WinSCP

by: Download.com staff on April 05, 2010

WinSCP is a small, free, open-source file transfer client for Windows that uses Secure Shell (SSH) technology to enable the safe copying of files between a local and a remote PC using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), SSH FTP, or SCP (Secure Copy) protocols, as well as offering some basic file management features.

This small tool's full-featured installer includes additional, optional software called Jing, but you have to select it; the default installation omits Jing. The installer also presents a choice between two different main interface styles, a full-featured Commander interface with panels for local and remote directories and a scaled-down Explorer interface that only accesses remote directories. The Commander interface is a small dialog with a navigation pane and places to enter host and user names, a password, and a private key file. An About button links to an extensive Web-based Help site. You can select between SFTP, SCP, and FTP transfers and several languages, but not much more, though, in this case, less is more since the program's goal is simplicity. One feature we did like a lot is the ability to Export the program's complicated preference settings with a click. Of course, nothing matters if the program doesn't deliver, but WinSCP transferred files quickly and securely in testing.

Martin Prikryl's WinSCP is freeware. We tested it in Vista and Windows 7, but it works in most versions of Windows back to Win95. Its ability to securely transfer files between far-flung PCs using several protocols earns our recommendation.

From Martin Prikryl:

WinSCP is a freeware SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and SCP (Secure Copy) client for Windows using SSH (Secure Shell). Its main function is safe copying of files between a local and a remote computer. Beyond this basic function, WinSCP manages some other actions with files.

What's new in this version:

Fixes for various OpenSSL vulnerabilities;Improved compatibility with various SFTP servers.Upload and download files to your FTP resource. Send and receive data on Telnet, SSH, Rlogin, and Raw protoc... Copy files between a local and a remote PC using an SFTP and... Open multiple FTP connections and transfer files from one ho... Copy files between local and remote computers. Download YouTube videos and convert to multiple formats. Download and convert videos from video streaming sites. Increase your connection speed and recover broken downloads. Download and manage torrent files. Download and convert videos from YouTube, Google, Yahoo, Fac... Download YouTube videos and accelerate downloads by up to 5 ... Download video and music from YouTube. Check your Facebook friends, discover if their profiles and ... Find your own IP address and match hostnames with IP address... Open multiple FTP connections and transfer files from one ho... Manage your file downloads on your Windows PC. View, extract, and save cached videos in your Web browser ca... Capture and analyze the traffic and protocols running on a c... Download files faster and safer with your Web and Windows ap... Integrate VLC, Winamp, and MPC through YouTube and Vimeo to ... All Versions:

4.3 out of 60 votes

5 star: 39 4 star: 11 3 star: 3 2 star: 2 1 star: 5 Current Version:

0 stars Be the first to review this product My rating:

0 stars

Write review 5 stars

"works as stated and works very well."

April 23, 2014

Version: WinSCP 5.5.3

Pros

lotta organizations are accustomed to users using this so help is available.

Cons

not aware of any

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4 stars

"Great GUI for Secure FTP and easy to Automate"

March 31, 2014   |   By cballinger

Version: WinSCP 5.5.2

Pros

Very good documentation. Very easy to automate Secure FTP tasks and embed in other applications for those reoccurring FTP tasks you need.

Cons

None discovered so far.

Summary

Needed to automate a secure FTP transfer that occurs every week. FTPS was failing due to active firewalls at both ends. Using WinSCP and port 22, the transfers are still secure, but are now working reliably every week.

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5 stars

"Its fast, it works, its secure, its free"

November 01, 2013   |   By ArizonaBrian

Version: WinSCP 5.1.6

Pros

Easy to use, it transfers files quickly, its secure!

Cons

instructions would be nice! As a person new to FTP I had no clue how to setup a connection to my server, much less which secure method to use.

Also, I "moved" a file to what I thought was the root folder. The file disappeared from its location but didn't go where it was supposed to (my fault for a bad target location). I have no idea where it went - never found it. I would like an undo or perhaps a move history in case I need to correct a mistake. Then again, they could be there and I just haven't found the undo or history button.

I believe the from location is always on the left and the target is on the right. But it sure would be nice to go the other way, dragging a file from the right to the left to pull it from the server. Again, it might do that and I just didn't figure out how yet.

Summary

I have used it twice but both times it was easy to use, and transferred files very quickly. I like it better than any FTP transfer program I have used in the past. Secure FTP should always be this easy. Read my cons knowing I only used this product twice so far.

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5 stars

"THE go-to FTP/SCP client"

October 27, 2013   |   By dd_armstrong

Version: WinSCP 5.1.6

Pros

Have used this for years. Simple, low-memory usage, minimal install, easy-to-use, stable, intuitive, customisable. What more to say?

Cons

None that are in any way important enough to mention. A great application.

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5 stars

"WINSCP - Great FTP file Mover"

August 08, 2013   |   By cballinger

Version: WinSCP 5.1.6

Pros

Easy to use, GUI interface easy to follow and very intuitive.
Easy navigation for both the source and target file locations.

Cons

none found so far.

Summary

Great FREE program to handle secure FTP between your system and remote FTP site. Very good GUI, easy to use for even first time users. Not used extensively, but handy to have when you need to move secure files manually.

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1 stars

"Dangerous Download"

July 22, 2013   |   By carolbarrington

Version: WinSCP 5.1.5

Pros

This is a simple-to-use program, but its download came with several infections uncovered via Avast boot scan. Please clean this up before anyone else gets infected.

Cons

This is a simple-to-use program, but its download came with several infections uncovered via Avast boot scan. Please clean this up before anyone else gets infected.

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4 stars

"Works well for people like me who don't know how . . !"

June 20, 2013   |   By Martin Turner

Version: WinSCP 5.1.5

Pros

Suitable for those who like an easy life.

Cons

Still looking.

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5 stars

"Great Product for its use"

June 29, 2012   |   By applecrusher1992

Version: WinSCP 4.3.8

Pros

Solid and very compatible with older version of Linux

Cons

I don't see any

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5 stars

"Good product"

April 12, 2012   |   By mieks

Version: WinSCP 4.3.7

Pros

I had lots of problems with Dreamweaver, Filezilla en Coreftp for updating files. Perhaps a serverproblem of a problem with IPV6, but with WinSCP updating files on the server isn't a problem. Does it in second.

Cons

Synchronizing doesn't work as it should in my case. Perhaps has something to do with settings. But with my problematic server and problems I'm glad as it is.

Summary

Good, reliable product, even in problematic cases.

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5 stars

"Auto FTP syncing very handy for web developers"

April 11, 2012   |   By peertje888

Version: WinSCP 4.3.7

Pros

Monitors local file system for changes and uploads changed files via FTP.
Secure FTP support (SFTP)
Many features.

Cons

With the many features it is not easy to use for beginners

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