Changing file/folder permissions

All files on UNIX (including Linux and other UNIX variants) machines have access permissions. These tell the operating system how to deal with requests to access these files. There are three types of access:

Access types are set for three types of user group:

The web server needs to be able to read your web pages in order to be able to display them in a browser. The following permissions need to be set in order for your web site to function properly.

Warning: It is important that none of your files or folders are writable by anyone else. Any file or folder which is writable by others can be erased by them. Generally there is no problem, just be careful how you set your permissions.

To change file or folder permissions:

  1. Navigate to the file or folder that you need to change.

  2. Click on the name of the file or folder.

  3. Click on the Change Permissions link in the top-right corner of the window.

  4. Click on as many tick boxes as you require to create the right permission. The permission numbers underneath the tick boxes will update automatically.

  5. Click on the Change button when you have finished setting the permission. The new permission level has now been saved and the display updated to show the modified file.

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