Network error: Connection to “…” refused

You may get this message when connecting to a server for the following reasons:

• The server is down. Please talk to the server or network administrator.
• You are trying to use WinSCP for a purpose for which it is not designed. WinSCP needs an SSH or FTP server to be installed at the other end (on the machine you want to connect to). In particular, you cannot easily use it to connect to another Windows workstation, since Windows does not have an SSH or FTP server included by default. Please refer to the guide to exchanging files over Internet.
• You are trying to use protocol that the server does not support. Particularly you are trying SFTP/SCP (over SSH), but the server supports FTP; or vice versa. Check selected protocol on Login dialog. Note that WinSCP defaults to SFTP protocol, while most other similar applications default to FTP.
• The server is running on a non-standard port. Please make sure you enter actual port number on Login dialog.
• You may need to connect through a proxy server, but you have not specified one on Proxy page of Advanced Site Settings dialog.
• Connection was blocked by the firewall. Please refer to Why is WinSCP not able to connect to a server, when other clients are?

If you are trying to use WinSCP to connect to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, please refer to FAQ.