🚀 go-pugleaf

X-Orig-MsgId: <kus4sd55ven.fsf@buphy.bu.edu>

"Jennifer \"AstroJenn\" Martino" <twpyhr@mindspring.com> writes:
> gotcha. but when would one use a restricted shell rather than the plain
> old.. the only time i can think to use one is if maybe an account was
> made for someone..

bingo. for security reasons.
    There are also "accounts" which run only a single command,
so for example, in /etc/passwd file you'd see

    lp:x:9:9:Print Spooler Owner:/var/spool/lp:/dev/null

for the "line printer" account. The "shell" that 'lp' runs
is /dev/null; /dev/null is just a blackhole that you can dump
characters into (e.g., use in shell scripts to redirect error
messages to it, so the user doesn't see the error output).

Aside (speaking of "restricted"):
You can also change the filesystem to a "restricted filesystem"
by using 'chroot' command, which makes an arbitrary directory
look like the root of the filesystem. (so /home/slanning is
where I'd actually go if I typed cd /, for example,
'/usr/sbin/chroot /home/slanning /bin/bash' for a bash shell)

-- 
While the brown ale he quaffed,
Loud then the champion laughed,
And as the wind-gusts waft
The sea-foam brightly,
So the loud laugh of scorn,
Out of those lips unshorn,
From the deep drinking-horn
Blew the foam lightly. --Longfellow