ProFTPD TLS Configuration on Ubuntu 24.04

As you must know, ProFTPD is a free and open-source FTP server with amazing features. It helps you transfer, upload, and download files over the internet securely and with high performance. Also, it supports TLS/SSL for secure connections. You can proceed to the rest of the article on the Orcacore website to complete the ProFTPD TLS Configuration on Ubuntu 24.04.

Install and Configure ProFTPD Over TLS/SSL on Ubuntu 24.04

Before you start ProFTPD setup, be sure you have a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 and a root password configured, also set up a basic UFW firewall.

Then, follow the steps below to complete the setup.

Step 1. Install ProFTPD on Ubuntu 24.04

First, run the system update and upgrade with the following command:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Then, use the following command to install ProFTPD on Ubuntu 24.04:

apt install proftpd -y

Once your installation is completed, start and enable ProFTPD with the following commands:

# systemctl start proftpd
# systemctl enable proftpd

You can verify ProFTPD service is active and running on Ubuntu 24.04 with the command below:

systemctl status proftpd

In your output, you should see:

Also, verify your ProFTPD version installed with the command below:

proftpd --version

Output
ProFTPD Version 1.3.8b

Step 2. Create an FTP User Account on Ubuntu 24.04

At this point, you must create a user account for the FTP server. To do this, you can run the following command:

adduser ftpuser

Set a password for your FTP user.

Step 3. Generate an SSL Certificate for ProFTPD

To secure your FTP connection, you can generate an SSL/TLS certificate for ProFTPD. The OpenSSL package is installed by default on Ubuntu 24.04; if not, you can install it with the command below:

apt install openssl -y

Then, use the following command to generate an SSL/TLS certificate for ProFTPD:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout /etc/ssl/private/proftpd.key -out /etc/ssl/certs/proftpd.crt -nodes -days 365

You should enter your information about your SSL certificate request as shown below:

Once you are done, set the correct permissions for your SSL certificate files:

chmod 600 /etc/ssl/private/proftpd.key
chmod 600 /etc/ssl/certs/proftpd.crt

Step 4. ProFTPD TLS Configuration on Ubuntu 24.04

At this point, you must edit the ProFTPD config file and make some configuration changes. Open the file with your desired text editor, like Vi Editor or Nano Editor:

vi /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf

In the file, look for the following lines and change their value as shown below:

UseIPv6 on
ServerName "FTP Server"
Port 3225

Note: We change the port number from 21 to 3225 for more security.

Also, look for the following lines and uncomment them by removing “#”:

RequireValidShell on
AuthOrder mod_auth_pam.c* mod_auth_unix.c
Include /etc/proftpd/tls.conf

Once you are done, save and close the file.

Remember to open the ProFTPD port number through firewall:

# ufw allow 3225
# ufw reload

Now you must edit the ProFTPD TLS configuration file and define your SSL certificates:

vi /etc/proftpd/tls.conf

Look for the folwoing lines and uncomment them:

TLSEngine                               on
TLSRSACertificateFile                   /etc/ssl/certs/proftpd.crt
TLSRSACertificateKeyFile                /etc/ssl/private/proftpd.key
TLSLog /var/log/proftpd/tls.log
TLSProtocol SSLv23
TLSRequired on

It will look like this:

Once you are done, save and close the file. To apply the changes restart ProFTPD:

systemctl restart proftpd

Step 5. Access ProFTPD Server with FileZilla FTP client

At this point, your ProFTPD server is installed and secured with SSL/TLS. In this guide, we will show you how to access them from FileZilla in a Windows Client. To do this, download FileZilla Client from the official website for your desired OS.

Once your download is completed, follow the on screen setup wizard to install FileZilla. When it is done, launch the FileZilla, you will see the follwoing screen. Click on file and select Site Manager:

From there, click on New Site and define your FTP server’s IP address in Host feild, define your FTP port, and enter your FTP user and password. click Connect.

Once the FTP connection is established, you should see the following screen that :

That’s it you are done.

Conclusion

At this point, you have succefully completed ProFTPD TLS Configuration on Ubuntu 24.04 and access your FTP server by using the FileZilla client. You can easily upload and download files from the FTP server with the secure connection.

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