Introduction
As the theft of sensitive information increases, it is important to secure the network traffic between apps, browsers and servers.
SFTP
Vistacast uses SFTP to transfer file directories and large files from your computer to the vLearning Server (vLS).
SFTP, known as both SSH File Transfer Protocol and Secure File Transfer Protocol, is used to transfer files. It is more secure than FTP and is more widely used than FTPS.
One of the security options is to authenticate using a public/private key pair instead of sending a password to the server. The Vistacast SFTP servers are configured this way. Your public key is installed on the server and your private key is stored only on your computer(s) and can be optionally be protected with a passphrase.
Instructions for using private keys with a SFTP client vary from program to program.
The first time you connect, verify the server’s key fingerprint.
| Key Algorithm | Fingerprint Type | Fingerprint |
|---|---|---|
| ED25519 | SHA256 | /qhvFIPj9zqgYvp7hPAk1iDbsnGZHmznPmKrqNO3xzE |
| ED25519 | MD5 | 85:48:f1:47:de:be:41:be:98:8d:10:a8:2b:51:b7:96 |
| ECDSA | SHA256 | gomRWPb4UTpEmwLPx8Ea1WlocSpRqQ6EAd/YB5Rus70 |
| ECDSA | MD5 | c8:8c:38:2a:d9:cc:c4:a1:fc:04:d0:52:0b:7c:29:91 |
| RSA | SHA256 | u8GvbUftxvn9C3Xi7Z4YLxWlx87Q5qqcUH8R7r6sIRU |
| RSA | MD5 | f6:5a:40:9a:cd:c2:fb:a7:c2:ee:51:e2:4d:ca:38:31 |
WinSCP
The following procedure was written for WinSCP version 5.13.3. Other versions may be slightly different.
WinSCP is an free open source SFTP client (as well as FTP, FTPS, SCP, WebDAV and S3) for Windows. It can be downloaded from here.
WinSCP uses private keys saved in the PuTTY private key (.ppk) format.
To prevent being disconnected during periods of inactivity, set the keepalives option to send null SSH packets every 5 minutes.
Cyberduck
The following procedure was written for Cyberduck version 4.7.2. Other versions may be slightly different.
Cyberduck is an free open source SFTP client (as well as FTP, WebDAV and S3) for Windows and Mac OS X.
If you download Cyberduck from the Mac App Store, it costs $23.99. To get it for free, download the .zip file, unarchive it and move it to the Applications folder.
Cyberduck uses private keys saved in the PuTTY private key (.ppk) format.
FileZilla
The following procedure was written for FileZilla version 3.13.0. Other versions may be slightly different.
FileZilla is an free open source SFTP client (as well as FTP) for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It can be downloaded from here.
The installer from SourceForge sometimes includes bundled offers. Make sure to read each screen and skip the additional software install if you do not want them. Another option for Mac OS X is to download the tar.bz2 compressed app, uncompress it and move it to the Applications folder.
FileZilla uses private keys saved in the PuTTY private key (.ppk) format. It can not use a password protected key file, but it can convert it to a non-password protected file.
