Chapter 9. File and System Security

Computer security is very similar to other types of security. Its goal is the protection of information stored on the computer system, a valuable resource. Information security is aimed at:

It is helpful to plan and implement your security policies before you begin using the system. Security policies are very time consuming to change later, so a little planning now can save a lot of time later.

This section discusses:

• Security Threats
  • Basic Security
• File Ownership and User Groups
  • Changing File or Directory Ownership (chown Command)
  • File and Directory Access Modes
  • Displaying Group Information (lsgroup Command)
  • Changing File or Directory Permissions (chmod Command)
• Access Control Lists
  • Displaying Access Control Information (aclget Command)
  • Setting Access Control Information (aclput Command)
  • Editing Access Control Information (acledit Command)
• Locking Your Terminal (lock or xlock Command)
• Testing Files for Viruses (virscan Command)
• Command Summary for File and System Security