When issuing the ls -f command, what special character indicates a linked file?
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This is a classic article written by Jack Wallen from the Linux.com archives. For more great SysAdmin tips and techniques check out our free intro to Linux course. Although there are already a lot of good security features built into Linux-based systems, one very important potential vulnerability can exist when local access is granted – – that is file permission-based issues resulting from a user not assigning the correct permissions to files and directories. So based upon the need for proper permissions, I will go over the ways to assign permissions and show you some examples where modification may be necessary. Permission GroupsEach file and directory has three user based permission groups:
Permission TypesEach file or directory has three basic permission types:
Viewing the PermissionsYou can view the permissions by checking the file or directory permissions in your favorite GUI File Manager (which I will not cover here) or by reviewing the output of the “ls -l” command while in the terminal and while working in the directory which contains the file or folder. The permission in the command line is displayed as: _rwxrwxrwx 1 owner:group
Modifying the PermissionsWhen in the command line, the permissions are edited by using the command chmod. You can assign the permissions explicitly or by using a binary reference as described below. Explicitly Defining PermissionsTo explicitly define permissions you will need to reference the Permission Group and Permission Types. The Permission Groups used are:
The potential Assignment Operators are + (plus) and – (minus); these are used to tell the system whether to add or remove the specific permissions. The Permission Types that are used are:
So for example, let’s say I have a file named file1 that currently has the permissions set to _rw_rw_rw, which means that the owner, group, and all users have read and write permission. Now we want to remove the read and write permissions from the all users group. To make this modification you would invoke the command: chmod a-rw file1 As you can see, if you want to grant those permissions you would change the minus character to a plus to add those permissions. Using Binary References to Set permissionsNow that you understand the permissions groups and types this one should feel natural. To set the permission using binary references you must first understand that the input is done by entering three integers/numbers. A sample permission string would be chmod 640 file1, which means that the owner has read and write permissions, the group has read permissions, and all other user have no rights to the file. The first number represents the Owner permission; the second represents the Group permissions; and the last number represents the permissions for all other users. The numbers are a binary representation of the rwx string.
You add the numbers to get the integer/number representing the permissions you wish to set. You will need to include the binary permissions for each of the three permission groups. So to set a file to permissions on file1 to read _rwxr_____, you would enter chmod 740 file1. Owners and GroupsI have made several references to Owners and Groups above, but have not yet told you how to assign or change the Owner and Group assigned to a file or directory. You use the chown command to change owner and group assignments, the syntax is simple chown owner:group filename, so to change the owner of file1 to user1 and the group to family you would enter chown user1:family file1. Advanced PermissionsThe special permissions flag can be marked with any of the following:
Setuid/Setgid Special PermissionsThe setuid/setguid permissions are used to tell the system to run an executable as the owner with the owner’s permissions. Be careful using setuid/setgid bits in permissions. If you incorrectly assign permissions to a file owned by root with the setuid/setgid bit set, then you can open your system to intrusion. You can only assign the setuid/setgid bit by explicitly defining permissions. The character for the setuid/setguid bit is s. So do set the setuid/setguid bit on file2.sh you would issue the command chmod g+s file2.sh. Sticky Bit Special PermissionsThe sticky bit can be very useful in shared environment because when it has been assigned to the permissions on a directory it sets it so only file owner can rename or delete the said file. You can only assign the sticky bit by explicitly defining permissions. The character for the sticky bit is t. To set the sticky bit on a directory named dir1 you would issue the command chmod +t dir1. When Permissions Are ImportantTo some users of Mac- or Windows-based computers, you don’t think about permissions, but those environments don’t focus so aggressively on user-based rights on files unless you are in a corporate environment. But now you are running a Linux-based system and permission-based security is simplified and can be easily used to restrict access as you please. So I will show you some documents and folders that you want to focus on and show you how the optimal permissions should be set.
Other examples can be given, but this article is already very lengthy, so if you want to share other examples of needed restrictions please do so in the comments. Which special character indicates a linked file when using the ls command?@ means symbolic link (or that the file has extended attributes).
What is S in ls command?On Linux, look up the Info documentation ( info ls ) or online. The letter s denotes that the setuid (or setgid, depending on the column) bit is set. When an executable is setuid, it runs as the user who owns the executable file instead of the user who invoked the program. The letter s replaces the letter x .
What is ls LD command?cd .. - change your working directory to the parent of the current working directory. ls - list the contents of the current directory ("ls" is short for "list")
What does ls mean in terminal?The ls command is used to list files. "ls" on its own lists all files in the current directory except for hidden files.
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