Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Question: restricting users? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I haven't really used Linux, but I feel it might be useful for a potential project. Is it possible, and how doable is it, to have a password locked admin account and an open user account which is heavily restricted on what they can do? As in, not even browse files. Preferrably only desktop access where they can launch the apps placed there. Which Linux would be the best for this while still being on the easier side to figure out? I do understand tech somewhat well and quite enjoy problem solving, so doesn't need to be ELI5 territory.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

Yeah, Linux was built as a multi-user system, so user and group permissions have always been a core aspect of it. The "password locked admin account" is just the root user, although you should maybe leave that as a "failsafe" account and create a separate user with sudoer permissions. Every file and folder in Linux has an owner and read/write/execute permissions for the owner, members of its group, and others. By default, users are limited to their own home folder (/home/username, where folders like Documents are stored) and a handful of world-writable locations (like /tmp) If you need more specific permissions, ACLs are also available. Or SELinux.

The biggest difference regarding distribution choice is that some distros ship with SELinux enabled, while most don't. For everything else there's not much difference, so maybe start with Debian for its community support/resources?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Thanks for the advice! The premission stuff sounds perfect. So by default, basic account can't really mess anything up, even if it's a tech literate person using it?

[–] Feyter 1 points 1 year ago

Since I think the answer is pretty much complete I just want to link you a tutorial/article giving a short overview and introduction:

https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/it-ops/linux-file-permissions

One more thing, always remember that for Linux everything is a file (a path, a program and well a file like an image) therefore everything can be restricted with this.

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