File Transfer Protocol is used to transfer data from one computer to another over the Internet, or through a network. FTP is a file transfer protocol for exchanging and manipulating files over any TCP-based computer network. A FTP client may connect to a FTP server to manipulate files on that server. As there are many FTP client and server programs available for different operating systems, FTP is a popular choice for exchanging files independent of the operating systems involved.
Many sites that run FTP servers enable anonymous ftp. Under this arrangement, users do not need an account on the server. The user name for anonymous access is typically ‘anonymous’, but historically ‘ftp’ was also used in the past; this account does not need a password.