I decided on using yum to help me decide even though I normaly use proftpd I decided to see what else I could find.

yum search ftp

Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * rpmforge: ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de
 * base: mirrors.netdna.com
 * updates: updates.interworx.info
 * addons: yum.singlehop.com
 * extras: mirrors.netdna.com
rpmforge                                                                                                     | 1.1 kB     00:00    
primary.xml.gz                                                                                               | 3.7 MB     00:02    
rpmforge                                                       10237/10237
base                                                                                                         | 2.1 kB     00:00    
updates                                                                                                      | 1.9 kB     00:00    
primary.sqlite.bz2                                                                                           | 588 kB     00:00    
addons                                                                                                       |  951 B     00:00    
extras                                                                                                       | 2.1 kB     00:00    
=========================================================== Matched: ftp ===========================================================
bug-buddy.i386 : A bug reporting utility for GNOME
esound.i386 : Allows several audio streams to play on a single audio device.
esound-devel.i386 : Development files for EsounD applications.
gdm.i386 : The GNOME Display Manager.
gdm-docs.i386 : GDM Documentation
gftp.i386 : A multi-threaded FTP client for the X Window System.
mc.i386 : User-friendly text console file manager and visual shell
kdebase.i386 : K Desktop Environment - core files
squid.i386 : The Squid proxy caching server.
aria2.i386 : Download utility with BitTorrent and Metalink support
atftp.i386 : Advanced Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) client
atftp-server.i386 : Advanced Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server
atop.i386 : AT Computing System and Process Monitor
autoupdate.noarch : AutoUpdate, a simple perl script to keep your system up2date
awstats.noarch : Powerful and fullfeatured server logfile analyzer
bittorrent.noarch : Network file transfer tool
bootparamd.i386 : A server process which provides boot information to diskless clients.
cfdisk.i386 : Curses based disk partition table manipulator
checkpassword.i386 : Provides a simple, uniform password-checking interface
checkpassword-pam.i386 : Provides a simple, uniform password-checking interface using PAM
chrpath.i386 : Change the dynamic library load path (rpath) of binaries
curl.i386 : A utility for getting files from remote servers (FTP, HTTP, and others).
curl-devel.i386 : Files needed for building applications with libcurl.
dbview.i386 : Display dBase III and IV (.dbf) files
devhelp.i386 : API document browser
devhelp-devel.i386 : Library to embed Devhelp in other applications.
docbook-utils.noarch : Shell scripts for managing DocBook documents.
docbook-utils-pdf.noarch : A script for converting DocBook documents to PDF format.
duplicity.i386 : Untrusted/encrypted backup using rsync algorithm
evolution-sharp.i386 : Evolution Data Server Mono Bindings
evolution-sharp-devel.i386 : Development files for evolution-sharp
expect.i386 : A program-script interaction and testing utility
expect-devel.i386 : A program-script interaction and testing utility
expectk.i386 : A program-script interaction and testing utility
file-roller.i386 : File Roller is a tool for viewing and creating archives
filezilla.i386 : GUI SFTP/FTP client
freeze.i386 : Archiver and compressor
ftp.i386 : The standard UNIX FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client.
ftpproxy.i386 : FTP proxy server
fuse-curlftpfs.i386 : FUSE filesystem for accessing FTP hosts using libcurl
fuse-obexfs.i386 : FUSE based filesystem using ObexFTP
geteltorito.noarch : Tool to extract boot image from an ISO file
gift.i386 : Deamon for communicating with filesharing protocols
gift-devel.i386 : Header files, libraries and development documentation for gift.
gift-gnutella.i386 : Gift plugin to access the Gnutella network
gift-openft.i386 : Gift plugin to access the openft network
gnome-commander.i386 : File manager for the GNOME desktop
gnome-common.i386 : Useful things common to building gnome packages
gnome-netstatus.i386 : Network interface status applet
gnome-sharp.i386 : GTK+ and GNOME bindings for Mono
gnome-sharp-devel.i386 : files needed for developing with gnome-sharp
gnome-themes.noarch : Themes collection for GNOME
gnome-vfs2.i386 : The GNOME virtual file-system libraries
gollem-h3.noarch : The Horde web-based File Manager.
groff.i386 : A document formatting system.
groff-gxditview.i386 : An X previewer for groff text processor output.
groff-perl.i386 : Parts of the groff formatting system that require Perl.
gtk2-engines.i386 : Theme engines for GTK+ 2.0
hardlink.i386 : Tool to hardlink duplicate files in a directory tree
jailkit.i386 : Utilities to limit user accounts to specific files using chroot()
java-1.4.2-gcj-compat.i386 : JPackage runtime scripts for GCJ
java-1.4.2-gcj-compat-devel.i386 : JPackage development scripts for GCJ
java-1.4.2-gcj-compat-javadoc.i386 : API documentation for libgcj
java-1.4.2-gcj-compat-src.i386 : Source files for libgcj
kasablanca.i386 : Ftp/fxp client
konserve.i386 : Small backup application
krusader.i386 : File manager
lftp.i386 : Sophisticated file transfer program
libbonobo.i386 : Bonobo component system
libbonobo-devel.i386 : Libraries and headers for libbonobo
libbonoboui.i386 : Bonobo user interface components
libbonoboui-devel.i386 : Libraries and headers for libbonoboui
libfaketime.i386 : Pre-loadable library for faking the system date
libgnome.i386 : GNOME base library
libgnome-devel.i386 : Libraries and headers for libgnome
libgnomeprint22.i386 : Printing library for GNOME.
libgnomeprint22-devel.i386 : Libraries and include files for developing GNOME printing applications
libgnomeprintui22.i386 : GUI support for libgnomeprint
libgnomeprintui22-devel.i386 : Libraries and headers for libgnomeprintui
libgnomeui.i386 : GNOME base GUI library
libgnomeui-devel.i386 : Libraries and headers for libgnome
libgpg-error.i386 : libgpg-error
libgpg-error-devel.i386 : Development files for the libgpg-error package
libgtop2.i386 : libgtop library (version 2)
libgtop2-devel.i386 : Libraries and include files for developing with libgtop.
libobexftp.i386 : Library to access devices via the OBEX protocol
libobexftp-devel.i386 : Header files, libraries and development documentation for libobexftp.
libole2.i386 : Structured Storage OLE2 library
libole2-devel.i386 : Header files, libraries and development documentation for libole2.
libsoup.i386 : Soup, an HTTP library implementation
libsoup-devel.i386 : Header files for the Soup library
libtermcap.i386 : A basic system library for accessing the termcap database.
libtermcap-devel.i386 : Development tools for programs which will access the termcap database.
libutempter.i386 : A privileged helper for utmp/wtmp updates
libutempter-devel.i386 : Development environment for utempter
libwnck.i386 : Window Navigator Construction Kit
libwnck-devel.i386 : Libraries and headers for libwnck
libxml2.i386 : Library providing XML and HTML support
libxml2-devel.i386 : Libraries, includes, etc. to develop XML and HTML applications
linscope.i386 : Network scanner for network shares
metacity.i386 : Metacity window manager
mirrordir.i386 : Easy to use ftp mirroring package
mirrordir-devel.i386 : Header files, libraries and development documentation for mirrordir.
most.i386 : Text viewer similar to more or less, but with additional capabilities
mpack.i386 : Pack a file in MIME format for mailing and news
mrepo.noarch : Tool to set up a Yum/Apt mirror from various sources (ISO, RHN, rsync, http, ftp, ...)
nautilus-sendto.i386 : Nautilus context menu for sending files
nautilus-sendto-bluetooth.i386 : Nautilus integration for Bluetooth
ncc.i386 : C source code analyzer
netrw.i386 : Tool for transporting data over the internet
numactl.i386 : library for tuning for Non Uniform Memory Access machines
numactl-devel.i386 : Development package for building Applications that use numa
obexftp.i386 : Tool to access devices via the OBEX protocol
pax.i386 : POSIX File System Archiver
perl-AnyData.noarch : Easy access to data in many formats
perl-Audio.i386 : Represents audio data
perl-Crypt-TEA.i386 : Tiny Encryption Algorithm
perl-Net-FTP-AutoReconnect.noarch : FTP client class with automatic reconnect on failure
perl-Net-FTP-RetrHandle.noarch : Tied or IO::Handle-compatible interface to a file retrieved by FTP
perl-Net-SFTP.noarch : Secure File Transfer Protocol client
perl-Net-SFTP-Foreign.noarch : SSH File Transfer Protocol client
perl-Net-TFTP.noarch : TFTP Client class
perl-TFTP.noarch : Perl module that implements a TFTP Client class
perl-Test-AutoBuild.i386 : Automated build engine
perl-Test-AutoBuild.noarch : Automated build engine
perl-Tie-FTP.noarch : Open files on FTP servers as filehandles
perl-URI-sftp.noarch : Perl module to add support for SFTP uris to URI package
pexpect.noarch : Pure Python Expect-like module
pftp.i386 : Port-File-Transfer-Program
piranha.i386 : Cluster administation tools
pktstat.i386 : Displays a live list of active connections and what files are being transferred
proftpd.i386 : Flexible, stable and highly-configurable FTP server
proftpd-devel.i386 : Header files, libraries and development documentation for proftpd.
proftpd-ldap.i386 : Module to add LDAP support to the ProFTPD FTP server
proftpd-mysql.i386 : Module to add MySQL support to the ProFTPD FTP server
proftpd-postgresql.i386 : Module to add PostgreSQL support to the ProFTPD FTP server
pure-ftpd.i386 : Lightweight, fast and secure FTP server
pure-ftpd-selinux.i386 : SELinux support for Pure-FTPD
python-expect.i386 : Expect module for Python
python-memcached.noarch : Python interface to the memcached memory cache daemon
python-obexftp.i386 : Library to access devices via the OBEX protocol
python-pexpect.i386 : Python Expect-like module
python-pexpect.noarch : Python Expect-like module
python-urlgrabber.noarch : High-level cross-protocol url-grabber
rescuept.i386 : Tool that recognizes ext2, FAT, swap and extended partition tables
rssh.i386 : Restricted shell for use with OpenSSH, allowing only scp and/or sftp
sharedance.i386 : Ephemeral key/data pair storing daemon
sitecopy.i386 : Tool for easily maintaining remote web sites
sphere.i386 : NIST SPeech HEader REsources (SPHERE) Package
sphere-devel.i386 : Header files, libraries and development documentation for sphere.
strobe.i386 : Super optimized TCP port surveyor
t1lib.i386 : PostScript Type 1 font rasterizer
t1lib-devel.i386 : Header files, libraries and development documentation for t1lib.
tcp_wrappers.i386 : A security tool which acts as a wrapper for TCP daemons.
tcpspray.i386 : Print average throughput for a tcp connection
tftp.i386 : The client for the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)
tftp-server.i386 : The server for the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)
tnftp.i386 : Enhanced NetBSD ftp client
urw-fonts.noarch : Free versions of the 35 standard PostScript fonts.
vsftpd.i386 : vsftpd - Very Secure Ftp Daemon
wget.i386 : A utility for retrieving files using the HTTP or FTP protocols.
wput.i386 : Uploads files to FTP servers
x2x.i386 : Link two X displays together, simulating a multiheaded display
xmltv2vdr.noarch : Read EPG information the xmltv site
zoo.i386 : File archiving utility with compression

I decided to try vsftpd because it stands for "very secure" so it must be right? :)

Well anyway I thought I'd try it becaues I've heard good things about in the past

yum install vsftpd

Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * rpmforge: ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de
 * base: mirrors.netdna.com
 * updates: updates.interworx.info
 * addons: yum.singlehop.com
 * extras: mirrors.netdna.com
Setting up Install Process
Parsing package install arguments
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package vsftpd.i386 0:2.0.5-16.el5_4.1 set to be updated
filelists.xml.gz                                                                                             | 4.1 MB     00:02    
filelists.sqlite.bz2                                                                                         | 3.3 MB     00:00    
filelists.sqlite.bz2                                                                                         | 3.0 MB     00:00    
filelists.sqlite.bz2                                                                                         | 195 kB     00:00    
filelists.xml.gz                                                                                             |  194 B     00:00    
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

====================================================================================================================================
 Package                      Arch                       Version                                Repository                     Size
====================================================================================================================================
Installing:
 vsftpd                       i386                       2.0.5-16.el5_4.1                       updates                       140 k

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================================================
Install      1 Package(s)        
Update       0 Package(s)        
Remove       0 Package(s)        

Total download size: 140 k
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
vsftpd-2.0.5-16.el5_4.1.i386.rpm                                                                             | 140 kB     00:00    
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing     : vsftpd                                            [1/1]

Installed: vsftpd.i386 0:2.0.5-16.el5_4.1
Complete!

Now I realized vsftpd isn't all that secure, at least in the default configuration.  Why would it automatically create a public ftp server?

You better make the following change in: /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf

anonymous_enable=NO

For such a secure server there is not even built-in TLS or SSL encryption either!

Create The VSFTPD Server Key to Enable TLS/SSL

openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 1825 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.pem -out /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.pem

Edit the Server Config file /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf

Add the following but change as you feel fit if you want to force/disable SSL/TLS connections:

ssl_enable=YES
allow_anon_ssl=NO
force_local_data_ssl=NO
force_local_logins_ssl=NO
ssl_tlsv1=YES
ssl_sslv2=NO
ssl_sslv3=NO
rsa_cert_file=/etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.pem

Now restart vsftpd and all local/shell users can connect securely.

ftpd, vsftpd, server, linux, centos, debiani, yum, normaly, proftpd, ftp, plugins, fastestmirror, loading, speeds, cached, hostfile, rpmforge, stud, fht, esslingen, mirrors, netdna, updates, interworx, info, addons, singlehop, extras, kb, primary, xml, gz, mb, sqlite, bz, matched, reporting, utility, gnome, esound, allows, audio, streams, devel, applications, gdm, display, docs, documentation, gftp, multi, threaded, mc, user, text, console, visual, shell, kdebase, desktop, squid, proxy, caching, aria, download, bittorrent, metalink, atftp, advanced, trivial, protocol, tftp, atop, computing, autoupdate, noarch, perl, awstats, fullfeatured, logfile, analyzer, bootparamd, provides, diskless, cfdisk, curses, disk, partition, manipulator, checkpassword, password, interface, pam, chrpath, dynamic, rpath, binaries, curl, servers, http, libcurl, dbview, dbase, iii, iv, dbf, devhelp, api, browser, embed, docbook, utils, scripts, managing, documents, pdf, converting, format, duplicity, untrusted, encrypted, rsync, algorithm, evolution, mono, bindings, interaction, expectk, roller, viewing, creating, archives, filezilla, gui, sftp, archiver, compressor, unix, ftpproxy, fuse, curlftpfs, filesystem, accessing, hosts, obexfs, obexftp, geteltorito, extract, iso, deamon, communicating, filesharing, protocols, header, libraries, gnutella, plugin, openft, packages, netstatus, applet, gtk, developing, themes, vfs, virtual, gollem, horde, groff, formatting, gxditview, previewer, processor, output, engines, hardlink, duplicate, directory, jailkit, utilities, chroot, gcj, compat, jpackage, runtime, javadoc, libgcj, src, kasablanca, fxp, konserve, krusader, lftp, sophisticated, libbonobo, bonobo, component, headers, libbonoboui, components, libfaketime, loadable, libgnome, libgnomeprint, printing, libgnomeprintui, libgnomeui, libgpg, libgtop, libobexftp, devices, via, obex, libole, structured, ole, libsoup, implementation, libtermcap, termcap, database, programs, libutempter, privileged, helper, utmp, wtmp, utempter, libwnck, navigator, libxml, providing, html, includes, etc, develop, linscope, scanner, shares, metacity, mirrordir, mirroring, viewer, additional, capabilities, mpack, mime, mailing, mrepo, apt, various, sources, rhn, nautilus, sendto, context, bluetooth, integration, ncc, netrw, transporting, numactl, tuning, numa, pax, posix, anydata, formats, represents, crypt, encryption, autoreconnect, reconnect, retrhandle, io, compatible, retrieved, ssh, module, implements, autobuild, automated, filehandles, uri, uris, pexpect, python, pftp, piranha, cluster, administation, pktstat, displays, active, connections, flexible, configurable, ldap, mysql, postgresql, lightweight, selinux, memcached, cache, daemon, urlgrabber, url, grabber, rescuept, recognizes, ext, swap, extended, rssh, restricted, openssh, allowing, scp, sharedance, ephemeral, storing, sitecopy, maintaining, sites, sphere, nist, strobe, optimized, tcp, surveyor, lib, postscript, font, rasterizer, tcp_wrappers, wrapper, daemons, tcpspray, throughput, tnftp, enhanced, netbsd, urw, fonts, versions, wget, retrieving, wput, uploads, simulating, multiheaded, xmltv, vdr, epg, archiving, compression, quot, becaues, ve, install, parsing, arguments, resolving, dependencies, transaction, _, updated, filelists, dependency, resolution, resolved, repository, installing, summary, update, ok, downloading, rpm, rpm_check_debug, succeeded, installed, isn, default, configuration, automatically, conf, anonymous_enable, tls, ssl, enable, openssl, req, nodes, newkey, rsa, keyout, pem, edit, config, disable, ssl_enable, allow_anon_ssl, force_local_data_ssl, force_local_logins_ssl, ssl_tlsv, ssl_sslv, rsa_cert_file, restart, users, securely,

Latest Articles