Changing File/Folder Permissions

I attempted to delete a couple of files last night, but it seems they are read only. They are just either files I've personally downloaded from the web, or in one case a video recorded from hte AA1s webcam.

You can't change the permissions via the properties, I tried that.

I looked briefly into changing them via terminal but got easily lost.

Can anyone help - it seems a large bulk of stuff falls into this category and I can't see how to shift it!

Cheers in advance!

 

don't be scared to use terminal, it can open new doors! Linux commands and terminal use are well documented on the Net.

to make things happen start terminal and login as root

[user@linuxbox]$ su -
password:
[root@linuxbox]#

as root you can use different commands to do the job. see the manpages for all the possibilities -- type the command [space] --help

mv = moves the file to the given directory
rm = removes the file
cp = copies it to a given directory
chown [preferred user] [path, file] = changes the owner
chgrp [preferred usergroup] [path, file] = changes the user group that can use the file

you can use the [tab] key to autocomplete dir- and filenames.

Meine

 

It scares me when obviously knowledgeable Linux users, start talking about how easy it is and how much you can do with the terminal.

You are quite correct that terminal can open new doors, but the way you said that implies it is safe to use and that is true only once you have the knowledge and experience to use it safely. I believe that you have been around Linux for quite some time and have made yourself learn the power of the terminal and that you don't remember all the times things got messed up. I also believe that when you started with Linux the commands were not so well documented and easy to get, making you work for it. For the new to Linux user, the commands are all available but there is not much information / cautions about the risk of doing some of the things that can be done with the terminal. This is where the danger is. The power of the terminal is worth the risk if you are really into getting the most out of your computer but for the average user it can give them a very bad day very fast and a lot of the reason for that is they don't have the necessary knowledge needed to protect themselves even in Windows. On top of that their interest is not in getting the most and knowing why things happen. Instead they just want to use the software.

I don't mean any offense to anyone. I am no stranger to computers, programing, hardware or software use. I started when the only thing around was Basic but no disk, then DOS came, I got into Windows and Linux which was not really much different than DOS but more powerful. Then Windows started going strong and Linux was too much work. Now I use both for different reasons, but I now stay away from the terminal because I don't need the power and have forgotten so much and picked up such bad habits, that it could be dangerous for me to use it much.

So please when you encourage people to use the terminal keep in mind they may not have or need the right attitude to be safe with it.