Which command can be used to change the ownership of a file?

Changing the ownership of a file in Linux is accomplished using the command chown. This command allows you to specify a new owner for a file or a directory. The syntax often looks like chown newowner filename, where "newowner" is the username of the new owner you wish to assign to the file and "filename" is the name of the file or directory.

Understanding file ownership in Linux is crucial because it affects who has permission to read from or write to files. The ownership is typically divided between the user (owner of the file) and group (associated group that can also have permissions on the file). The chown command is therefore integral to file management and system security.

While chmod is utilized to change file permissions, it does not alter the ownership itself. The chgrp command is specifically for changing the group ownership of a file but does not modify the user ownership. Lastly, "mod" is not a recognized command in Linux for changing file properties, making chown the definitive solution for altering file ownership.