How Labels Are Used

In UNIX systems just about everything (such as a spreadsheet, a printer, a letter, a chapter of a book, or a mail message) is handled as a file. Files are stored in directories. (In the window system. files are called documents, directories are called folders and both are displayed as icons.)

Because a user must access files and directories to do just about anything, labels are assigned to all users and administrators and to all files and directories. Labels are compared when access decisions are being made by the Trusted Solaris mandatory access control mechanism.