Setup ProFTPD on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10

So, we showed you how to install and configure VSFTPD on Ubuntu 17.04 and 17.10. Today we’re going to show you how to install and configure ProFTPD. Both of these programs allow users to transfer files between the FTP client and server via FTP protocols.

There are many FTP servers one can use to provide FTP function. VSFTPD and ProFTPD are two of the most popular and probably the easiest to install and configure.

If you’re looking for a FTP server and VSFTPD can’t meet your needs, then give ProFTPD a try. You may find it to be useful. To install and configure ProFTPD on Ubuntu, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install ProFTPD on Ubuntu

To quickly install ProFTPD on Ubuntu, run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install proftpd

The commands above install ProFTPD from Ubuntu repository. The server home directory is at /etc/proftpd and its main configuration file is at /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf

Step 2: Configuring ProFTPD

Now that you’ve install ProFTPD, look at the configuration file below and make the highlighted changes, then save the file. Run the commands below to open the configuration file.

sudo nano /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf

Then make the highlighted changes below.

# /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf -- This is a basic ProFTPD configuration file.
# To really apply changes, reload proftpd after modifications, if
# it runs in daemon mode. It is not required in inetd/xinetd mode.
#

# Includes DSO modules
Include /etc/proftpd/modules.conf

# Set off to disable IPv6 support which is annoying on IPv4 only boxes.
#UseIPv6                         on
# If set on you can experience a longer connection delay in many cases.
IdentLookups                    off

ServerName                      "myserver.com"
# Set to inetd only if you would run proftpd by inetd/xinetd.
# Read README.Debian for more information on proper configuration.
ServerType                              standalone
DeferWelcome                    off
MultilineRFC2228                on
DefaultServer                   on
ShowSymlinks                    on
TimeoutNoTransfer               600
TimeoutStalled                  600
TimeoutIdle                     1200
DisplayLogin                    welcome.msg
DisplayChdir                    .message true
ListOptions                     "-l"

DenyFilter                      \*.*/

# Use this to jail all users in their homes
 DefaultRoot                   ~

# Users require a valid shell listed in /etc/shells to login.
# Use this directive to release that constrain.
# RequireValidShell             off

# Port 21 is the standard FTP port.
Port                            21

# In some cases you have to specify passive ports range to by-pass
# firewall limitations. Ephemeral ports can be used for that, but
# feel free to use a more narrow range.
# PassivePorts                  49152 65534

# If your host was NATted, this option is useful in order to
# allow passive tranfers to work. You have to use your public
# address and opening the passive ports used on your firewall as well.
# MasqueradeAddress             1.2.3.4

# This is useful for masquerading address with dynamic IPs:
# refresh any configured MasqueradeAddress directives every 8 hours

# DynMasqRefresh 28800

# To prevent DoS attacks, set the maximum number of child processes
# to 30.  If you need to allow more than 30 concurrent connections
# at once, simply increase this value.  Note that this ONLY works
# in standalone mode, in inetd mode you should use an inetd server
# that allows you to limit maximum number of processes per service
# (such as xinetd)
MaxInstances                    30

# Set the user and group that the server normally runs at.
User                            proftpd
Group                           nogroup

# Umask 022 is a good standard umask to prevent new files and dirs
# (second parm) from being group and world writable.
Umask                           022  022
# Normally, we want files to be overwriteable.
AllowOverwrite                  on

# Uncomment this if you are using NIS or LDAP via NSS to retrieve passwords:
# PersistentPasswd              off

# This is required to use both PAM-based authentication and local passwords
# AuthOrder                     mod_auth_pam.c* mod_auth_unix.c

# Be warned: use of this directive impacts CPU average load!
# Uncomment this if you like to see progress and transfer rate with ftpwho
# in downloads. That is not needed for uploads rates.
#
# UseSendFile                   off

TransferLog /var/log/proftpd/xferlog
SystemLog   /var/log/proftpd/proftpd.log

# Logging onto /var/log/lastlog is enabled but set to off by default
#UseLastlog on

# In order to keep log file dates consistent after chroot, use timezone info
# from /etc/localtime.  If this is not set, and proftpd is configured to
# chroot (e.g. DefaultRoot or ), it will use the non-daylight
# savings timezone regardless of whether DST is in effect.
#SetEnv TZ :/etc/localtime
QuotaEngine off
Ratios off

# Delay engine reduces impact of the so-called Timing Attack described in
# http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/11430/discuss
# It is on by default.

DelayEngine on

ControlsEngine        off
ControlsMaxClients    2
ControlsLog           /var/log/proftpd/controls.log
ControlsInterval      5
ControlsSocket        /var/run/proftpd/proftpd.sock

AdminControlsEngine off

#
# Alternative authentication frameworks
#
#Include /etc/proftpd/ldap.conf
#Include /etc/proftpd/sql.conf

#
# This is used for FTPS connections
#
#Include /etc/proftpd/tls.conf

#
# Useful to keep VirtualHost/VirtualRoot directives separated
#
#Include /etc/proftpd/virtuals.conf

# A basic anonymous configuration, no upload directories.

# 
#   User                                ftp
#   Group                               nogroup
#   # We want clients to be able to login with "anonymous" as well as "ftp"
#   UserAlias                   anonymous ftp
#   # Cosmetic changes, all files belongs to ftp user
#   DirFakeUser on ftp
#   DirFakeGroup on ftp
#
#   RequireValidShell           off
#
#   # Limit the maximum number of anonymous logins
#   MaxClients                  10
#
#   # We want 'welcome.msg' displayed at login, and '.message' displayed
#   # in each newly chdired directory.
#   DisplayLogin                        welcome.msg
#   DisplayChdir                .message
#
#   # Limit WRITE everywhere in the anonymous chroot
#   
#     
#       DenyAll
#     
#   
#
#   # Uncomment this if you're brave.
#   # 
#   #   # Umask 022 is a good standard umask to prevent new files and dirs
#   #   # (second parm) from being group and world writable.
#   #   Umask                           022  022
#   #            
#   #            DenyAll
#   #            
#   #            
#   #            AllowAll
#   #            
#   # 
#
# 

# Include other custom configuration files
Include /etc/proftpd/conf.d/

Step : Save your changes and restart.

The most important line in the configuration file is DefaultRoot ~ This forces uses to only browse content in their home directory and no where else. When you’re done with the configuration, run the commands to restart the server and test.

sudo systemctl restart proftpd

Now open your FTP client and connect to the server hostname or IP address.

To deny users access to the FTP server, add their names in the /etc/ftpusers and save.

All users in that file won’t have access to the FTP server.

Enjoy!