Enabling FTP encryption?

[MarcC]

I have an FTP Share set up on the USB drive attached to my ZenWifi AX mesh router. Username and password must be provided, there are no anonymous logins and no WAN access.

I have no trouble ftp-ing via FileZilla from my desktop computers. Until a few days ago, I likewise had no trouble getting to it from the AndFTP app on my Android phone.

Abruptly though, the latter now fails (and I'm unable to identify what triggered this).

I've attempted to log in with FTP apps AndFTP and PowerFTP--which was installed to determine if this was an AndFTP--specific problem. It was not. Connection is refused to both apps and this message is displayed:

530 Non-anonymous sessions must use encryption

On the router administration's "FTP Share" page there is no mention of encryption, and I don't know where else I would look for that where it might affect FTP logins.

I would appreciate any advice.

[carthell]

I think a setting in your FTP program may be throwing things off, maybe.  FTP (when it was a standalone client on earlier systems many moons ago) usually performs unencrypted file transfers.

Check your encryption settings in your FTP client, especially if your client has a profile associated with the  connection to your file share. If encryption is off, use the universally known (to me , anyway) username of "anonymous" with a password of "guest" upon connecting to the file share. You should get access to the files. 

If the encryption setting is on, you'll have to use the username & password combination you set on the file share.  If you don't remember the username & password you'll likely have to do  a hard reset on the node containing the file share, at the minimum.

[carthell]

Let me add a third suggestion: if you set no username and password combination on the file share and encryption of the connection in your FTP client is "on," turn encryption  off on your FTP client and follow the "anonymous" login information shown previously.

[MarcC]

I've never allowed anonymous ftp on my home network, for years it's always required a username/password login. Until a week ago AndFTP always connected to the FTP share on the router. Then for no apparent reason every attempt to connect with AndFTP (and PowerFTP) now fails with the "Non-anonymous sessions must use encryption" message.

However, I have found another client app, CX File Explorer, that successfully connects. 🙃

[carthell]

I decided to look at the issue a bit more closely.  Apparently the FTP server on your device can't authenticate you (https://bobcares.com/blog/why-you-get-530-login-authentication-failed-in-your-cpanel-pure-ftpd-ftp-s...).  If your software has a logging function, you may wish to turn it on.  Report the log to Asus if you experience another issue with file transfer.

I don't know how "hackable" these devices are; my Asus router gives off a Linux-like vibe in the logs. I'm not sure whether a user can issue a "sudo apt-get install ftpd" command to the router software.