Hi all! This is my first post and I would like to ask a question about the configuration of VSFTP. When I use the SmartFTP to login to my ftp account, it shows all the hidden file e.g. .bashrc, .bash_logout and .bash_profile.
For the security reason, I would like to hide these files up. I have read some of the how-to from the web, most of them mentioned to add the line
hide_file={.ssh,.kde,.bash*,.vi*,.gt*,.em*}
However, it doesn’t work for me.
Could you please help for this issue? Thanks in advance!!

Linux system: FC5
Package: vsftpd-2.0.5-8
FTP client: SmartFTP v2.0.1001

vsftpd is a server. The question of whether hidden files should be shown is a client issue. You should not be offering clients the opportunity to download from (or even see) a directory that includes hidden files.

Hi Rickh! Thanks for your quick reply! =]
VSFTP default that the ftp account login to their home directory
which includes the hidden files that I have mentioned.
So is that I should change the login directory so that
the user would not have the opportunity to see these files?

Is that the parameter hide_file get a bug that it doesn't work or my incorrect setting?
The purpose of hide_file is supposed to hide the files from the user which I defined.

A user has all the powers of root within his own account. Why shouldn't he be able to see the hidden files?

On Debian, the default vsftpd setup is anonymous users, but they can see only the default directory, /home/ftp/. As root, I can add files to that directory for users to download, but that's the only way anything gets in that directory.

Here is a good article about setting up vsftpd securely.

.bashrc, .bash_logout & .bash_profile are actually files that a shell user might want to modify, since they exist for the explicit purpose of the user customizing what happens when they login / logout.

Revealing them does not really pose a security threat. Especially so if you do not give them shell access. You can remove shell access for the user by changing the shell to /sbin/nologin for the user.