[Info-vax] Need to set up a special purpose account

[David Froble]

Steven Schweda wrote:
>> Check the doc for ANONYMOUS FTP for whichever IP stack
>> you're using... 
> 
>> I am using VMS  7.3-2.
> 
>    That says little about which IP software you're using.
> 
>>   I figured out how to enable anonymous ftp on the system.
> 
>    So you claim, but...
> 
>> As far as I can tell nothing works as the password.
> 
>    So you don't really appear to have enabled anonymous FTP
> on your system.
> 
>    As usual, showing actual commands with their actual output
> can be more helpful than vague descriptions or
> interpretations.
> 
>> I even set the password on the ANONYMOUS account, and the
>> password I set would not work.
> 
>    I suspect that no one ever uses that password.  Around
> here, for example, where anonymous FTP works, AUTHORIZE says:
> 
> Username: ANONYMOUS                        Owner:  ANONYMOUS
> [...]
> Pwdlifetime:         90 00:00    Pwdchange:      (pre-expired) 
> [...]
> 
>    That's with:
> 
> ALP $ tcpip show version 
> 
>   HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Alpha Version V5.7 - ECO 5
>   on a COMPAQ Professional Workstation XP1000 running OpenVMS V8.4    
> 
> but it was all set up long ago.
> 
>> I used tcpip$config.com to enable ftp.
> 
>    So, you're using some version of TCPIP, too?
> 
>>   That automatically set up the ANONYMOUS account, but I can
>> figure out how to log into that account.
> 
>    Normally, one doesn't use that account interactively.  The
> FTP server handles anonymous FTP itself, without doing the
> usual VMS password checking.  (How could it?  It accepts
> practically anything "as password.")
> 
>> [...] I like to set it up without a password so that
>> multiple people can use it without knowing a password.
> 
>    Which means that anyone on the planet with Internet access
> can access these files, too.  Is that what you want? 
> Anonymous FTP typically allows anyone to read anything.  (It
> may or may not allow some write access.)
> 
>    I'd expect TCPIP$CONFIG.COM to set up anonymous FTP
> correctly (until you started playing around with the
> ANONYMOUS account, at least).  If anonymous FTP access
> doesn't work, then you may need to look at the log files to
> try to see what the problem is.

I've never used anonymous FTP.

I'd be looking at the protection on the files.  Perhaps they need to be WORLD 
readable.  Just a WAG.