So the first thing I do after getting logged onto the server is to add a user

sudo useradd -d /home/sublet -m sublet

Then I need to set a password.

sudo passwd sublet

Basically, what we have done is created the user sublet, and set his/her home directory. Now if we trust this user, and want to give them full access to the box…continue reading.

sudo visudo

Now go to the line that says User privilege specification. Basically, all you have to do is copy the root entry and replace “root” with your new username.

sublet    ALL=(ALL) ALL

Exit and Save, and you have now given this new user, admin access.

To connect using SFTP we need to run a few commands to enable the new users access.

First Create a Backup copy of the SSH config file.

sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.original

Set it’s Permissions.

sudo chmod a-w /etc/ssh/sshd_config.original

Now edit the file.

sudo vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Make sure that you change PasswordAuthentication no to:

PasswordAuthentication yes

Then restart SSH for the changes to take effect.

sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart

So now your user must enter this username and password, along with the IP address and they should be able to connect, if the security permissions are setup properly.