CIFS: Correcting permissions in public_html

Files and folders in your public_html directory will appear as web pages at http://people.duke.edu/~netid , where netid is your NetID.
For this to work, our web server must have access to this directory and its contents.  This is accomplished by granting access to the security principal cifswebt-oit@win.duke.edu .

This task should be performed using Windows.  If you do not use Windows normally, connect to a Windows VCM image to perform this task.
[KB0020089: How to use VCM]

Grant permission to web server

  1. Connect to your home directory.
  2. Open your home directory and find the public_html directory.
  3. Click once on your public_html directory.  From the Organize menu, choose Properties. (You can right click on public_html and click Properties.) A new window appears.
  4. From the Security tab, a list of users and groups with access to your home directory appears.  Click Edit; a new window appears.  (NOTE: Most of the users listed here are administrative security principals who must have access to your home directory in order for it to work.  Removing access for listed users may result in your home directory becoming inoperable.)
  5. Click Add.  A "Select Users, Computers, Service Accounts, or Groups" window appears.
  6. In "Enter the object names to select", type: cifswebt-oit@win.duke.edu.  Click Check Names.  If this principal was spelled correctly, it will become underlined.  Press OK.
  7. Select cifswebt-oit@win.duke.edu from the list of group or user names.
  8. In the bottom pane, check Allow for the Full Access permission.  (Other permissions will also have Allow checked.)  Make sure nothing is checked under Deny.  Press OK.
  9. Press OK again.  There may be a delay while permissions are applied.  If you have a large number of files and folders in your public_html directory, this may take a few minutes to take effect.
  10. Test this in your web browser by visiting http://people.duke.edu/~netid , where netid is your NetID.
  11. If you find that the home directory is visible but a specific file or subdirectory is not, repeat the above steps for that specific file or subdirectory.

For more assistance, contact the OIT Service Desk.
For more information on NTFS permissions, see this Microsoft TechNet article: How IT Works: NTFS Permissions.