[TAG] lpr works for user not root in Basiclinux 2.1

[sindi keesan]

On Sun, 18 Mar 2007, Karolis Lyvens wrote:

> On Wed, Mar 07, 2007 at 12:11:59PM -0500, Sindi Keesan wrote:
>> I was advised to use the larger version to go online as 'user', by the
>> author.  Karolis (in our BL group and TAG) will work on why the browsers
>> cannot read or write their configuration files as 'user' in the smaller
>> version.  The passwords are shadowed in the smaller version, if I
>> understood right, so permissions might need to be different. (?)
>
> The problem:
>
> ``
> ~<$> echo $HOME
> /root
> ''
>
> Lynx and all the programs look at this variable to figure out where
> are the config files located - $HOME/.lynx or $HOME/.opera. They
> expand the path to /root/.lynx or /root/.opera, and, because of that,
> the applications get permission errors - the files are owned by root,
> not the user.
>
> To fix this once and for all, comment out the following line in
> /etc/profile:
>
> ``
> export HOME=/root
> ''
>
> This is a bug in passwd.tgz's install.sh (it should comment out that
> line when installed) and will be reported to BasLinux's mailing list.
>
> Karolis Lyvens
>

Karolis has been fixing all my problems by using strace, which shows where 
a program failed.

The configuration files for the three browsers are:
/home/user/.opera/ (and /root/.opera)   drwx------
/home/user/.links/			drwx------
/home/user/.lynxrc			-rw-------

Ssh has configuration files in /root/.ssh/  drwx------
I had made known_hosts world-readable.  But not random_seed.
It is working for user though .ssh is not world-readable.

The files in .links are world-readable - so it works for 'user' but I 
cannot write changed preferences.  Apparently the directory permissions 
do not need to be changed, just file permissions.

/root/.xinitrc was also world-readable, and .pmailrc.

I also had to chmod o+w for /dev/dsp* and /dev/lp*, so as to listen 
to music and print (plus all the ?tty* devices so as to use rxvt and ssh, 
and dial).  Is there any danger in making all devices read/write for 
users?

There is a new basiclinux coming out shortly, and permission changes could 
be made in there or in the passwd.tgz package used to add user accounts.

keesan at sdf.lonestar.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org