Making your files Secure

By default, the permissions on files on a UNIX system are rather lax. Everyone can see your files, so it is your responsibility to hide or protect files you do not want others to access.

You can use the chmod go-rw <filename> command file per file, or use the umask 0077 command in your Bash startupfile (.bash_profile) so that all files that are created are only visible by you.

Alternatively, you can change the permissions on your home directory directly: chmod og-rx ~.