Blog 10-21-25

1 SFTP

1.1 Common Uses of SFTP

SFTP is the industry standard for any situation where secure file transfer is needed:

Web Developers: To upload website files from their local computer to a web hosting server.

Financial and Healthcare Institutions: To exchange sensitive data like financial reports or patient records, often to meet compliance laws (e.g., HIPAA, PCI-DSS).

Businesses: To automate the transfer of payroll data, sales reports, or backups between offices or to cloud storage.

System Administrators: To securely manage files on remote servers.

1.2 Key Features of SFTP

Strong Encryption: All data is encrypted before being sent. This includes the files themselves, as well as your commands and passwords.

Authentication: You can authenticate with a simple username/password, or more securely using SSH keys (a pair of cryptographic keys that are much harder to crack than a password).

Single Connection: SFTP only requires a single connection (usually on port 22) for both commands and data. This makes it easier to configure through firewalls compared to FTP, which requires multiple ports.

File Management: It’s not just for transfers. You can use SFTP to browse directories, create, delete, and rename files, and change their permissions on the remote server.

1.3 SFTP vs. FTPS: A Common Point of Confusion

It’s important not to confuse SFTP with FTPS.

SFTP: A completely different protocol that runs over an SSH connection.

FTPS: This is the traditional FTP protocol, but with a SSL/TLS encryption layer added on top (the same technology that secures HTTPS websites).

While both are secure, SFTP is generally considered simpler and more modern due to its use of a single connection.

Summary

In short: If you need to transfer files securely, you should always use SFTP (or a modern alternative) and avoid the older, insecure FTP.

1.4 Changing the default SSH port

Edit the config:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Allow the port through firewall:

sudo ufw allow 2222/tcp

See if SSH is listening on any ports

sudo netstat -tlnp | grep :22
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep :2222

Reload the systemd daemon and restarted the socket:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload    # Reload systemd configuration
sudo systemctl restart ssh.socket  # Restart the socket listener

Check if something else is using port 2222 that might conflict:

sudo ss -tlnp | grep :2222

1.5 Configure Rclone to connect to VPS via SFTP

1.5.1 Create a New SFTP Remote

Run the configuration wizard:

rclone config

You’ll see an interactive prompt. Follow these steps:

e) Edit existing remote
n) New remote
s) Set configuration password
q) Quit config

Choose n for New remote.

1.5.2 Configure the SFTP Connection

name> VPS

For storage type, choose SFTP:

Type of storage to configure.
Choose a number from below, or type in your own value
...
50 / SFTP
...
Storage> 50

List the root directory of your VPS:

rclone lsd vps:

Copy files TO your VPS:

rclone copy D:\TestVPS\ VPS:TestVPS -P

This will create ~/TestVPS in the user’s home directory, where they have write permissions.

1.5.3 Automated Two-Way Sync Scripts

Sync TO VPS:

@echo off
echo Syncing local Obsidian to VPS...
rclone sync "D:\TestVPS\Obsidian" "VPS:TestVPS/Obsidian" -P --progress
echo Sync complete!
pause

Sync FROM VPS:

#!/bin/bash
echo "Syncing Obsidian vault..."
rclone sync ~/Obsidian VPS:TestVPS/Obsidian -P
echo "Sync complete!"