User account privacy on Mdk9.0

[Ahimsa]

Hello
I installed Mandrake 9.0 this weekend and set everything up when I noticed that I can cd from one user account (e.g. my home account /home/ahimsa) to another account on the same system (e.g. /home/anotheruser). Fortunately, as I am the only user on this box, I'm not too worried, but the ability to do this surely violates one of the items that makes Unix/Linux so secure as a networking system. In short, I don't think that I am supposed to be able to do that!!!
I have searched man pages, and several sources of documentation that I have, checked out octal permissions and gone over the /etc/passwd file and the uid appears correct for each user, and each user account belongs to its own group. I know that there is something that I am missing here, but just can't see it.
Could someone please point me in the right direction so that I can keep each account separate and distinct from each other.

Much obliged
AmF

__________________________
As a follow up: I just checked my Slackware 9.0 system and can do the same thing there too with an alternate account. I cannot write to the different accounts but can browse and read their contents. I can't remember being able to do this under RH8.0 though. Anyway, it looks like I might have to be changing some of the permissions - the 'read' permission, I presume - on the directories. If someone would be willing to confirm this as a solution and share some tips on the safest and most efficient way of doing this, that would be a good lesson for me.

Again, thanks to all.

[retsaw]

If you are bothered by this "chmod go-rwx /home/username -R" that should take away any permissions anyone other that the user has to the files. To make sure this applies to newly created file aswell change your /etc/bashrc (for all users) or /home/username/.bashrc (for just yourself) so it has a line that with "umask 077" in it, there should already be a line similar to this in your /etc/bashrc, I'm not sure if there is anything else you have to change to make sure this effects all new files though.

[Ahimsa]

retsaw: that was exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I applied it and it does the job. Thank you so much for that.
If I can boost my learning here, I understand that to be change the permissions (chmod) of the read/write/execute permissions of the directory /home/username recursively (i.e. all of that directory's contents). But, what does the 'go-' part of 'go-rwx' refer to?

Once again - thanks :)

[terribleRobbo]

go = group + other.

You have the option of:

u = user
g = group
o = other
a = all

[Ahimsa]

Originally posted by terribleRobbo
go = group + other.

You have the option of:

u = user
g = group
o = other
a = all

aaaah - gottit. Thanks. In retrospect, I should have been able to figure that out for myself. Excuse my buffer overflow!! :o

Cheers
AmF

[Ahimsa]

Problem fixed; solution understood. What more could I ask for.
The pleasures of a Linux community - ain't no corporate helpline better than this!!!
;)