FTP reccommendation?

your web host usually has FTP access - you can often setup a separate directory and user for sharing files via FTP.

There is an even easier option, check out http://www.yousendit.com/ where you can send large files for free, there are several similar sites out there as well

FTP servers can be password protected, but the transmissions are not encrypted.

Yousendit is SSL encrypted, click for their security page

Annie - my only input was to mention YouSendIt - they are good and you don't have to buy anything.

I'm a Mac addict, so I have no real Windows platform FTP programs. Otherwise I'd advise on Flow, and Fetch.

Like Laura suggested, YouSendIt is a great tool for this kind of stuff. You can password protect the file, make the person log in to download it, etc. (All those options are on the left side of their home page.)

If you decide to have your webdude set up an FTP area on your web site, then I would suggest using Transmit for the file transfers. I find a lot of people get confused using Fetch, but Transmit is a no-brainer for anyone.

If you're uploading/downloading to a server, you could try using filezilla. It's an open source ftp client and pretty easy to use.

I'd recommend Cyberduck for FTP on the mac - its easy, free, and has a silly name.

I use Cyberduck on a regular basis and love it, but like Kevin mentions, it's for Mac.

There is an equivalent for Windows called FileZilla

I've also used SendThisFile's free plan to send large files. If you are doing this frequently, you can upgrade to paid monthly plans.

If you ZIP your files with a password, you will minimize the size and protect them from casual interception.

FTP is not a "reliable protocal." What you send may not be what you get. If your connection breaks during a transfer, you must restart sending.

Microsoft uses something called BITS to communicate updates. It's part of Windows and programmable. You may want to consider a custom solution depending on the value of what you are sending and potential losses if transmission does not succeed.

I've used both FileZilla and You Send It. They both work well, no transmission problems and are easy to use.

FileZilla is a good open source app that does good FTP. Marty is right, FTP can be unreliable and you may not get the entire transfer so you have to pay attention to it. Also, unless you are using SSH then the connection is not secure so you could theoretically have eavesdroppers.

In reality, if you are wanting to make sure the person you intended to receive the file actually gets it, get their email address and use yousendit. That way, unless someone else is checking their mail, you can be reasonably sure that person will get it.

Ditto FileZilla. Checking out YouSendIt shows a lot of very useful information in the FAQs about sending files generally. Looks like a good service.

I like Yousendit too. Also - if you are transferring many files between people, I really recommend foldershare.com. it's super easy to set up a VPN, and I've never had any problems with it. It's free, too!

Yup, in my experience working with a Tokyo-based client, YouSendIt is hard to beat. Completely takes the pressure off email accounts and avoids the security hassles of setting up an ftp site.