Introduction
Does the following situation sound familiar to you? You have to send a large PowerPoint presentation document to an overseas customer, and the customer's e-mail system will not accept large file attachments. Your customers need the file as soon as possible. You try different options, different e-mail clients, sending a CD by post, or even setting up your own FTP server. If security isn't your biggest concern, setting up the FTP server is generally a manageable option. All you have to do is get permission to open up the appropriate ports on your network, set up the FTP service, send the file over, close the connection, and then shut down the server. It's a lot of work, creates a lot of potential security holes, and if you have to send large files on a regular basis, it can become a very cumbersome process.
If
you've faced the challenge of sending a large file over the Internet, I'm sure
you've told yourself that "There must be a better way". There is. Developed
by a group of McGill University graduates residing in California, YouSendIt
is a free, secure, on-line service that conveniently allows you to send large
files over the Internet. Their free web service can be accessed at www.yousendit.com.
For large-scale secure enterprise-level file transactions, YouSendIt also offers
a turnkey solution called the YouSendIt Enterprise Server. The Enterprise Server
is a dedicated server package that can be customized to integrate with your
organization's security infrastructure.
What is it and how does it work?
YouSendIt's service offerings consist of a free public-use web service, and the specialized Enterprise Server. Both services use the same underlying technology to handle the file transfers. To send non-sensitive data, the free service works very well. Both the Enterprise Server and the free service use the following basic procedure to send files: To send a file using YouSendIt, simply go to the web site and enter the e-mail of the person you want to sent the file to, select a file to send from your computer, and click on Send. The system uploads your file to the YouSendIt server, and then sends an e-mail notification for file pickup to the recipient. The recipient clicks on the link, and downloads the file. There's no software to install, no account creation process, and your e-mail inboxes never fill up with large files.
The main difference between the two offerings is that the Enterprise Server is a customized offering that can integrate with your existing security infrastructure and runs on a dedicated server, whereas the free service runs on the YouSendIt public servers.
TEC spoke with Amir Shaikh, vice president of business development at YouSendIt with regards to the system security options, and the company's goals for the YouSendIt service. "We want to become the de facto standard for large file transfers over the Internet. We saw a market that stemmed out of our own needs to transfer large files, and we were frustrated by the fact that there was no easy way to achieve this. We initially decided to come up with our own system that filled our personal needs, and then developed it into the commercial service on the site." With regards to e-mail protection of users, Amir says, "We want to ensure that the system is fast, non-intrusive, and easy to use. YouSendIt does not redistribute any e-mail addresses to anyone and advertising on the site is limited to the file download portion of the site. This way the user can focus on transferring their files without any cumbersome advertising to detract them."
The
YouSendIt Enterprise Server includes use of a standalone application server
that contains the same scalable architecture of the free service, but with additional
privacy and security options. The Enterprise Server offers multi-tiered end
user security including SSL encryption for data transfers, S/MIME for notifications,
and optional SGC 128-bit encryption for even stronger protection. Also available
is a "Straight Through Processing" option which allows users to receive a file
as it is being uploaded by the sender. Files themselves can be password protected
and MD5 filename encryption is available. All of the above security features
can be customized according to your enterprise needs.
Administrators can maintain their enterprise server through secure authentication tokens including RSA SecurID and CryptoCard. This provides additional security for system administrators who want to manage their server remotely. The Enterprise Server service is highly customizable and scalable according to business requirements. There are many reporting and logging options available for administrators as well. The Enterprise Server edition can also automatically integrate into your enterprise's own network authentication if desired.
With all of these security features in place, the YouSendIt Enterprise Server provides your organization with the necessary tools to handle a secure large file transfer infrastructure.