Cerberus FTP Server User Accounts One Account Per Person Setup
Shared logins destroy accountability. Separate Cerberus accounts with the right folders take minutes and make logs and permissions actually work.
Technical AnshuWindowsPer person accounts, groups and service accounts
Watch - the Cerberus install in the video, then create your user accounts with this page
The fastest Cerberus setup uses one shared login. It is also the setup that fails first in real office life. This page shows the professional pattern instead - one account per person, folders matched to the job, service accounts for scanners and jobs, and a clean habit for people who leave. Your future self, reading a log at midnight, will be grateful.
Cerberus User Manager - Example Account Layout
accounts-teamShared login - avoid this
ravi-accountsOwn folder - Accounts, upload and download
scanner-deskService account - Scans folder, upload only
client-sharmaExternal user - One project folder only
Example account layout. Names are illustrative. One person, one account, one clear set of folders is the pattern to copy.
1
Why One Shared Password Always Ends Badly
A single office login feels convenient for about a week. Then someone leaves and the password cannot be changed without breaking everyone, a file is deleted and the log shows only the shared name, and the password ends up written on a notice board. Cerberus logs are only useful if the name in the log is a real person. One account per person is not extra formality - it is what makes passwords, permissions and logs work at all.
2
Create Each User Account Properly
Open User Manager in Cerberus Server Manager and create a new user with the person name or a clear ID, never a generic name like user1 for a permanent staff member.
Set a strong unique password - long, not the office WiFi password, not the person name. Let Cerberus password policy enforce length where your edition supports it.
Set the user home directory, or add virtual directories that map friendly names to real folders such as D:\CerberusFiles\Accounts. Virtual folders let one user see two locations as one tidy list without moving files.
Set permissions per directory - for example download only for reports, upload only for a drop folder, both for the owner working folder. Remove delete permission where the person never needs it.
Apply account lockout after repeated failed logins if available, so guessing attacks slow down and show up clearly in the log.
3
Use Groups for Teams, Individuals for People
Where your edition supports groups, put team wide folder access on the group and keep the account personal. A new accounts team member joins the group and inherits the right folders; when they leave, you disable one personal account and the group stays clean. External users - a client, an auditor, a vendor - always get their own account, their own single folder, and an expiry or manual disable date written in your diary. Never add an outsider to a staff group to save two minutes.
4
Handle Scanners and Automated Jobs as Service Accounts
A multifunction printer that scans to FTP, or a backup job that uploads nightly, is not a person - but it still needs its own account. Give it a name that says what it is, restrict it to exactly one folder with upload only permission, and use a long random password stored in your password records. If that device is replaced, you change one service password instead of the password half the office types every morning.
5
Leavers, Lockouts and Password Resets
When someone leaves, disable the account the same day. Deleting can come later after you confirm no files or automations depend on it.
If the log shows an account locked out repeatedly from an unknown IP, treat it as an attack signal, not a user mistake - read the logs page in this series.
Reset a forgotten password in User Manager and give the new one privately. Never send FTP passwords in a group chat or write them in the server handover note in plain sight.
Review the user list every few months. Old test accounts and ex staff accounts are the doors nobody remembers leaving open.
Honest rule - if two people share one Cerberus login, you have already lost accountability, no matter how strong the password is. Separate accounts cost minutes to create and save you in every audit, dispute and incident afterwards.
Watch the Complete Video Guide
The video creates the first Cerberus user live - this page shows how to structure all the users after that first one.
Can users in Cerberus be the same as Windows users
Cerberus keeps its own user accounts by default, which is simplest for a small setup. Supported editions can also connect to Active Directory or LDAP so staff use their domain logins. Either way, keep the rule the same - one named account per person, never a shared login.
What is a virtual directory in Cerberus
A virtual directory shows a real folder under a friendly name inside a user view. It lets you give one user access to folders in different locations as one tidy list, without moving the actual files or opening the whole drive.
Should I ever enable anonymous access in Cerberus
Almost never with write permission, and never on an internet facing server. Anonymous download may suit a truly public file share with no sensitive files, but anonymous upload invites abuse. Give even casual external users a named account with one folder.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video - Install Cerberus FTP Server in 5 Minutes - Stuck on a step, ask in the video comments and you will get an answer there