School of Informatics and Computing

Below is a very brief list of some things you can do to protect files in your unix home directory from access by other users. Please see the Unix File Permissions Page for a more complete explaination of these topics.

• Secure your top-level home directory permissions according to the instructions in the Securing Existing Accounts section of the Unix File Permissions Page.
• Add the line "umask 077" into your shell resource file. This will turn your default file permissions off for anyone other than yourself. You can then change permissions for specific files and directories after they're created if you want to open permissions up to others. See the Permissions On Newly Created Files/Directories section of the Unix File Permissions Page or the Knowledge Base document on the subject for more details.
• Use chmod to change permissions for specific files and directories. See the Unix File Permissions Page or the Knowledge Base document on this subject for more details.
• Pay attention to what group you assign a file. This can be used to open up access in limited ways if used properly. See the Knowledge Base document on the subject for more details.
• For files that require extra security, you can encrypt them. See the Encryption FAQ Page for more information about encrypting files.

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