Nowadays, the popularity of personal computers is very high, but for some users, due to the particularity of the work and use environment, it may happen that multiple people use the same device together. At present, all mainstream desktop operating systems on the market have a multi-user mode. You can set up multiple users on the device and log in to their respective accounts during use. In a multi-user environment, the security of personal data is a point that many people are very concerned about.
However, for the Ubuntu operating system, when a user creates a new user on the device, the user account can read files in the ~/Home home directory folder, which stores a lot of personal information. In other words, by default, anyone can access any home directory, and your personal information can be viewed by other users by default. This situation will be changed in the Ubuntu 21.04 development code-named Hirsute Hippo version, ~/ The Home directory is set to privacy by default in Ubuntu 21.04.
Ubuntu stated that they decided to adopt this stricter default setting after listening to the opinions of important customers and user groups in the public cloud and server fields.
In the early stages of Ubuntu development, people can use this multi-user system to easily and quickly share files among colleagues, family or friends. However, with the occurrence of various misuses of private data and privacy leaks, people’s protection and attention to personal privacy have reached unprecedented heights. Everyone hopes to treat personal data more strictly, even if only one’s own The same is true on management control systems.
The person in charge of security technology at Ubuntu explained: “The global readable home directory brings more of a risk than a feature. In this case, if an account is threatened by an attack, the attacker can easily Access more sensitive data from other personnel accounts and even administrator accounts".
After comprehensive consideration, Ubuntu officially decided to make this change. Therefore, in Ubuntu 21.04, the home directory is no longer globally readable by default, and the directory permissions will be 755 changed to 750.
One thing to note is that this change will not affect existing users, nor will it change those users who have upgraded to Ubuntu 21.04 through system upgrades. By default, only a fresh install of Ubuntu 21.04 (and the new users created in it) can get stricter permissions management.
For more details, you can check the official Ubuntu announcement .