BulletProof FTP 2.4  review: BulletProof FTP 2.4 

BulletProof FTP sits in the bargain bin of FTP clients. It costs a little less than the competition and, as you'd expect, delivers less with little polish. BulletProof's straightforward interface will appeal to experienced users, but it leaves novices without any help to get started. In a pinch, BulletProof gets the job done for less. But for the best FTP value, we recommend the more thorough WS FTP Pro. BulletProof FTP sits in the bargain bin of FTP clients. It costs a little less than the competition and, as you'd expect, delivers less with little polish. BulletProof's straightforward interface will appeal to experienced users, but it leaves novices without any help to get started. In a pinch, BulletProof gets the job done for less. But for the best FTP value, we recommend the more thorough WS FTP Pro.

Familiar features; lacks detail
After downloading and installing the free, 30-day BulletProof FTP trial, you'll see that the software offers you an interface similar to those of CuteFTP and WS FTP Pro. There are two windows; the one on the left shows the current local system directory, and on the right, you'll see the remote system. Most FTP clients launch with a site manager window that lets you create bookmarks to frequently visited sites. BulletProof FTP includes such a manager, but we found it hard to use, with site names displayed in a separate window.

The top of the screen offers data fields for entering the FTP server name and your username and password, simplifying the login process for advanced users who don't want to fumble through a site manager. The software remembers the last site you visited, so when you run the program again, all you need to do is click Connect to visit it again. Unfortunately, BulletProof FTP lacks a preloaded list of anonymous FTP sites, which is a handy feature for newbies.

Lacks advanced features, too
Although aimed toward experienced FTP users, BulletProof is missing the advanced features that they're likely to want. The Scheduling command lets you delay only downloads in the queue; it won't schedule recurring tasks, such as synchronizing folders. BulletProof FTP also lacks SSL encryption for secure downloads.

In our tests, BulletProof performed in line with other FTP clients in both downloading and uploading large files and multiple small files. Only WS FTP Pro performed better, transferring multiple small files twice as quickly as the competition.

Registering BulletProof FTP costs $29.95, which is $10 less than competitors such as WS FTP Pro and CuteFTP. The registration fee includes technical support via e-mail and lifetime upgrades; the others offer upgrades for only 60 days or at most a year. The company's Web site offers a good set of FAQs, to boot, but the included Windows help file is spartan. Worse, BulletProof includes no user manuals or built-in tutorials.

BulletProof FTP offers the minimum in an FTP app. For a little more money, WS FTP Pro, CuteFTP, and FTP Voyager 9.0 offer more features and polish.

Take me back to the roundup!