The File Transport Protocol (FTP) is an older TCP protocol designed to transfer files over a network. Because all transactions with the server, including user authentication, are unencrypted, it is considered an insecure protocol and should be carefully configured.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides three FTP servers.
gssftpd — A Kerberos-aware xinetd-based FTP daemon that does not transmit authentication information over the network.
Red Hat Content Accelerator (tux) — A kernel-space Web server with FTP capabilities.
vsftpd — A standalone, security oriented implementation of the FTP service.
The following security guidelines are for setting up the vsftpd FTP service.