[olug] /etc/skel directory

Nick Walter waltern at iivip.com
Wed Oct 22 16:34:55 UTC 2003


Jon brought up something I've long been curious about, so I'm going to
thread hijack a little bit :)

Does anyone on this list actually admin a system with users who need
shells?  I'm not talking about other admin users, or creating specific
user accounts to run applications more securely, but actual users who
log on to a system and a shell?

I have a few systems around with hefty user lists, but those are ftp or
web or CVS servers and the different user accounts are to maintain some
seperation for access privileges.  Nobody actually uses those accounts
to logon for a shell.  My current theory is that multiuser systems are
obsolete because powerful workstations are all too cheap, but I'm not
close-minded if anyone has a differing opinion.

Nick Walter

On Wed, 2003-10-22 at 10:53, Jon H. Larsen wrote:
> As many of you know or may not know, the /etc/skel folder is the 
> 'default' folder used when adding a new user.  Typically, you will find 
> .bashrc, .bash_logout, and sometimes .procmailrc, in it.  This files are 
> included in the new user's folder at the time of user creation.
> 
> For those who make changes to the /etc/skel folder, what are the items you 
> commonly add or would suggest to system admins?  
> 
> Any common .bashrc additions to lock down users or restrict paths?
> 
> Directories, like public_html/ or httpdocs/?
> 
> Jon L.



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