I just chmod 755
all directories, 644
to all files, and made sure directories such as /usr/bin/
all have +x bit, but I am not the most knowledgeable about the file system structure, how do I make sure everything is correct? (I accidentally chmod 644 /
my entire system before this and that's how I messed it up initially)
The only sure method is to re-install. If you make a backup you could do a re-install without formatting /. That would overwrite all system files with their correct permissions.
I just chmod 755 all directories, 644 to all files
That is not correct for all the files on your system. It might make your system use able though.
Examples:
- /tmp/ needs 777 and sticky bit set.
- Logfiles in /var/log/, some should be 640 (like
syslog
) to prevent "others" looking at your log files.
-
Oh, yeah I definitely looked into some of the stuff you mentioned, I just didn't know if there's anything that I missed - like I have my system up and files accessible but wanted to know if there's stuff like in your answer I need to make sure I change. Is there anything else you can think of? Thanks for the help – Preston Garno May 16 '17 at 10:25
-
Just make sure you can make a backup of your personal files and know you can restore it. If you have that set nothing to worry about when you format the machine. – Rinzwind May 16 '17 at 10:26
-