FTP ( File Transfer Protocol ) is the oldest one around. Its original specification was put together by Abhay Bhushan and released on April 16th, 1971. It’s been updated many times since and the latest version lets it support IPv6.
FTP is a standard network protocol which most people know is used to move files from one host (machine or operating system) to another over a TCP/IP-based network. FTP is usually used to move files up or down to a server. Unfortunately, this means that using FTP with its default settings offers very poor security. That’s because it lets users authenticate themselves using only clear text, which is vulnerable to a Man in the Middle Attack, among others.
For secure transmission, where content, username and password are protected, FTP is used with SSL/TLS or even replaced with Secure File Transfer Protocol ( sFTP ).