<snip> >Does the wells user have a valid shell as defined in /etc/shells? Also, >make sure that wells wasn't added to /etc/ftpusers My wife's name is >A(a)manda and this has bitten me a few times. > > Yes the Wells users has a valid shell. The wells user was just an example. The error occurs on all users trying to authenticate via proftpd. Ftpusers does not include any names that are being denied.