Secure FTP Access to your KKoncepts Website

Since we're a little paranoid about security here at KKoncepts (OK, we're very paranoid about security), we don't allow standard FTP access to our websites.  Instead we require that you use a "Secure" (i.e. encrypted) version FTP know as FTPS. 

While you can use any FTPS client to access your KKoncepts website, we recommend FileZilla.  It's freely available and runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.  Go here to download FileZilla for your operating system.  (Linux users can probably install it directly from your Package manager as well.)

Of course, you're welcome to use any FTPS client you like.  The settings we show you here should work for any FTPS client.

Once it's installed, start FileZilla.  Then click on the small "Site Manager" icon in the upper left-hand corner.

This will bring up the Site Manager dialog box.  Click the button which says "New Site".

This creates a "New site" item in the list of "My Sites".

If you want, you can click on that item to select it and then type in a new name.  In the following image, I've called this site "KKoncepts".

Now on the right hand side, enter in the following information into the appropriate fields:

(Please note that you can also use "Port: 990" if port 21 doesn't work.  If you find that you can't connect after following these instructions, change the port to "990" and try again.)

Next choose either "Normal" or "Ask for Password" in the "LogonType" field.  If you choose "Normal", then you can enter your password and it will be stored in FileZilla so you don't ever need to enter it again.  If you choose "Ask for Password", then each time you start FileZilla, you will need to type in your password to access your website.

Then enter your KKoncepts website User name and Password into the appropriate fields.  For security, we only set up FTP access on request.  So if you don't have a User name and Password to access your web site, contact KKoncepts Technical Support, and we'll set up a User name and Password for you.

In the following image we are using "Normal" LogonType, so we enter both our User name ("user1" in this example) and our password.  If you choose "Ask for Password", you will not be able to enter a password.

Once you've entered all this information, press the "Connect" button to make sure you can connect to your web site.

The first time you do this, you'll be shown the FileZilla "Unknown Certificate" dialog box.  FileZilla requires that you manually confirm the security certificate before you connect.

To check that you are connecting to the right site, look for the lines in the dialog box near the top which say "Fingerprint".  The current figures are:

Fingerprint (MD5):    f3:75:df:c1:f8:41:78:84:e3:2e:1c:a1:6d:83:ef:32
Fingerprint (SHA-1): f0:ab:a0:61:9c:cf:d2:42:9d:7b:2c:9f:fb:7f:26:f4:23:e8:77:ca

If the fingerprints you see do not match these numbers, then click Cancel and check your settings.  If your settings are correct but you still see a different fingerprints, then please contact KKoncepts Technical Support.

Assuming the fingerprints match, then check the small box at the lower left which says "Always trust this certificate in future sesssions" and then press the "OK" button.

Now you're back in the the main FileZilla screen.  On the left hand side is your computer and on the right hand side is your KKoncepts web site.  You can drag-and-drop between your local machine and your web site in order to upload and/or download files.

You might notice that the display can be quite crowded with the status bar at the top and the transfer queue at the bottom.  Fortunately you can easily turn on and off the various areas of the display when you don't wish to see them.  Click on any of the four icons you see next to the "Site Manager" icon we original clicked on to show or hide these various areas of the display.

When you are done, you can log off either by closing FileZilla, or by clicking on the icon with the red 'X' in the tool bar.

Now that everything is set up, you can connect to your web site at any time by opening FileZilla, clicking on the "Site Manager" icon, selecting your site from the "My Sites" list, and clicking the "Connect" button.  (In some versions of FileZilla, the "Site Manager" icon has a small arrow next to it.  If you click on that arrow, you can select your connection directly without opening the Site Manager.)