Are there any risks involved in keeping port 21 open

Question

I am planning to make an ftp server for few days for college work. I am going to use Filezilla Server and users with passwords, so thats not the problem.

Are there any other risks involved. ?

Answer 1

Any open port is a security risk!

But since you need to run a server you will have to open a port. There's no workaround.

A possible solution will be to run a small Linux distribution (SliTaz) in a Virtual system VirtualBox, and let your users connect to it, so if someone wishes to exploit the system, they'll exploit the Linux system and not your actual workstation.

Once you're done with the Server you can just ditch the server! ;)

Answer 2

Any open port is a security risk, but you if you need an ftp server you need to have an open port. Making sure that you don't enable anonymous ftp access is certainly a start.

One other thing you could do is to change the port you open. It's security by obscurity which isn't always a good idea, but would protect you from casual inspection.

Answer 3

Like everyone here suggests opening a port is necessary.
But, it helps if you can 'hide' the server from the regular world looking for public FTP servers.

So, think about running the server from a different port (as long as your network admin can permit it; that is if its someone else besides you). You can share the port information with others who need to access the server (this is presuming you don't plan to publish the service to the Internet in general, in which case you can host at port 21/tcp).

Another Windows reference for secure servers (I presume you are running a Windows machine).

1. freeFTPd

freeFTPd is a FTP/FTPS/SFTP server that enables user to access remote files over TCP/IP network such as Internet. Unlike FTP, FTPS and SFTP protocols provide security and strong encryption of data - great for insecure network.