CrushFTP Editor's Review

'CrushFTP' is an advanced FTP/FTPS server featuring many options and the possibility to use a Web interface.

My first reaction after starting this program was "wow, it can do so many things". The CrushFTP server requires authentication to the system, so you have to authenticate to run it properly.

The first issue I encountered about this client was that it doesn't notify you if the 21 port is in use by another server. For example, I have the ProFTPd daemon running and the CrushFTP status window showed me that the server was running, when in fact the FTP connections were intercepted by ProFTPd.

Having so many features is not such a big deal. For example, ProFTPd or PureFTPd have tones of features but they have a minor disadvantage, they are text based, so the configuration is a little 'newbie proof'. The big deal about this server is that the user interface is well structured. You can customize almost everything that a user can do on the server. The permission customization starts from the basic access rights and ends with traffic and space quotas. Besides that, it features automatic banning in case of excessive connections as well.

Another cool feature for this server is the possibility to use secure communications. It can use the FTPS protocol. The secure communications can also be accessed from the Web interface.

I mentioned Web interface couple of times and it is true, the server allows you to manage files from the user's directory by using a Web browser instead of a FTP client.

Adding users and groups is a simple activity that can be done in just a few mouse clicks. Adding directories to the virtual file system is an action that can be done easily. Besides using files from your local file system, another interesting feature is the possibility to use some remote folders that would be accessible from the user's FTP account. Examples of supported protocols are FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP (WebDAV), HTTPS (WebDAV).

Pluses: it's fast and it has many advanced features. It can use a Web interface or a WebDAV interface, so it can be integrated into Finder. Since Finder has the support for WebDAV, the secure protocol will be fast.

Drawbacks / flaws: it doesn't have a hide feature. Closing the main window closes the application itself instead of letting it to run silently into the Dock Menu.

In conclusion: if you don't want text based servers and if learning how to configure those daemons isn't an option for you, then this server is a good solution. It also has a very good price for what it has to offer.

version reviewed: 4.0.4