Experian Secure Transport Service Secure Transport Overview In an effort to provide higher levels of data protection and standardize our file transfer processes, Experian will be utilizing the Secure Transport (ST) application for all data transmissions over the internet. Secure Transport is a product of Axway Corporation (formerly Tumbleweed) and is our enterprise file transfer solution for exchanging data with Experian clients and business partners. It is compatible with standard secure Internet protocols, including sftp/ssh/scp, FTPs, and HTTPS. What is Secure Transport Service? Secure Transport Service is a product of Axway Corporation and was implemented by Experian as a Secure file transfer mechanism to facilitate the exchange of data transmissions with Experian clients. Secure Transport offers a secure, automated channel for the transport of bulk data and is an alternative solution to traditional VPN systems. Table of Contents Experian Secure Transport Service... 1 Managing your UserID... 2 First time login process (UserID/Password)... 2 Connectivity Requirements... 3 User Authentication options... 4 Data Requirements... 4 Secure Transport Service HTTPS User Guide... 5 Logging on to https://stm.experian.com... 5 Uploading a file to https://stm.experian.com (to_xpn folder)... 6 Uploading a file (to_xpn folder)-ascii mode, Binary mode... 7 Downloading a file from https://stm.experian.com (from_xpn folder)... 9 Deleting a file from https://stm.experian.com (from_xpn folder)... 12 Checkpoint Restart... 13 File Transfer Errors... 14-1 -
Managing your UserID First time login process (UserID/Password) Please note, you must complete both step 1 and step 2 to connect to our server. Step 1- Log in to our password management server on the following URL and proceed through the First Time Login Process (or Forgot my Password): https://ss1.experian.com/securecontrol/manageuserprofile.html You should have received 2 separate email messages, one with your User ID and another with your Password. Step 2 - Once you have completed step 1 above and chosen your password, then you must login to our file transfer server to complete your account's creation. For FTPS and SFTP, please use a secure file transfer client and login to stm.experian.com For HTTPS, please go to https://stm.experian.com/ Only Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1, 7.0 and Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.8 and 2 are supported. If you see the two folders: "from_xpn" and "to_xpn", you will know that your account has been successfully created. Our STS Server is located at: stm.experian.com The IP address is: 205.174.34.41 Protocols Supported: FTPS with Clear Command Channel Port 21 SFTP (SSH versions 3.5-4.1) Port 22 HTTPS Port 443 If you have any problems getting connected, please contact our Technical Support Center at: 1(800) 854-7201 Option 1. For Emergency or off-hours assistance, please contact the Experian Global Operations Center at 1(800) 553-4785 Option 1. - 2 -
Connectivity Requirements Secure Transport is compatible with the standard internet based protocols: SFTP (SSH), HTTPS and FTPS (SSL/TLS) with Clear Command Channel. The transmission duration depends on the user's internet connectivity speed and file size. The recommended maximum file size is 20GB Software/Application: Secure Transport Service operates in a Unix environment and supports SSH versions 3.5-4.1. To connect to Experian Secure Transport Service, user must have a software or application that supports the SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer, Transport Layer Security) or SSH (Secure Shell) security protocol or user can connect using web browser using HTTPS protocol. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 and 7.0, Mozilla FireFox 1.5.0.8 and 2 are supported. FTPS(FTP over SSL): FTPS (SSL/TLS): Secure Sockets Layer / Transport Layer Security connections require Clear Command Channel over port 21 for authentication, Passive Mode. A single data port will be opened by Experian in the range 62200-62799. Client firewall must be bidirectional and accept the designated port for data transfer. SFTP (SSH): Secure Shell connections require connectivity over port 22, Passive mode, for authentication and data transfer. HTTPS (HTTP over SSL): Hypertext Transfer Protocol using Secure Sockets Layer over port 443 Connectivity: User must have an internet connection. File transmission timeline depends on the internet connection speed and file size. File Size Limit: Recommended maximum size of 20 GB per file. Note: Internet Explorer version 7.0 and lower have a maximum size of 2GB per file. File Folders: To transfer data to Experian, client places data in the to_xpn folder. (upload) To receive data from Experian, client accesses the from_xpn folder. (download and delete) Address: FTPS and SFTP: STM.EXPERIAN.COM (205.174.34.41) HTTPS : https://stm.experian.com/ - 3 -
User Authentication options User Authentication can be done through 2 different options. User ID and password combination (expires every 90 days) o Can be used with secure file transfer applications and is the only option available for HTTPS users. SFTP with SSH2 key authentication available for clients using Static IP addresses. SSH2 keys must be RSA, 2048 bit (maximum) and are valid for 3 years. o Recommended for scripted and automated services. Data Requirements For ASCII data, the end of every record must contain a valid Carriage Return/ Line Feed (CR/LF) or Line Feed (LF). ASCII data must always be transferred to Experian as ASCII/TEXT. Please contact your Experian Business Unit Representative for file naming conventions related to your file transfer to Experian. - 4 -
Secure Transport Service HTTPS User Guide Logging on to https://stm.experian.com Protocol: HTTPS Secure File Transfers over a web browser using SSL 128 bit encryption. Browsers Supported: Internet Explorer 8 and 9, Google Chrome 22.x Mozilla FireFox 4.x to 13.x, Apple Safari 5.x, 6.x Web Address: https://stm.experian.com Permissions: to_xpn - upload file(s) only. from_xpn download and delete file(s) only. 1. To begin the process of logging into Experian Secure Transport, please access the following URL: https://stm.experian.com 2. Type your User ID and Password. Select Log In. - 5 -
Uploading a file to https://stm.experian.com (to_xpn folder) 3. From the Directory screen, Select the to_xpn folder. - 6 -
Uploading a file (to_xpn folder)-ascii mode, Binary mode 4. Select ASCII Mode for uploading Text, ASC, PRN, GPG, and CSV files. Select Binary Mode for uploading ZIP, PGP, Excel, MDB, DBF and TRS files. Please contact your Experian Business Unit Representative for file naming conventions related to your file transfer to Experian. 5. Select Browse to locate the file to be uploaded. 6. Select the file to be uploaded and select Open. - 7 -
Uploading a file to https://stm.experian.com (to_xpn folder) 7. Select Upload File to begin sending the file to Experian. 8. The Status window will display showing the file transfer in progress. Once the Secure Transport transfer status window displays Transfer complete! you may begin sending your next file or select Logout to quit your session. Note: In the to_xpn folder you have permission to upload the file only. Any other actions such as deleting will result in a permission denied error. Note: Mozilla Firefox does not support Active X, so some of the above Status and Secure Transport transfer status windows will not display. - 8 -
Downloading a file from https://stm.experian.com 1. From the Directory screen, Select the from_xpn folder. (from_xpn folder) 2. Select the file to be downloaded (left click). - 9 -
Downloading a file from https://stm.experian.com (from_xpn folder) 3. Select Save this file to disk from the File Download window 4. Select the location where you wish to save the file and select Save. - 10 -
Downloading a file from https://stm.experian.com (from_xpn folder) 5. The Status window will display showing the file transfer in progress. Once the Secure Transport transfer status window displays Transfer complete! you may begin downloading your next file or select Logout to quit your session. Note: In the from_xpn folder you have permission to download and delete the file only. Any other actions will result in a permission denied error. - 11 -
Deleting a file from https://stm.experian.com (from_xpn folder) 1. To delete a file, select the icon under File Options. 2. Select the file listed in the Delete field and the delete process will begin. 3. The browser screen will refresh and the file will no longer be visible. You may proceed deleting your next file or select Logout to quit your session. - 12 -
Checkpoint Restart Checkpoint Restart is used when a file transfer has been stopped or interrupted before completing. If you resend the same file, Experian s STS server will calculate the number of total bytes that were transferred, and send the remaining bytes to complete the file. There is no need to send the entire file again, STS sends only what s missing to compete the file. In the picture listed below, Experian s STS server has calculated that the Total bytes of a file are 1,231,872. The server already has 196,608 bytes so the transfer starts sending the remaining 85% of the file (1,035,264), rather than starting over at 100%. Note: This feature is available only with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 and 7.0. Note: This feature requires Active X enabling. - 13 -
File Transfer Errors Transferring files requires the selection of Set ASCII or Set Binary when sending the file. The guidelines for sending files correctly are listed below: Select Set ASCII for uploading Text, Excel, PRN, GPG, and CSV files. Select Set Binary for uploading ZIP, PGP, MDB, DBF and TRS files. If a file is not transferred properly, an error will generate informing the user. Example: If a ZIP file is transferred as ASCII, the following error will be returned. The error MD5 Digest match fail indicates that Secure Transport cannot determine file contents because the file was uploaded incorrectly. This will cause subsequent unzipping, decrypting etc. to fail. Please use the guidelines listed above to insure files are uploaded correctly and therefore can be processed in a timely manner. - 14 -