Have FTP running-Now I want to switch to SFTP. How?

Question

My MacMini at work is open over FTP, so I can access files remotely. Trouble is, I want to secure the data transfers, so FTP won't cut it.
So, I just need to confirm with the knowledgeable: to switch to SFTP, do I just close off Port 21 on my office router (or at least cancel the Port Forward of Port 21 from my router to my MacMini) and then open up Port 22. As long as everything else is already OK since FTP is working fine, do I need to implement any other change before I'm good to go with SFTP?
As always, thanks, people.

Answer 1

OK the suggestions were just things to think about for the future. You can evolve into them as you feel the need.
I'm not that advanced in my knowledge of scp, never mind appreciating why scp might be a better option than SFTP.
scp is the ssh cp command. It works very similar to regular Unix cp command, except over a secure ssh connection (just like sftp).
scp /path/to/file [email protected]:/where/to/put/it
scp [email protected]:/path/to/file /where/to/put/it
scp -r /directory/tree/to/copy [email protected]:/where/to/put/it
scp file1 file2 file3 file4 [email protected]:/where/to/put/them
scp *.txt [email protected]:/where/to/put/them
scp [email protected]:"/somewhere/*.dmg" /where/to/put/them
why use an alternate, higher port number? Is it to throw off any attackers trying to hit my Mac on port 22?
Yes. It does not so much provide additional security, but it does limit the number of Bots knocking on your door trying to break-in. If you look at the "sudo more /var/log/secure.log" and see how many Bots are trying to break into port 22, that is after you forward internet port 22 to port 22 on your Mac. Using a high numbered port just stops your Mac wasting time listening to these break-in attempts.
ssh-keygen is how you create private/public keys. You create the keys on the system you are sitting in front of. You copy the $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub (or id_dsa.pub) file to the remote system you wish to login to. You append the copied id_rsa.pub (or id_dsa.pub) file's contents into the remote user account's .ssh/authorized_keys file. That allows the remote system to know who you are and because your .pub key could have only been put in the remote account's .ssh/authorized_keys file, it knows you are who you say you are and that the local user has agreed to allow you to use the account via ssh/scp/sftp.