{"id":584,"date":"2013-02-22T15:41:32","date_gmt":"2013-02-22T15:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/2013\/02\/22\/connecting-scp-sftp\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T13:41:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T18:41:33","slug":"connecting-scp-sftp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/ftp\/connecting-scp-sftp\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting with SCP and SFTP"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the rise of security risks on Websites that process credit cards, some\u00a0PCI compliance<\/a> companies, like Trustwave<\/a> are requiring FTP to be shut off and a different method of uploading and downloading files be used. In order to accommodate these PCI compliance requirements, you can use SFTP or SCP to copy files from your local computer to your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is SFTP and SCP?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SFTP<\/strong> is SSH<\/a> File Transfer Protocol<\/strong>, Secure File Transfer Protocol<\/strong>, or Secure FTP<\/strong>. An SFTP connection uses port 22 through the command line or another SFTP client. SFTP connects securely so the data is encrypted over the network. You can restrict certain IP addresses and allow certain IP addresses making the\u00a0SSH<\/a> port 22 open only to specific users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCP<\/strong> is Secure copy<\/strong> based off of the Secure Shell Protocol (SSH<\/a>). SCP is a Secure connection over port 22 that allows only certain IP addresses to access the server the same as SFTP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: <\/strong>Port 22 is the default port for SSH, SFTP and SCP. Some system administrators may choose to modify this for security purposes. Users of Shared Servers should use Port 2222. Detailed instructions for using the SSH protocol on Shared Servers should use these instructions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why would I want to use SCP and SFTP?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are running a website that requires credit card payment transactions, you will need to follow PCI compliance<\/a> standards. This is to ensure that the site will not be compromised by hackers trying to steal personal information. Website owners run PCI compliance scans on their server to find any potential risks to website attacks. When the server fails to pass the PCI scan due to FTP port 21 being open<\/a>, the web developer is forced to use a different method to upload and download files from the server. This is where SCP<\/strong> and SFTP<\/strong> come in. SFTP<\/strong> and SCP<\/strong> allow the developer to connect to your server on a secure connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I connect \/ use SCP and SFTP?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can use SSH Secure Shell<\/strong>, PuTTy<\/strong>, FileZilla<\/strong> or another program to connect to your server using SFTP. WinSCP can connect to your server using SCP protocol. You can even use some HTML editors to connect with SFTP like DreamWeaver<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting with SFTP with FileZilla<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Open FileZilla<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Click the site manager button at the top right of the FileZilla client.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Set your connection to the following settings, but keep in mind for the Host option you could also use your server\u2019s IP address<\/a> or your server\u2019s hostname (this can be viewed in AMP<\/a>).
    Host:<\/strong> your-server.com
    Port:<\/strong> 22
    Protocol: <\/strong>SFTP (SSH File transfer Protocol)
    Logon type:<\/strong> Normal
    User: <\/strong>The cPanel username
    Password: <\/strong>The cPanel password Account: Leave blank

    Important!<\/strong> You must have your local IP address added to your server Firewall<\/a> through the WHM.<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Click the Connect<\/strong> button.
    \"Conecting<\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Connecting with SCP with WinSCP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Open WinSCP<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Set your connection to the following settings.
      Host name:<\/strong> your-server.com (you could also use your server\u2019s       IP address<\/a> or your server\u2019s hostname (this can be viewed in AMP<\/a>).)
      Port number: <\/strong>22
      File Protocol: <\/strong>SCP
      User name: <\/strong>The cPanel username
      Password: <\/strong>cPanel password

      Important!<\/strong> You must have your local IP address added to your server Firewall<\/a> through the WHM.<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Click the Login<\/strong> button.
      \"Connecting<\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Congratulations, now you know how to connect to your server with SCP and SFTP. Check out our VPS Security<\/a> guide to learn how to harden your server security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      With the rise of security risks on Websites that process credit cards, some PCI compliance companies, like Trustwave are requiring FTP to be shut off and a different method of uploading and downloading files be used. In order to accommodate these PCI compliance requirements, you can use SFTP or SCP to copy files from your local Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ftp"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConnecting with SCP and SFTP | InMotion Hosting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When you fail PCI compliance for FTP being open, you can use SFTP or SCP to connect to your server.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/ftp\/connecting-scp-sftp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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