Some FTP questions

[joeblob]

Hey everybody,
I am having some issues and I would be very happy if anyone can be of any help. With that said, I have some questions I would like to ask.

1. While using any of the regular FTP accounts (as opposed to the special ones that come built-in by default)
I cannot successfully login to my server using either a web browser or ftp client.
2. How can I set and change the restrictions for certain FTP accounts, such as making a user account that can only access certain directories? It seems that every account would (they're not working, so I'm not sure) have full access to everything.
3. How would I be able to be able to add an anonymous account or make a certain directory not need any special user login? Just plain ol' public access to anyone who wants to download stuff?

[cPanelMichael]

Hello,

1. While using any of the regular FTP accounts (as opposed to the special ones that come built-in by default) I cannot successfully login to my server using either a web browser or ftp client.

Could you check to make sure you are using the full username when attempting to login via FTP? EX:

user@domain.com

2. How can I set and change the restrictions for certain FTP accounts, such as making a user account that can only access certain directories? It seems that every account would (they're not working, so I'm not sure) have full access to everything.

This is configured when you create the FTP account via the "FTP Accounts" option in cPanel. Beneath the password strength icon, you will see a field titled "Directory". This allows you to choose which directory the FTP account has access to. The Directory field defines the top level of directory access that will be granted to the new account. For example, an account with a Directory assignment of /$dir will not be allowed to access the / (root) directory; however, it will be able to access /$dir and all of its subfolders.

FTP Accounts

3. How would I be able to be able to add an anonymous account or make a certain directory not need any special user login? Just plain ol' public access to anyone who wants to download stuff?

You can find the "Anonymous FTP" icon under the "Files" section within the cPanel of the account. Web hosting providers will often disable this feature for security purposes, so if you do not have root access to the server you may need to consult with your web hosting provider in regards to using this feature.

Anonymous FTP

Thanks.

[joeblob]

Hey thanks for replying!
Regarding #1 - yes, I have tried many, many times and it doesn't work. Yet my special account works, even without adding the domain in the end.

Regarding #2 - I figured this might be the case, however I am perplexed that I cannot actually change the permissions without deleting the account and re-adding a new one. It seems that this should be a simple feature.

Regarding #3 - It doesn't show up by me, so I guess I gotta contact my webhost.

Thanks again.

[cPanelJared]

One thing that we sometimes see if an FTP account does not work is that the wrong FTP service is in use. cPanel uses either Pure-FTPd or ProFTPd. The default on Red Hat and CentOS is called vsftpd. While the cPanel installer will normally uninstall vsftpd, sometimes this does not happen, or vsftpd is reinstalled, and this causes problems, because it uses a different set of files for log-in information.

If you have root access to the server, you can see what FTP services are installed by running the following command:

# rpm -qa|grep -i ftp
ftp-0.17-35.el5
lftp-3.7.11-4.el5_5.3
pure-ftpd-1.0.30-1.tls

In this example, ftp and lftp are command-line clients, and it is fine for them to be installed. The only FTP service we see installed is Pure-FTPd, which is good. If vsftpd were listed, it would need to be removed (and the cPanel-provided FTP daemon installed), by using the following commands:

# yum groupremove "FTP Server"
# rpm -e --nodeps vsftpd
# /scripts/ftpup --force

If you do not have root access to the server, you will need to contact your host, and they can contact us on your behalf if they need assistance.

[deepunix]

Guys, how can I disable anonymous FTP on the server programically? That is, not via WHM, but using some sort of script or config file modification. We're using auto-deployment services, won't click the buttons on 100 servers Thanks.