular. Compared with SFTP, SCP takes the lead with its efficient transfer algorithm which results in a quicker data transfer.
  • SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP): The transfer protocol SFTP came onto the market along with SSH-2. Just like SCP, SFTP stood out from FTP through an au­then­ti­ca­tion from the server and clients as well as through an encrypted data transfer. SFTP’s range of functions is clearly bigger than those of SCP. Instead of just trans­fer­ring data, SFTP can also manage and edit files in the remote directory.

Re­quire­ments for using WinSCP

WinSCP runs on every Windows computer. In order to establish a con­nec­tion to a web server, you need a username as well as the required log-in in­for­ma­tion. The encrypted access via SFTP or SCP requires a SSH server on the server’s side. This is usually au­to­mat­i­cal­ly installed for Linux dis­tri­b­u­tions. For the au­then­ti­ca­tion from the web server you can either use a classic password or a SSH key pair. Popular hosting packets beyond beginner level generally allow access via SSH.

Public key au­then­ti­ca­tion

A key pair made of private and public keys is generated with the WinSCP in­te­grat­ed ap­pli­ca­tion PuTTYgen for a public key au­then­ti­ca­tion. While the public key is saved on the SSH server, the private key is saved on the local computer. This allows WinSCP to create sig­na­tures for the au­then­ti­ca­tion whose identity can be verified by the web server with help from the public key. It is often encrypted with a random password and locally saved so that the private key doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Sim­pli­fied au­then­ti­ca­tion through Pageant

The public key au­then­ti­ca­tion can be sim­pli­fied with the PuTTY au­then­ti­ca­tion agent (Pageant). For this au­then­ti­ca­tion help, you just have to enter your private key password when starting a Windows session. Af­ter­wards, the Pageant keeps the key on hold in plain text for any further log-ins. If the user logs out, the Pageant shuts down without saving the un­en­crypt­ed private key on the hard drive. Visit or Digital Guide article to find out more about the first steps of WinSCP.

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