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I'm looking for an open-source program to transfer a large file over the internet, from my friends' computer to my own. Only needs to work between two computers. Should be encrypted.

(With privacy, and no handling server in the middle, else he could just share it over Google Docs. IMO this would rule out phones.)

Use Windows, can use Linux, he uses Windows (and he may have a Linux setup, but IDK).

I would like something where he can just enter my IP and the password I give him, to connect to my computer to stream the file over, and I can shut my computer down when it's done, share IP later (if changed), again. (Cumulatively/divided file would be a good feature too.) File is less than 10gigs, IIRC.

Don't wanna create a security vulnerability or in some way advertise to attackers though.

Needs to be a quick setup. He's very good with tech, but I don't wanna take his time with this.

I want something that can deal with ISPs not liking server hosting or torrents of any kind, and be fine with router firewalls. (I have no idea either way, but I would just assume so in case.) (I can configure my router if really necessary, but IDK about him.)

My internet sees to be fine, but haven't used a torrent client in a long time, and never hosted a server.

Would FileZilla be good? I suppose I could test it, I just don't know if hosting an FTP server is going to go over well on home internet.

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    FTP isn't encrypted. – wb9688 Nov 23 '15 at 6:53
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You can use SFTP or you can use rsync over SSH. You need to configure your router for port forwarding port 22.

It meets your requirements, because:

  • It's encrypted using a password or an SSH key
  • There's no server in the middle
  • It's quick to set up:
    • Install openssh-server (and additionally rsync, if you want to use that) on your computer
    • (optionally) Setup SSH keys (for added security)
    • Install openssh-client (and additionally rsync, if you want to use that) on your friend's computer
    • Send the file by using sftp yourusername@yourip in the directory where the file is and then put filename to send it to your computer
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    This is not a software recommendation but a protocol recommendation and it does not describe how the answer fulfills the criteria. – Thomas Weller Nov 26 '15 at 14:38
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    @Thomas I updated the answer with how it fulfills the criteria – wb9688 Nov 28 '15 at 6:55
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I recently used something called WeTransfer to send a 1.64GB file to my friend Tom. It worked well -- arrived in a reasonable amount of time (it was just a few hours).

They have a free and a pay service. I used the free, of course. I don't know what the pay side is all about.

It was also easy on the receive-side, which was important as Tom is 76 and gets a little impatient at complicated instructions.

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  • Does this encrypt (one of the requirements)? – user416 Nov 27 '15 at 13:58
  • It has a server in the middle, so it doesn't meet the requirements... – wb9688 Nov 28 '15 at 6:39

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