Changes to remote files access offerings

For many years, Computing and Network Services has offered FTPFiles, a service which allows you to access your personal, departmental, and course files located on the network using a standard FTP client. Computing and Network Services will be discontinuing this service in favor of alternative solutions at the conclusion of the Spring 2009 academic term.

Instead of FTPFiles, we recommend the use of NetStorage and DocXchanger for off-campus access to files. If you wish to continue to use FTP, we have also launched a new secure FTP service to provide a direct replacement for FTPFiles. Unencrypted FTP service will no longer be available.

The legacy FTPFiles service is being discontinued for a variety of reasons:

• Use of FTPFiles at Drew has decreased markedly in recent years in favor of alternatives such as NetStorage and DocXchanger.
• Current security recommendations, industry best-practices, and the reality of security on the internet today do not make it practical or responsible for us to continue to provide a service that allows for the transit of University documents in an unencrypted form.
• For those that wish to continue to use FTP, secure FTP clients are now widely and freely available for Windows and MacOS systems. This obviates the need to provide an unencrypted FTP service.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at cns@drew.edu.