Change edubuntu's default permissions?

[theo.schmidt at wilhelmtux.ch]

Am 28.05.2013 04:56, schrieb Joseph Bishay:

> So today we just realized that everyone on our server can navigate
> into everyone else's /home directory and open all their files!
...
> P.S. This is a really strange default setup - I've been getting
> irate emails from staff and admin wondering what kind of system (ie:
> Linux) would allow students to access teacher folders etc.

AFAIK this is the standard setup for most Linux distributions. Users can
however not write or delete outside their own accounts.

> So my first question - is there a script or simple command to change
> all the permissions so everyone can only access their own files?

Apart from the simple command given by Stephane, most file managers
allow changing the permissions of all files and subfolders in any folder
in one click. I usually tell users to do this themselves for their own
folders if they want more privacy.


> Second - how to permanently fix this so new accounts don't inherent
> this weird permission structure!

I don't think it is weird, just traditional. I'm not sure where the
templates for new users are kept these days, used to be in /etc/skel

Cheers, Theo Schmidt