FTP stands for "file transfer protocol." FTP is the internet's mechanism for transferring files between two computers. FTP allows you to get access to files stored in a directory on a hard drive on a remote computer connected to the internet. Sometimes we forget that the internet, when you strip away all the hype, is really still just a network of computers. And one of the primary purposes of a network is to allow different computers on the network to share each others resources, including files.

Some form of FTP is available to anyone who has access to the internet. FTP is an information "service" available to any internet user, just like the web and e-mail. FTP, like these other services, is independent of the software you use to access it. For example, if you use Windows, you can use both Netscape and other programs, like the Windows 95 FTP client or WS_FTP, to access internet files using FTP. If you use Unix, you would probably use the Unix FTP client. If you use the Macintosh operating system, there are likewise several FTP programs available for the Mac OS.

In this tutorial, we will first discuss the fundamentals of how FTP does what it does. Then we will do some hands-on downloading and uploading with WS_FTP, a popular shareware FTP program for Windows. In addition we will do some FTP downloading with Netscape, a popular world wide web browser for Windows.