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LFCS · Question #30

To prevent a specific user from scheduling tasks with at, what should the administrator do?

The correct answer is C. Add the specific user to /etc/at.deny file. To prevent a specific user from scheduling tasks with at, the administrator should add that user's username to the /etc/at.deny file.

Submitted by lucia.co· Apr 18, 2026User and Group Management

Question

To prevent a specific user from scheduling tasks with at, what should the administrator do?

Options

  • AAdd the specific user to /etc/at.allow file.
  • BAdd the specific user to [deny] section in the /etc/atd.conf file.
  • CAdd the specific user to /etc/at.deny file.
  • DAdd the specific user to nojobs group.
  • ERun the following: atd --deny [user].

How the community answered

(24 responses)
  • B
    8% (2)
  • C
    88% (21)
  • D
    4% (1)

Why each option

To prevent a specific user from scheduling tasks with `at`, the administrator should add that user's username to the `/etc/at.deny` file.

AAdd the specific user to /etc/at.allow file.

Adding a user to `/etc/at.allow` would permit them to use `at`, which is the opposite of the desired outcome.

BAdd the specific user to [deny] section in the /etc/atd.conf file.

There is no standard `[deny]` section in a file named `/etc/atd.conf` for user-specific denial; `at` access control is file-based.

CAdd the specific user to /etc/at.deny file.Correct

The `at` utility uses `/etc/at.allow` and `/etc/at.deny` for access control; if `/etc/at.allow` does not exist, adding a user's name to `/etc/at.deny` explicitly prevents them from using `at` and `batch` to schedule jobs.

DAdd the specific user to nojobs group.

There is no standard 'nojobs' group specifically for denying `at` access; control is managed via the `at.allow`/`at.deny` files.

ERun the following: atd --deny [user].

`atd` is the daemon that executes `at` jobs, and its command-line options do not include a `--deny` flag for individual users; access control is configured through files.

Concept tested: at job scheduling access control

Source: https://linux.die.net/man/1/at

Topics

#at job scheduling#user access control#at.deny file

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