The leader in ftp and file sharing

On a few occassions I have been asked “Why do I need an FTP client? Can’t I do everyting with my FTP site?”.  The SmartFile application has many features, but some are better handled by a FTP client. Here are some advantages to using an FTP client.
Allows you to transfer multiple files as well as directories
The ability to resume a transfer is the connection is lost
The ablilty to add items to a “queue” to be uploaded/downloaded
Many FTP clients have the ability to schedule transfers
No size limitation on single transfers (browsers only allow up to 2 GB)
Many clients have scripting capabilities through command line
Most clients have a synchronizing utility
Faster transfers then HTTP
Those are just a few of the advantages of using an FTP client. While the clients help make transfers easier they are not without their drawbacks. Here are some of the disadvantages of using and FTP client.
Usernames, passwords and files are sent in clear text
filtering active FTP connections is difficult on your local machine (passive is preferred)
servers can be spoofed to send data to a random port on an unintended computer
In those cases you can see where using the web interface would eliminate these issues. Both FTP clients and the FTP site have their advantages and disadvantages. Fortunately you are able to use them hand in hand depending on your specific needs.

As browsers continue to advance more and more of these features will be worked in. In the future the need for a third party client may be unnecessary, but for now they are really nice to have.