wu-ftpd: how do i deny users from uploading .exe files?

[Adam J]

I'm setting up an ftp directory for users to their websites. they're guest users, with all permissions, but i want to make sure they don't upload an .exe files.

or, maybe I'm mistaken. basically i don't want them to be able to do any damage to my system. being a windows guy up until recently, it was easy with serv-u ftp server, u just unchecked "execute" permissions.

how do i do this in wu-ftpd? BTW, this is on a redhat 7.2 server in my own home.

[johnwebb]

Checkout the wu-ftpd website. Between the howtos and faq you should be able to come up with a configuration that will accomplish what you need.

http://www.wu-ftpd.org/

[Adam J]

personally i think their how-to's suck. the process to setup guest users was so complicated, then they had another how-to contradicting that.

it turns out its very easy to do, especially if u have webmin :)

[Choozo]

*.exe files will have a really hard time doing anything at all on a Linux/Unix system, so I would not worry too much about that.
What I would worry a bit about is running wu-ftpd, as this is one ftp server with a bad reputation security wise. Most people (me included) would recommend proftpd instead.

Cheers :)

[Adam J]

Originally posted by Choozo
*.exe files will have a really hard time doing anything at all on a Linux/Unix system, so I would not worry too much about that.
What I would worry a bit about is running wu-ftpd, as this is one ftp server with a bad reputation security wise. Most people (me included) would recommend proftpd instead.

Cheers :)

can u recommend a good how-to for fully removing wu-ftp and replacing it with proftpd?

[Choozo]

Use 'rpm' to remove wu-ftpd. Check package name first by doing 'rpm -qa | grep wu-ftp', then remove by doing 'rpm -e packagename' (as root).

Then find a rpm package of proftpd for your distro over at http://rpmfind.net or get the source and compile your own from http://www.proftpd.org

Cheers :)

[Adam J]

Originally posted by Choozo
Use 'rpm' to remove wu-ftpd. Check package name first by doing 'rpm -qa | grep wu-ftp', then remove by doing 'rpm -e packagename' (as root).

Then find a rpm package of proftpd for your distro over at http://rpmfind.net or get the source and compile your own from http://www.proftpd.org

Cheers :)

thanks, I'm still learning this stuff :)

i tried to install proftp but it showed conflicts, wasn't sure how to remove it.

once i do that and install an rpm of proftpd, is there anything special i should know? is it the same basic premis of allowing guest accounts only?

[Choozo]

I'd recommend that you visit the proftpd website and read the documentation there. Downloading the source code and building the proftpd server yourself is also recommended - and not as hard as it sounds like. Just make sure you read the README/INSTALL documents that follows the source package.

[Adam J]

whats the advantage to building it rather than getting an rpm from them?

[Choozo]

- RPMs may not work out too well if they are not built for your exact distro/version.
- Building/compiling from source will always work, and you end up with binaries optimized for your hardware.
- Added bonus for building/compiling; You get to learn new stuff that you will need sooner or later anyway while working with Linux.

Cheers :)

[Adam J]

thanks for the help. it was easy. i uninstalled wu-ftp and had proftpd up and running in about 5 minutes :)

[Choozo]

Pleased to hear it all worked out :)