Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!haven!rutgers!att!pegasus!rob
From: rob@pegasus.ATT.COM (rob)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aux
Subject: Re: A/UX Mail files
Message-ID: <2547@pegasus.ATT.COM>
Date: 26 Jan 89 17:47:35 GMT
References: <289@berlin.acss.umn.edu>
Organization: AT&T ISL Middletown NJ USA
Lines: 20

From article <289@berlin.acss.umn.edu>, by grg@berlin.acss.umn.edu (George Gonzalez):
> 
>   I have a question for you A/UX gurus.  On our A/UX system all the mail
> files have too many permissions: i.e.:
> 
> -rw-rw----  gus
> -rw-rw----  harry
> 
> We'd rather have the files be -rw-------, i.e. only accessible by the owner.
> 
> Any ideas?

Typically the second set of permissions (group) is to let the mailer,
which doesn't run with your uid when delivering mail from someone else,
deposit mail into YOUR mailbox. If the group id of your mailfile is
'mail', then your mailbox is secure as long as nothing other than the
mailer is allowed to run with gid == mail. If you did as you suggest and
dissallow access to you mailbox from anyone (or thing) that isn't you,
you won't get any messages delivered....
.....rob