Very Computer

The file /etc/issue contains the message displayed by telnet. Take a look
in your startup scripts, since in some distros (like RedHat), they reset
this file on startup

-- PC^God --

Where can I add or change the login messages for telnet and ftp?

For example in telnet I want to place a message before the login prompt:

Escape character is "^]"

<MY MESSAGE HERE>

www Login:

For ftp I want to have the message pop up when the user connects, like
cdrom.com does. They have a message window when you change into most of
the directories.

I tried making .message, README, and welcome.msg for ftp, but I never
see them when I ftp in. I tried them in my user directory and in
anonymouse /home/ftp, but, still nothing.

THANK!
John Jacques

[...]

Quote:>The file /etc/issue contains the message displayed by telnet. Take a look
>in your startup scripts, since in some distros (like RedHat), they reset
>this file on startup

Isn't it /etc/issue.net ? I have two issue* files, issue is displayed locally,
and issue.net is displayed when somebody telnets in.

--


Humming along under SuSE 6.4, Linux 2.2.14

DOH! That's what I get for ignoring pine's warnings that the message will
be read by thousands of people :-)
yes. it's /etc/issue.net in telnet's case. I usually keep issue and
issue.net the same, so i can see what everyone else sees when I login

-- PC^God --

just a thought id nt it normaly an motd file that handles that

This message pertains to REDHAT. I don't know about other distro's.

If you modify issue and issue.net, that mod will be lost on the next reboot.

go to /etc/rc.d/rc.local

and search for a line that reads:
# This will overwrite /etc/issue at every boot

then modify your text here.You can either echo the text and variables, or,
just cat a text file into it. issue is copied to issue.net with this script.

For telnet, create a banner and run the makefile for prototype. it will
provide you with a banner for any service under inetd.conf.

do this:
mkdir /etc/banners
cp /usr/doc/tcp_wrappers-7.6/Banners.Makefile /etc/banners/Makefile
cd /etc/banners
echo "This is just a test banner, if it were a real banner, it would be an,
uh, hmmm. REAL Banner." >prototype
make

Now you have a prototype banner.

Put something meaningful in the text above (The file now named prototype)

By defaults, this will be the banner for in.telnetd, in.ftpd, and
in.rlogind.

read the make file, man pages, apropos, and web searches for the fine points
on this. You can make separate banners for each service.

To activate the banners edit the /etc/host.allow file.
add the "banners /etc/banners" option followed by "allow"
add another option for the denied services. , so, it would look like this
for telnet being allowed from workstation.yahoop.org

in.telnetd    workstation.yahoop.org    :    banners    /etc/banners    :
allow
all    :    all    :    banners    /etc/banners    :    deny

That's a little bit.  ftp has a whole shooting match of banners it can
display. I use variables to tell users what directory they are in, where
they need to be before they upload, where they came from, and how many other
users are using ftp other than themselves.

Hope it helps a little

: This message pertains to REDHAT. I don't know about other distro's.

: If you modify issue and issue.net, that mod will be lost on the next reboot.

Why is this? I don't understand why, if someone went out of the way to
change the message in the first place, the assumption would be that they
wanted it reset on reboot.

Sorry for the off-topic question, this is just something that's always
bugged me.

jessica

( s/reboot/runlevel change/ , of course ;)

Quote:> Why is this? I don't understand why, if someone went out of the way to
> change the message in the first place, the assumption would be that they
> wanted it reset on reboot.

> Sorry for the off-topic question, this is just something that's always
> bugged me.

Me too ;)  OTOH it need not always be so... I thought on *BSD boxen it
wasn't updated in the init scripts?

Maybe it's something about the idea of SysV that it should have login
banners that contain relevant info, and if the only time you reboot the box
is to change the kernel then you might as well let it take care of that for
you? (Pathetic idea but it's all that comes to mind :)

~Tim
--
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| The sun is melting over the hills,         | http://piglet.is.dreaming.org/

If you take the time to study how the file rc.local is written, youll
understand. I know what you mean, it frustrated me also the first time I
wrote my spiffy little issue file. I even wrote a seperate issue.net file
(Different from issue) and when I rebooted, they were back the same, and
identical again. Yup, sanity was leaving. But now that I have played with
motd, rc.local, banners, '.message' and a few others, it makes perfect
sense. it fills a need. study how the tcp_wrappers banners makefile works, ,
rc.local, ftpaccess 9with it's associated banner or message files) and it is
quite neat. A one banner fits all for banners, and then things like .message
get tacked onto the end of the banners file, and eve motd after that. Isee
for each login tty or telnet, ssh etc.

When you have to seriously customize a server (like say make Linux extremely
secure) you MUST have ample warnings, of you can never win a court case and
throw the cracker kiddies into Jail. They just walk away, 'cause you didn't
have an applicable disclaimer at every gate.'

Bruce Meyer

The message at the top of the screen, that might say Redhat 6.2 (Zoot) or
Suse 6.3 or something similar (that is there BEFORE you log on) is in
/etc/issue (the one people logging onto the machine itself see) and
/etc/issue.net (the one that you see when you telnet accross the network.)

The message that you see AFTER you log in is in /etc/motd (Message Of The
Day.)

I hope that was clear enough!