[Novices] public ftp access

[Bruce Smith]

> > I suppose the simplest way is to create an account for her on your box.
> > 
> > Security is a concern since FTP sends passwords unencrypted, and there
> > is the issue of getting the password to her (unencrypted email?)
> > If you do that, it's best to lock the user in her home directory, and to
> > NOT allow shell access.
> 
> Hmn... how do I not allow shell access?  

Create the account with the shell of  /bin/true or /bin/false
or /sbin/nologin (preferred, if that file exists) instead of bash.

> I'm a novice, remember! 

I never know how much to say, so keep asking.  :-)

> > How you do that depends on the FTP server you're running.  You didn't
> > mention that.
> 
> I doubt I'm running any FTP server.  That's kind of the question, I 
> guess.  It's just FC3 out of the box, so to speak.  But I don't know 
> anything about setting up ftp servers and granting user access... I 
> played a little with directions for installing vsftpd, but couldn't get 
> it to work either (except locally, but that's no good).

vsftpd is probably your best option.  It allows you to lock users in
their home directory, you can turn anonymous access on or off, etc.
And as the name implies, it's "very secure".  :-)

Look through the config file (vsftpd.conf  either in /etc/
or /etc/vsftpd/  directory)  It should be well commented.
Go though it line by line and configure to your liking.
Restart vsftpd after you've made any changes.

If you need further explanation of the options, look at the man page for
vsftpd.conf  "man vsftpd.conf".  Then if you're still stumped, ask here.

 - BS