How to Transfer Files to Acme

File Transfer with WinSCP

At Georgia Tech, your prism account comes with a allotment of disk space on acme. You will need to store files to this remote system for this class to backup your data, or create a webpage. To be able to get your files from your home computer to the GT account, you will find having a SSH file transfer protocol (SFTP) in handy. Simply put, the SFTPs allow you to securely copy files from a local computer to a remote computer and vice versa. WinSCP is one such protocol, and the one we recommend you use.

You can download WinSCP from OIT's software distribution page. You only need to download the winscp367setup.exe file and install it. Choose the full installation and the Norton Commander Interface. To connect to acme, please refer to this page for detailed instructions.

WinSCP can do all basic operations with files, such as copying and moving (to and from a remote computer). It also allows you to rename files and folders, create new folders, change properties of files and folders, and creating symbolic links and shortcuts.

File Permissions

The files you put onto acme will be given default permissions for the users that may try to access your files. File permissions allow you to control who can view, edit, and execute the files and directories you own. You can make some of your files available to other Georgia Tech students or anyone in the world, and it is also possible to ensure your files are private. You will see some letters next to the files in your directory.

W stands for Writeable
R means that the file or directory is Readable
X means eXecutable

To access files, both file permissions and directory permissions must be set correctly. For example, you may choose to upload an html file. In order for other people to view this page, you will need to set permissions for others to Read and eXecute this file, but not Write to this file. Additionally you will need to make sure that the directory of the uploaded html file has Read and eXecute permissions.

It is extremely important that you know exactly who has permission to view, change and execute your files. In fact, it is your responsibility to ensure the security of your files. There have been an innumerable number of academic misconduct cases that involved a student copying files directly from another student's directory simply because he or she had access to them, regardless of whether or not the thief even knew the victim. Protect your files!

Setting permissions for files is easy using WinSCP:

  1. You can set the default permissions given to the files you transfer via WinSCP by going to the "Options" menu and selecting "Preferences." Click on "Transfer" and make sure your configuration matches those shown below in figure 1.
  2. You can right click on each file, select "Properties" and adjust file permissions by checking off the permissions you want to grant.


Figure 1: File Transfer Setup