The File Protection System is a robust C-based application designed to safeguard files within a specified directory and its subdirectories. It employs recursive file system monitoring and access control mechanisms to prevent unauthorized modifications, deletions, or moves of protected files.

• Real-time recursive file system monitoring
• Protection against file modifications, deletions, and moves in the target directory and all subdirectories
• Template-based file protection
• Password-protected system control
• Logging of all protection events and system activities
• User-friendly command-line interface
• Recursive protection and unprotection of files

• Linux-based operating system
• GCC compiler
• Make build system
• libcrypt development libraries

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/file-protection-system.git
   cd file-protection-system
   

2. Run the installation script to set up dependencies:

   sudo chmod +x install_dependencies.sh
   sudo ./install_dependencies.sh
   

3. Compile the project:

   make
   

4. The executable will be installed in /bin/file_protection

1. Edit the template.tbl file:
   • First line: Hashed password for system control (initially set to "password")
   • Second line: Absolute path to the directory you want to protect
   • Subsequent lines: File patterns to protect (e.g., *.txt, *.doc)

Example template.tbl:

018RdQ7SlKKLA
/home/user/protected_directory
*
*.txt
*.doc
*.docx
*.pdf

Run the application with root privileges:

sudo /bin/file_protection

• help: Display available commands
• enable: Enable file protection recursively
• disable: Disable file protection recursively (requires password)
• change: Change the system password
• status: Show current protection status
• stop: Exit the program

1. The system recursively monitors the specified directory and all its subdirectories using inotify.
2. When a file event occurs, it checks if the file matches any protected patterns.
3. For protected files, it prevents modifications by:
   • Setting the immutable flag
   • Changing permissions to read-only
   • Blocking creation, deletion, and move operations
4. The system also monitors for new subdirectories and automatically adds them to the watch list.

• main.c: Entry point of the application
• file_protection.h: Header file with function declarations and includes
• file_operations.c: File-related operations and event handling
• user_interface.c: User interaction and command processing
• system_initialization.c: System setup and main loop
• Makefile: Compilation and installation instructions
• install_dependencies.sh: Script to install required dependencies
• template.tbl: Configuration file for protected directory and file patterns

The system logs all activities to file_protection.log in the same directory as the executable. This includes:

• System initialization and shutdown
• Protection enabling/disabling
• File events (create, delete, modify, move)
• User authentication attempts
• Password changes
• Recursive protection and unprotection operations

• The system requires root privileges to set file attributes and permissions.
• The password is stored as a hash in the template.tbl file.
• Ensure that the template.tbl file has restricted read/write permissions.
• The system now protects files in subdirectories, increasing the scope of protection.

• The system currently only protects files in a single directory (not recursive). The system now protects files recursively in the specified directory and all its subdirectories.
• It does not prevent reading of protected files, only modifications.
• Root users can still modify protected files (as the application runs with root privileges).
• Large directory structures with many files and subdirectories may impact system performance.

Contributions to improve the File Protection System are welcome. Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/improvement)
3. Make your changes and commit them (git commit -am 'Add new feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/improvement)
5. Create a new Pull Request

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

• Linux inotify mechanism for file system monitoring
• libcrypt for password hashing

• Added recursive file protection for all subdirectories
• Improved the disable command to recursively remove protection from all files
• Enhanced error handling and logging for better troubleshooting
• Updated the initialization process to provide more detailed error messages