2 18.1. The PostgreSQL User Account #
4 As with any server daemon that is accessible to the outside world, it
5 is advisable to run PostgreSQL under a separate user account. This user
6 account should only own the data that is managed by the server, and
7 should not be shared with other daemons. (For example, using the user
8 nobody is a bad idea.) In particular, it is advisable that this user
9 account not own the PostgreSQL executable files, to ensure that a
10 compromised server process could not modify those executables.
12 Pre-packaged versions of PostgreSQL will typically create a suitable
13 user account automatically during package installation.
15 To add a Unix user account to your system, look for a command useradd
16 or adduser. The user name postgres is often used, and is assumed
17 throughout this book, but you can use another name if you like.