Linux service denial

The simplest and quickest thing to try first would be have the system re-read the inetd file and see if you can make a connection after that.

kill -HUP inetd then try to connect. (You may want to double check to make really sure that the ftpand telnet aren't commented out of the inetd.conf)

If the PID is giving you grief try using kill -HUP inetd instead. You should be able to use inetd instead of the PID.

Also check /etc/hosts.deny to see if you somehow got in there. If not, add the IP of where ever you trying to come from in hosts.allow and see if that helps.

Try this first:
telnet localhost
then
ftp localhost

If you got the message connection closed:

You've not enabled telnet and ftp in /etc/inetd.conf

edit /etc/inetd.conf and restart inetd by :

/etc/rc.d/init.d/./inetd restart

try looking for open ports on your Linux server by:

(for telnet)

netstat -an | grep 23

(for ftp)

netstat -an | grep 21

If none of these ports are opened, try rebooting your system.

If it's opened, and you still can't login from local console, try

ipchains -L -n

if there's listed, any rules, flush them:

ipchains -F

Hope these helps.