FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is an old and well-proven way of downloading and uploading files.
To download files via FTP, you can either use a web browser such as Chrome, Safari, or Internet Explorer - or you can use a specialized FTP program such as Filezilla.
With Filezilla (or any other FTP program), you will need to specify the Address, Username, and Password - which you will find on the Download page. Sometimes you may be asked to specify the port as well.
The advantage of FTP are:
It supports resuming downloads in case your computer got disconnected from the internet during the download. This is a big advantage if you're downloading large files over an unstable connection.
You can share very large files, something that not all cloud-based solutions can offer. Filemail doesn't have this problem, we can handle files of any size.
There are free FTP clients, which means one less expense for you.
The drawbacks of FTP are:
It doesn't guarantee the integrity of files being downloaded, so if you want to be 100% sure that the file got downloaded correctly, we recommend using Filemail Desktop instead.
It can be too technical for some users who are not familiar with using addresses and specifying ports.
Its UI and UX can be daunting, and not user-friendly at all.
FTP lacks the security, privacy control, and compliance requirements that businesses need to conform with.
It's difficult to monitor and audit usage.
It's difficult to define granular access and control privileges.
You will need online storage, which can be cloud-based, or your servers.