Or for an option without the .netrc
<START SCRIPT>
#!/bin/sh
# ----------------------------------------
# FTP script
#
# This is where you specify the settings for the ftp
# Changes will be: host,user & password
# ----------------------------------------
host=nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn
user=USER
password=PASSWORD
destination=/path/to/somewhere
errorlog=/path/to/ftperror.txt
#------------------------------------
echo "-----------------------------" >> $errorlog
echo `date` >> $errorlog
echo "-----------------------------" >> $errorlog
ftp -v -n $host << EOF >> $errorlog
user $user $password
prompt
ascii
cd $destination
lcd /path/to/local/directory
mput *
quit
EOF
print "Proces complete"
<END SCRIPT>
If you want a more secure method use scp (secure copy) with public/private keys this way you encrypt your data while it is transferred.
As for the cron to run a script, cron is usually to run a process/script at a given time/date for nTimes, now you may need to produce a more detailed script if the cron is to run on a regular basis and not overwrite files on the reciveing end server.
You could also take a look at wget (as this has options that check if local file is newer than remote) that way you save bandwidth and prevent overwrites.
Good Luck
Laurie.