File privileges

[siggasif]

Hi there!

I am having a bit of problem with something that's probably not possible to fix but I want to make sure :-)

My website uses php, and it is hosted on a multiuser machine so when f.x. new files are written by php-scripts the owner is called "www-data" (from what I've read "nobody" is also common).

Now, let's say that I would like to allow a privileged friend (not a user of the machine) to access some file (through the web) containing stuff that I wouldn't want other users of the machine to be able to read. If the files are not "chmod 755"ed then my php-scripts can't read them either.

So here's my question. Is there no way to execute the php-scripts as me myself and not as "www-data" so that I can control who can see what?

Sorry for the babble and have a nice weekend :-)

[jerdo]

From the web, no. If you would like to do that try using perl.

[dalecosp]

If you own/run the box, it might be possible to compile the PHP binary, run it as CGI, and use some suexec() type thing, but the dangers likely outweigh the benefits. I hesitate even to mention it, someone might rightly bash me with a clue stick.

Is everyone simply allowed FTP access, or do folks SSH/telnet in?