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Ever wonder what "http" stands for in all of the Web sites you access with your Web browser? Hypertext Transfer Protocol is how your browser transfers files from remote servers to graphically display web content on your monitor. Because HTML displays everything in all its multimedia glory, it's slow. However, with FTP, you can just grab a file and download it, fast, saving time (read that "money") and aggravation (priceless).

FTP is now attracting a critical mass of users who are finding transferring via e-mail attachments grossly inefficient or impractical when dealing with large documents. For uploading such files — which browsers can't handle at all — FTP is the only answer (e.g., for efficiently posting new HTML pages onto a Web site or sharing graphics-laden files).

Today, growing numbers of power users, telecommuters, and corporate Internet managers are unleashing the protocol's potential by using FTP clients — file transfer software applications designed for users — to minimize time spent online. In fact, for anyone that even touches the Internet, "FTP client" should be spoken in the same breath as "e-mail" and "browser" when describing efficient desktop needs. You need all three.