In my post two weeks ago, I introduced you to KDE’s KIO slaves and gave you a brief overview of the services they offer. One of the KIO protocols is remote:/, which relies on KNetAttach to create virtual network folders.  With it, you can create folders for the following services:

1. WebFolder (webdav)
2. FTP
3. Microsoft Windows network drive (using Samba)
4. Secure shell (ssh)

Each one has its slightly unique features and requirements, and in this post, you will learn about each one.

There are two ways to start KNetAttach. One, which we already discussed, is to go to remote:/ in Dolphin or Konqueror. Then, simply click on Add Network Folder. The other method is to press Alt-F2, type “knetattach” and press Enter.

If you have your own website, blog or are uploading information online somewhere, there is a decent chance you are using a FTP uploader of some sort. When I originally had a need for this kind of application, I did a little digging around. The name that kept popping up was Cyberduck. I looked at some of the other options. What won me over was it is extremely easy to use. Cyberduck is more than just an FTP uploader, it is more like a web browser for hosted files. Oh, not to mention its free.

If you own a self-hosted WordPress account, chances are you are using FTP to transfer all your files online. Here’s the problem: connecting and transferring files via FTP is not secured. All your login credential (including username and password) and data are transmitted over the network in plain text. Any hacker who is sniffing your network can easily obtain your password and gain access to your account.

If you are really concerned about the security of your site, this is something that you really need to avoid.