[apostacy]

I will occasionally use FTP to move documents between computers (a PC, an iMac, and an iBook). The documents themselves are not important and so it doesn't matter that they are not secure, but I wonder: is the password I enter when logging into my iMac secure? I wouldn't want anyone to get a hold of that.

(I'm aware of SFTP, but haven't gotten around to installing that PC client yet, and find the plain UNIX version a bit less user-friendly than FTP.)

[wadesworld]

Nope, not at all. FTP sends its password in clear text. That's why SFTP exists.

Wade

[Mithras]

Yeah, you're much better off turning on SSH ("Remote Login") on the Macs, and getting a SCP client for the PC. PuTTY is free and popular.

[legacyb4]

If you are looking for a Windows-based SFTP client, check out WinSCP. It's a bit clunky in typical Windows fashion with crazy buttons everywhere, but it works.