FILE PERMISSIONS
Permissions on files and folders in computer systems are used to control access to the machine. Permissions are perhaps the second most important security feature of any machine, behind the account password. It is important to understand the basics of how file and folder permissions work in order to control who may read, write or execute your files and folders.
At its simplest, file/folder permissions consist of 9 settings. There are read, write and execute permissions each for the user, the group the file is in, and others. At a minimum these 9 settings, occasionally combined with other, less used settings, may be viewed via all operating systems. In DoE we use the Apple OS-X, Microsoft Windows and Unix/Linux operating systems.
Because permissions are handled differently within each of these three operating systems, below are links to external pages for tutorials on each. Click on the link for your particular operating system and read through how to manage permissions on your files and folders.
By default every user's account on DoE machines is created with read, write and execute permissions for the user, and read and execute permissions to group and other. All other folders under a user's account are set for read, write and execute access for the user ONLY. This is Apple's standard server account setup. It is designed to allow use of the "drop-box" feature under the Public folder. By changing the permissions on your account from this default "755" setting to "700" you can completely lock off your account to all users.
All files and folders under Desktop, Documents, and other account folders are secured (except Public). To keep all your files and folders secure inside your account please place them under your Desktop or Documentms folders.
If you wish other users on your machine/server to access your files and folders, you must change permissions on your account to allow such access. Users may always email a copy of a file to the another user as a quick way to share a file. You could also copy the file to a share folder with access common to all those users in the share.
OS-X File Permissions (Page 16-26 of Apple PDF document)