Re: Device File Permissions
Andrew Gronosky wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I've been running Debian for a while, but only recently did I get
> serious about configuring all my peripherals (sound card, printer,
> etc.).
>
> I noticed that some important device files- for example, /dev/dsp and
> /dev/lp0 - are owned by root, belong to special groups (audio and lp,
> respectively), and most importantly are *not* world-writeable.
>
> Is there an important reason for this, and would it be a mistake to
> chmod the device files so processes running under an ordinary userid can
> write to /dev/audio and /dev/lp0? It seems there may be something I'm
> missing here... I want the devices to work with Debian software and with
> third-party software such as Loki games and StarOffice. :)
>
Hello,
It's done like this presumably so that on a multi-user system not just
anyone would have access to these devices which could in turn be used to
compromise the system's security. The best way around this appears to
be to just add the users you want to have this kind of access to the
groups you mentioned (audio, lp, and whatever else you might need).
I've never had any problems with that kind of setup, your Loki games
will be run by whatever user you add to these groups, so there shouldn't
be any problems. On a single-user system this extra security might not
seem worth it, but we might as well develop good habits now.
David Bellows
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