User Management

Name: User Management
Author: Jeremy Kurtz

Learn to manage user types and permissions

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Course: On-Demand

In this lesson, we're going to have a lesson on the different types of users in Linux, as well as the different types of permissions they're allowed to have. Because of the way Linux has set up their users, we often look at Linux users as being part of a network, even though in this course, we're only talking about a single PC. But we should take a look at the different types of users because we wanna understand what we would have to do in the event we would have to make some modifications. We can safely say, although different books or articles might disagree that there are three user types. Some say two, some say four, but it's widely accepted that there's three types of users. They are the root account, which is the account that has absolute access to everything. On these machines, we are all kinds of users, depending on how we're logged in. Since there's only one account, we will go through in subsequent lessons so that we can learn how to make some changes to different parts of a file in the event we need to make a file executable. That requires its own set of permissions, as well as making files readable, writable or accessing directories that are outside of our home directory. There are three types of permissions. We can see these by typing ls -l. So if we look across to the left-hand side, you'll see this text here. When we talked about changing directories, we also talked about how do we know something is a directory? Well, we know it's blue and we know at the beginning of this line, it starts with a d. But this line says more than just that. This is where the permissions are set. Permissions are very easy to understand. These permissions represent three different user types. We have at the very front with read, write an executable permission, we have user, which is us, since we are logged into the machine. We are the first user represented. The next group, which has r-x stands for groups. The group is people that share the same permissions. And then lastly, you have read and execute privileges on the user other. So to recap, we have root users, we have regular users, and we have system users. Root users have full access to the computer. Regular users have access to their home directory and all the files it contains. And system users are generally associated with large networks. They're the folks that install software, fix user accounts, change passwords, all that kind of work. They get to have elevated privileges, however, they do not have root or administrative access. In our next lesson, we are going to learn about changing our own user type to access other information. So see you then.

Beginner Provider : Jeremy Kurtz 4 Lessons · 22m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

To best maintain your Linux systems and keep them secure, it’s essential to understand user types and permissions. Users in Linux are able to carry out different actions and tasks based on their user type and the permissions associated with it. Permissions dictate what the user is allowed to do with files and directories. There are several different user types in Linux, including root, regular, and system. Each user type can have different permissions, such as read, write, and executable. If you need to, you’re able to change permissions for users as well as files and directories. Linux is also used to make executable files. In these lessons on User Management, you’ll understand the different user types in Linux and how to manage them. You’ll also learn how to change permissions temporarily in Linux, and how to make a file executable.

What You'll Learn

Manage Linux users across different user types, including root, regular, and system
Identify the permissions associated with each Linux user type, such as read, write, and executable
Apply command and file permissions to control what users can do with files and directories
Use the Sudo and Chmod commands to manage privileges and change permissions
Change permissions temporarily in Linux
Make a file executable in Linux

Key Takeaways

Users in Linux carry out different actions and tasks based on their user type and its associated permissions.
Permissions dictate what a user is allowed to do with files and directories.
Linux includes several user types, including root, regular, and system, and each can have different permissions such as read, write, and executable.
Permissions can be changed for users as well as for files and directories, including temporarily.
Linux can be used to create executable files.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this User Management course?

You will learn the different user types in Linux and how to manage them, how to handle command and file permissions, how to change permissions temporarily, and how to make a file executable.

What topics are covered in the lessons?

The lessons cover Linux User Types, Sudo, Chmod, and Making Files Executable.

Why is understanding user types and permissions important?

To best maintain your Linux systems and keep them secure, it is essential to understand user types and permissions, since permissions dictate what a user is allowed to do with files and directories.

What skills does this course help build?

The course addresses skills including Limited User Administration, Linux Administration, Linux Commands, Linux Programs, Privileged User Management, and User Environment Management.

Which Linux user types does the course discuss?

The course discusses several Linux user types, including root, regular, and system, each of which can have different permissions such as read, write, and executable.