Access Control Lists (ACLs)

The Access Control List (ACL) is an advanced permissions scheme that gives you tighter control over who can and cannot access files and directories. Instead of just allowing or denying access based on the owner, group, and everyone else, you can now grant access to individual specified users and groups. You can also set a maximum permission mask for the users and groups that are granted access through an ACL that will override the actual permissions given by the ACL.

ACLs are usually not necessary for desktop workstation users, and they’re also seldom used in typical Internet server applications. However, in cases where complex group ownership is necessary, such as in a research environment where different lab groups ...

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