This is how to fix it, courtesy of someone else. Works for me. I also found and edited /etc/pam.d/kdm-np ---8<---snip----------------- Yes, when the package libpam-umask appeared in the repository. After installation, you add a line in your /etc/pam.d/{xkg}dm file : session optional pam_umask.so umask=002 or whatever your umask must be.