Connecting to Mercury Using Secure FTP
Mercury is the main faculty/staff file server running on campus. Information Systems recommends that you use the Secure File Transfer program to transfer files while you are off campus. This ensures that your data is protected as it travels across the Internet. Secure FTP is a file transfer program that utilize a more secure method of transferring information and data. If you do not have the SFTP program installed on your computer, you can purchase the UWARE CD from the UW Bookstore for $1, or check out a copy from the Helpdesk (UW1-080). You can also download it from this website (you will first have to enter your UW NetID to download). If you have questions on the installation process, please feel free to give the Helpdesk a call at (425) 352-5275.
- Open the SecureFTP program. The icon should look something like this:
This can usually be found under the Start Menu: "Start"->"Programs"->"UWICK Applications"->"SSH Secure FTP". - Click on the Quick Connect
button. If you receive an error message concerning the "profile," you can click on Cancel to skip past it. This is an error that occurs with some of the older installations of UWICK. - Enter: mercury.uwb.edu as the host name.
- Type in your username - in most cases, this will be [first initial] + [last name]. If, however, this does not work, you may have to include the domain along with your username. To do so, append uwb + \ (a backslash) to the beginning of your username. For example: uwb\pgarrett.
- Leave the port number at 22.
- Click on Connect.
- The first time you connect, you will get a "Host Identification" window that should look similar to this:
- Click Yes to continue.
- In the new window that appears, enter your password and click OK.
Navigating Folders
- From here, you should see the usual list of folders on Mercury, divided by department. Your user folder will be located inside of your departmental folder, e.g. IS/PGarrett. Double-click on folders to open them, just as with regular Windows.
- If you know the direct path of your folder, the other option is to type it into the directory path bar:
Transferring Files
- The easiest way to transfer files is to "drag and drop" - that is, click on a file and drag it to/from the server by holding the mouse button down.
- You can also use the download
button to select a file from the server, and the upload 
button to move a file to the server from your computer. Both of these buttons can be found on the toolbar and under the Operation menu.
For more details on the Secure FTP program, please see our corresponding webpage.
