Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!iuvax!purdue!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!CS.BU.EDU!bzs From: bzs@CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ti.explorer Subject: unix file protection Message-ID: <8908282059.AA10989@CS.BU.EDU> Date: 28 Aug 89 20:59:55 GMT References: Distribution: inet Organization: The Internet Lines: 28 The newest (4.3+) FTP daemon takes the command: ftp> quote SITE UMASK 022 or whatever value, it says which bits are to be turned OFF, thus a UMASK of 022 means no WRITE to GROUP or OTHER (but OWNER has WRITE.) Similarly, 002 means allow OWNER and GROUP WRITE but not OTHER, 777 would turn off all meaningful bits allowing no one, including the owner, access.) The three bits are 1=EXECUTE, 2=WRITE, 4=READ, you add them together for each of the three groups OWNER, GROUP, OTHER. Hmm, well, it's in the UNIX manual if that's not perfectly lucid (oops, wrong list.) Use 022, it's safe enough. The full sources for the ftp daemon which implements this are available for public distribution (but not domain) in various places, I don't remember where off hand, probably BERKELEY.EDU or UCBARPA.BERKELEY.EDU . -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die, Purveyors to the Trade 1330 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02146, (617) 739-0202 Internet: bzs@skuld.std.com UUCP: encore!xylogics!skuld!bzs or uunet!skuld!bzs