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126 Chapter 8 Working with Users and Groups
Changing the Owner
Use the chown tool to change the owner of a file or folder.
$ chown
username
fileorfolder
To change the owner of file1 to the user jdoe:
$ chown jdoe file1
See the chown man page for more information.
Changing the Group
Use the chgrp tool to change the group of a file or folder.
$ chgrp
groupname
fileorfolder
To change the group of file1 and file2 to the group ateam:
$ chgrp ateam file1 file2
See the chgrp man page for more information.
Securing System Accounts
Security is very important when setting up and administering system accounts. The
following sections cover security settings for user accounts.
Securing Initial System Accounts
Two accounts on the computer require attention before any further configuration is
done. First, the permissions on the home folder of the initial administrator account
should be changed. Second, any necessary modifications to the root account should be
performed. To secure initial system accounts, the permissions on the home folder of
the initial administrator account should be changed to allow only administrator access.
The permissions on the home folder of the just-created administrator account allow
any user who logs in to the computer to browse its contents.
To change permissions on the administrator’s home folder:
$ chmod 700 /Users/
adminname
where adminname is the name of the account. The 700 permission setting allows only
the administrator to read and browse files in his home folder.
Parameter Description
username
The user who will become the owner of the file.
fileorfolder
The name of the file or folder to change.
Parameter Description
groupname
The group that will become associated with the file or folder.
fileorfolder
The name of the file or folder to change.