SFTP Vs FTP

What is SFTP?
From the unix man page:
"sftp is an interactive file transfer program, similar to ftp, which performs all operations over an encrypted ssh transport".
The Abbreviation SFTP nowadays invariably means Secure File Transfer Protocol, however there is another protocol with the same abbreviation (Simple File Transfer Protocol). All occurrences of the term SFTP on this website (www.radinks.com) refers to Secure File Transfer Protocol
Why should I use Secure FTP instead of FTP?
Why is SFTP better than FTP?
Despite the similarity in name the two protocols are completely different.
In FTP all data is passed back and forth between the client and server without the use of encryption. This makes it possible for an eavesdropper to listen in and retrieve your confidential information including login details. With SFTP all the data is encrypted before it is sent across the network.
SFTP comes with a cost to speed of transfer, as the encryption slows the whole thing down, but that's the price of security !
Operationally the applications that support SFTP function like those that use FTP.