How to set up a secure FTP service with vsftpd on Linux
This article was originally written for xmodulo . FTP or File Transfer Protocol is one of the widely used services on the Internet, mainly for transferring files from one host to other. FTP itself was not designed as a secure protocol, and as such, the classic FTP service is vulnerable to common attacks such as man in the middle and brute force attacks. Many applications with security features can be used to set up secure FTP services. For example, FTPS (FTP Secure) uses SSL/TLS certificates to encrypt end to end data. Based on client-side requirements, FTPS can be configured to support encrypted and/or unencrypted connections. SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is another method of ensuring security of transit data. SFTP is built as an extension of SSH, and can be used with other security protocols as well. This tutorial will focus on setting up and securing FTP service using vsftpd with SSL/TLS enabled. Just a bit of background: A typical FTP server listens o...