what regex could exactly specify these patterns? 030118203923p 030119172924p 1mbtest.ptf 1kbtest.ptf here is my attempt (/etc/proftpd.conf) # Reject all files with leading periods or dashes PathDenyFilter "(^|/)[-.]" | \.ptf$ # to stop those numbered p directories PathDenyFilter (0|[1-9][0-9]*)p?$ I will update the sxs article proftpd.html if I got it working...