hello, i have come with questions

[vontar]

Ok, i am a new linux user(Long time windows user). I am not new to linux, because I used to work for an ISP with a linux server, so i am aware of what linux can do and I have a goal for what I want linux to do for me. In Short I am a new user, so i need to be guided pretty step by step, but in the world of computers I am not a newbie. I know what I want, I know what is possible, Not sure how to do it.

So far, this last week, i had my first sucessful linux install, Mandrake 9.

So far, I am getting used to the KDE desktop, surfing the net in linux. I have apache web server running, I can surf in and get default apache webpage. I know where it is on the hardrive and I know i can make changes and input my own HTML pages.

I have learned how to use "userdrake" to add users to my system and I have FTP access from remote or local from my other PC.

However I have a security concern there. The users I have set up so far seem to have much more access to my linux box then I would like. example I set up user vontar and if I use an FTP client to log in to the system, they can go up directories and get out of the vontar directory, get up out of the home directory and get pretty much any place but the root. Seems to me there should be a way i can limit the amount of access. Could anyone guide me in the correct direction to do that?


Future Plans is to get make it so if i set up other users they can have a webpage on my box,

such as my IP address 68.xx.xxx.xx/vontar
I know I can have a page at just my IP address.

Also I am in the future going to forward a domain name to my IP address so that I can have email at my domain. Also I am totally clueless about what mail program comes in mandrake 9 and I am open to ideas.

So there you have it, my current status and My future plans.

[vontar]

no ideas? I am reaching for a limb here.

[flar]

1. about your problem with ftp, i have only try that with ProFTPd (http://www.proftpd.org) .

2. about the email system, we have sendmail (http://www.sendmail.com). but i have tried Qmail (http://www.qmail.org) and so could you. and there's a how-to on it by Adam Mckenna (http://www.flounder.net/qmail/qmail-howto.html)

hope this helps.

[andycrofts]

..but have a look at the Red Hat System Admin. primer at
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/admin-primer/
especially the section III, getting it done.

You need specifically chgrp, chown and chmod commands. See also "chroot" and look on the web for "chroot jail". That's a maximum security facility!

Use the command "apropos owner" to see other related stuff.
(If apropos returns "nothing appropriate" then build it's database with "makewhatis" - and get some coffee!)

Sorry it's command-line stuff, Mandrake has probably got more as a GUI, but I don't know Mandrake. These C/L thingies work with anything.

-Cheers
-Andy

[vontar]

thanks for the links I am still going over all of this. It is a lot to take in at once.

[theevilblah]

To block ftp access to a user just place their username in /etc/ftpusers. And to not allow them to access it all, like no SSH, no telnet even if they have access to the computer block it just find their name in /etc/passwd and set their shell at the as /bin/false. Well one thing you could do is not allow them access to cd... :D But you could also make you the owner of most directories and make them drwx------. Then a user wont be able to see inside it. Only root and the owner can... For the webpage idea just make a directory called htdocs in their home directory. Then make a direcotry with their name in /var/www/htdocs. And have cron hourly cp all the pages from their directory like lets say /home/luser/htdocs to /var/www/htdocs/luser... so now their webpage will be inside:

*your IP or DNS*/luser.

HTH :)