On Monday 29 December 2003 12:55 pm, Mads Martin Joergensen wrote:
* Keith Gibbons, StarDate Computers. <stardatecomputers@eircom.net> [Dec 29. 2003 18:47]:
Hello all and Merry Christmas, I have done a stupid thing and issued a chmod +x * -R command while in the / directory. This is on an internal server, not connected to the 'net. I had thought I was in my /public directory but wasn't. The command stopped with an error when it got to the /proc directory but by then it was too late. What are the consequences here and what can I do to rectify them?
I've done that too a loooong time ago, and the only way to go back is to reinstall.
Since this is an internal system and security doesn't seem to be an issue, I'd say "live with it, and remove the x attribute when it causes trouble on a specific file". I don't think there's an easy way to tell if a particular file is supposed to be executable. The alternative is to go the other way and remove it on all non-directory files other than the ones in "bin" directories, then add it in when you find it's needed. Probably less aggravating than reinstalling. Another thought: if you update all the packages in your system, you'll restore the correct permissions in all of them. That won't damage your private data. Paul