----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Bye" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2002 6:07 AM
Subject: Re: Mail Server using your IP & FTP in Root



 2. when I attempt to ftp from root I get" 530 User root access denied."
> > Where do I look up these error values. Everyone else can log on? I don't
> > know what I did which isn't good for security.
>
> I bet "root" is mentioned in your /etc/ftpusers file, eh?  It lists user
> names that are NOT allowed to connect to the FTP service.  Leaving root
> in this list is a good idea - for at least two reasons.  FTP passwords
> are passed in cleartext on the wire, so can be easily sniffed.  This is
> bad.  It's very bad indeed if it leads to your root password being
> discovered.  Also, for the same reason it's a bad idea to log in and
> work as root - it is all too easy with an innocuous-looking typo to
> wreck your system.
>
> HTH
>
> Dan
>

Standard procedure is to set up a seperate user
in the wheel group for yourself.  Use this for any
activity that doesn't *require* root permission.  In
the case of connecting to your FTP server, even if
you ARE root at the time, it's best to use:

#ftp [EMAIL PROTECTED]   where
username is the "other account."

And Daniels is very correct about the security of
even this issue.  If you are connecting over the
"outside" Internet these user/pass combos could
be sniffed and used to gain access to your box.
Investigate SSH ( try PuTTY) and SecureFTP
a client is also available that corresponds to PuTTY....

KDK


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