diff --git a/manifests/params.pp b/manifests/params.pp
index fa28b2d..e6fc5aa 100644
--- a/manifests/params.pp
+++ b/manifests/params.pp
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ class confdroid_ssh::params (
   String $ssh_source_range                  = '0.0.0.0/0',
 
   # sshd configuration 
-  String  $ssh_custom_ensure                = 'file',
+  String  $ssh_custom_ensure                = 'absent',
   Boolean $ssh_manage_config                = true,
   String  $ssh_address_family               = 'any',
   String  $ssh_listen_address               = '0.0.0.0',