How to lock important files in Linux
Introduction
When manage Linux system, it is becoming increasingly important to protect our important files from unauthorized access. One way to do this is by using the chattr command in Linux to lock files and prevent them from being deleted or modified. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to use chattr to lock important files and ensure their security.
In Linux, the command to modify file attributes is chattr. This command can modify the file attributes of the EXT2, EXT3, EXT4 file system, but this command must be executed by the super user root. The corresponding command is lsattr, which is used to query file attributes.
Usage
chattr +i /etc/sudoers
chattr +i /etc/shadow
chattr +i /etc/passwd
chattr +i /etc/grub.conf
+i is the immutable option, which is used to set the file cannot be modified, deleted, renamed, set link, and cannot write or add content.
chattr +a /var/log/messages
chattr +a /var/log/wtmp
For some important log files, you can add the +a option, where +a is append, which means that after setting this option, you can only add data to the file, but not delete it.
Conclusion
Using chattr to lock important files and system files is a simple and effective way to protect them from unauthorized access. By making files immutable, you can ensure that they cannot be modified, deleted, or renamed, providing an additional layer of security for your important data. Remember to use caution when locking system files, as this can potentially cause issues with your operating system if done incorrectly.