How to SFTP or FTP into my server with keyadmin [SOLVED]

[shoulders]

Hi

Is it possible to enable SFTP/FTP with root access for the default KeyHelp administrator (keyadmin)?

Does this have to be done via the command line?

Currently I am logging on SFTP with root.

Thanks

P.S. I usually live in the Windows world.

[24unix]

Does this have to be done via the command line?

Command line is commonly used by server administrators for tasks like these.

P.S. I usually live in the Windows world.

If you're more familiar with Windows, working directly on the server via sftp might feel unfamiliar. It would help if you shared more details about what you aim to accomplish. There might be alternative methods that are more comfortable for you.

For clarity:
- Logging in as root can be secure if password-based authentication is disabled.
- The KH Panel-Admin doesn't have an actual account.

Code: Select all

grep <adminname> /etc/passwd

Your system essentially has a root account unless you're on specific configurations like some Ubuntu or Debian setups. Ubuntu is quite flexible in terms of repair, but it often requires 'sudo' for elevated permissions.

I'm curious, why do you want access with your panel account specifically? Is there a reason you're hesitant about using the root account?

[shoulders]

I wanted to login to the filesystem so I could delete the password file (keyhelp_login_data_2023-10-25_15-56-06) that is created during the installation as it holds usernames and passwords. I managed to login using root of SFTP after I remembered that I had enabled root in the ubuntu setup..

SSH is not exposed to the internet and never will be.

I wanted to disable the root account for security so I thought I would use the keyadmin account. I just assumed it was an Ubuntu user.

So I am guessing that all KeyHelp users are not Ubunutu users.

Is it safe to disable root after installation, it does not mention this in the setup instructions?

[24unix]

I wanted to login to the filesystem so I could delete the password file (keyhelp_login_data_2023-10-25_15-56-06) that is created during the installation as it holds usernames and passwords. I managed to login using root of SFTP after I remembered that I had enabled root in the ubuntu setup..

Then just delete the file.

SSH is not exposed to the internet and never will be.

That is the way to administrate a real server.
If you prefer a Windows-"Server", there might be better choices for you, where you could play with RDP and the mouse.

I wanted to disable the root account for security so I thought I would use the keyadmin account. I just assumed it was an Ubuntu user.

- Set the password to something weird in/etc/shadow.
- Set the shell to /bin/nologin
or whatever you like.

So I am guessing that all KeyHelp users are not Ubunutu users.

Unfortunately, many are using this brain-dead Debian copy.

Is it safe to disable root after installation, it does not mention this in the setup instructions?

How did you install it?
On a regular setup, you have to tweak Ubuntu just to repair the root account, by default it's broken.

[shoulders]

i used Ubunutu and the root account to install.

thanks for the info

[Alexander]

All KeyHelp admin accounts (keyadmin, and all the ones you might create) are just virtual users, which only exists within the database of KeyHelp.
They have no system-user counter part.

All regular KeyHelp user accounts exists on the system with the same username (have a look into /etc/passwd for example).


If you would like to have an additional system user account with root/sudo privileges, you have to create it manually via the command line.

[shoulders]

All KeyHelp admin accounts (keyadmin, and all the ones you might create) are just virtual users, which only exists within the database of KeyHelp.
They have no system-user counter part.

All regular KeyHelp user accounts exists on the system with the same username (have a look into /etc/passwd for example).


If you would like to have an additional system user account with root/sudo privileges, you have to create it manually via the command line.

Perfect answer