What type of information does the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) transmit?

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is designed for transferring files over a network. When data is transmitted using FTP, it is sent in plaintext, meaning that the information is not encrypted. This makes it vulnerable to interception and unauthorized access, as anyone eavesdropping on the network can read the data being transferred without needing any special tools or techniques.

Using plaintext is a key characteristic of traditional FTP, which is why it is often recommended to use secure variants, such as FTPS or SFTP, for transferring sensitive data. These secure protocols encrypt the information to protect it during transmission. Traditional FTP does not limit the types of files it can transfer to just text files; it can handle binary files as well, but the core aspect is the nature of the transmission in plaintext.