diff --git a/libs/privilege.py b/libs/privilege.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58a037f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/privilege.py
@@ -0,0 +1,433 @@
+#! /usr/bin/python
+"""
+privilege.py
+
+Copyright (c) 2009-2010, Travis H.
+
+License terms: Same as those of Python itself.
+
+This module is designed to implement the privilege-dropping API
+described here:
+http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~daw/papers/setuid-usenix02.pdf
+http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~daw/papers/setuid-login08b.pdf
+
+This topic is complex so you should read at least the second paper
+before trying to understand why I'm doing this.
+
+NOTE: This code does not (yet) attempt to work on Solaris and AIX.
+That is, you must have getres[ug]id and setres[ug]id to use it.
+
+TODO:
+I have added setres[ug]id to python; unsure of when it will
+appear; make a future version of this will check for its presence.
+
+Make interface more OO, less imperative.
+
+Implement drop_priv_temp, restore_priv.
+
+Implement on systems without setres[ug]id
+
+Contributors:
+Kevin Gilette
+"""
+
+from ctypes import *
+from ctypes.util import find_library
+import os
+import pwd
+import grp
+
+# Get the name of the Operating System
+os_kernel = os.uname()[0]
+
+class PrivilegeFail(Exception):
+    pass
+
+clib = CDLL(find_library("c"))
+
+# Tested on x86-64 -- all tests pass when run as root
+__uid_t = c_uint
+__gid_t = c_uint
+
+_getresuid = clib.getresuid
+
+def getresuid():
+    """Get the real, effective, and saved user IDs"""
+    # Create some memory locations for getresuid to write to.
+    r = __uid_t()
+    e = __uid_t()
+    s = __uid_t()
+    # Call getresuid syscall, passing by reference.
+    res = _getresuid(byref(r), byref(e), byref(s))
+    if res < 0: raise pythonapi.PyErr_SetFromErrno(py_object(OSError))
+    # Convert to python integers.
+    return r.value, e.value, s.value
+
+_getresgid = clib.getresgid
+
+def getresgid():
+    """Get the real, effective, and saved group IDs"""
+    r = __gid_t()
+    e = __gid_t()
+    s = __gid_t()
+    # Call getresgid syscall, passing by reference.
+    res = _getresgid(byref(r), byref(e), byref(s))
+    if res < 0: raise pythonapi.PyErr_SetFromErrno(py_object(OSError))
+    # Convert to python integers.
+    return r.value, e.value, s.value
+
+# Import the setresuid system call using ctypes
+_setresuid = clib.setresuid
+_setresuid.argttypes = [__uid_t, __uid_t, __uid_t]
+_setresuid.resttype = c_int
+
+# Import the setresgid system call using ctypes
+_setresgid = clib.setresgid
+_setresgid.argttypes = [__gid_t, __gid_t, __gid_t]
+_setresgid.resttype = c_int
+
+def setresuid(ruid, euid, suid):
+    """Set the real, effective, and saved user IDs"""
+    res = _setresuid(__uid_t(ruid), __uid_t(euid), __uid_t(suid))
+    if res < 0: raise pythonapi.PyErr_SetFromErrno(py_object(OSError))
+
+def setresgid(rgid, egid, sgid):
+    """Set the real, effecive, and saved group IDs"""
+    res = _setresgid(__gid_t(rgid), __gid_t(egid), __gid_t(sgid))
+    if res < 0: raise pythonapi.PyErr_SetFromErrno(py_object(OSError))
+
+def sort_uniq(args):
+    """Sort a sequence, discarding duplicates."""
+    return sorted(set(args))
+
+class user_credentials:
+    """
+    This represents the credentials associated with a user.
+    User ID
+    Group ID
+    Supplementary Groups
+    This is used as an argument to drop_permanently
+    """
+    def __init__(self, uid, gid, sups):
+        # -1 has special meaning for several set*id calls (ignore)
+        if uid == -1: raise PrivilegeFail
+        if gid == -1: raise PrivilegeFail
+        nm = os.sysconf('SC_NGROUPS_MAX')
+        if nm < 0 or nm < len(sups): raise PrivilegeFail
+        self.uid = uid
+        self.gid = gid
+        self.sups = sort_uniq(sups)
+
+def eql_sups(current, target):
+    """
+    Compare two supplementary group lists, and ignore if effective GID is in current but not target.
+    Prerequisite: The supplementary group lists are sorted and filtered for duplicates.
+    """
+    egid = os.getegid()
+    my_current = sort_uniq(current)
+    # Instead of tediously ignoring this value, if it's in the current list, then go ahead
+    # and add it to the target list 
+    if egid in current:
+        my_target = target + [ egid ]
+    else:
+        my_target = target
+    my_target = sort_uniq(my_target)
+    return my_current == my_target
+
+def get_sups():
+    """This is here to give us a layer of abstraction relative to system calls"""
+    return os.getgroups()
+
+def set_sups(target_sups):
+    """
+    This is designed to give us a layer of abstraction from the system calls.
+    It also accomodates FreeBSD's idiosyncracy (which is POSIX-compliant) of
+    keeping the egid in the supplementary groups list.
+    It also makes an effort to not call the setgroups routine if the target
+    group list is identical to the current one in force.
+    """
+    global os_kernel
+    if os_kernel == 'FreeBSD':
+        target_sups = [ os.getegid() ] + target_sups
+    if os.geteuid() == 0:
+        # This will raise an OSError exception if it fails
+        os.setgroups(target_sups)
+    else:
+        cur_sups = get_sups()
+        # This will probably fail
+        if not eql_sups(cur_sups, target_sups):
+            # This will raise an OSError exception if it fails
+            os.setgroups(target_sups)
+    return True
+
+def set_gids(r, e, s):
+    """This is here to give us a layer of abstraction relative to system calls"""
+    setresgid(r, e, s)
+
+def set_uids(r, e, s):
+    """This is here to give us a layer of abstraction relative to system calls"""
+    setresuid(r, e, s)
+
+class res_ids:
+    """
+    This represents the three IDs (group or user) associated with a process.
+    """
+    def __init__(self, real, effective, saved):
+        self.r = real
+        self.e = effective
+        self.s = saved
+
+class proc_credentials:
+    """
+    This obtains and represents the credentials associated with a process.
+    """
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.uids = apply(res_ids, getresuid())
+        self.gids = apply(res_ids, getresgid())
+        self.sups = sort_uniq(os.getgroups())
+
+def get_fs_ids():
+    """Get filesystem IDs - applies only to Linux"""
+    uid = None
+    gid = None
+    file = open('/proc/self/status', 'r')
+    for line in file:
+        fields = line.split()
+        if fields[0] == 'Uid:':
+            uid = int(fields[4])
+        elif fields[0] == 'Gid:':
+            gid = int(fields[4])
+    return uid, gid
+
+def coerce_user(user):
+    if hasattr(user, '__int__'):
+        return int(user)
+    return pwd.getpwnam(user).pw_uid
+
+def coerce_group(group):
+    if hasattr(group, '__int__'):
+        return int(group)
+    return grp.getgrnam(group).gr_gid
+
+def drop_privileges_permanently(uid, gid, sups):
+    """
+    This routine is designed to permanently drop all privileges to the
+    user, group, and supplementary groups specified.
+    """
+
+    uid = coerce_user(uid)
+    gid = coerce_group(gid)
+    sups = map(coerce_group, sups)
+
+    # This does some syntax checking
+    ucred = user_credentials(uid, gid, sups)
+
+    # This is for our convenience
+    u = uid
+    g = gid
+
+    # Order is important in these three calls
+    set_sups(ucred.sups)
+    set_gids(g, g, g) # real, effective, saved
+    set_uids(u, u, u) # real, effective, saved
+
+    # Check that we actually did what we expected or throw exception.
+    pc = proc_credentials()
+    # Portably compare the supplementary group list
+    if not eql_sups(pc.sups, ucred.sups): raise PrivilegeFail
+    # Check all the gids
+    if not (g == pc.gids.r and g == pc.gids.e and g == pc.gids.s):
+        raise PrivilegeFail
+    # Check all the uids
+    if not (u == pc.uids.r and u == pc.gids.e and u == pc.uids.s):
+        raise PrivilegeFail
+    global os_kernel
+    if os_kernel == 'Linux':
+        if get_fs_ids() != (u, g): raise PrivilegeFail
+
+# This is all test code
+# It is run if this script is invoked directly
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+
+    import unittest
+
+    class test_getresXid(unittest.TestCase):
+        """Test the calls to getresXid"""
+        def test__getresuid(self):
+            # TODO: is there any way to avoid redefining this here?  I tried a global but it didn't
+            # work.
+            # Note: the double-leading underscore may be getting special-cased by python.
+            __uid_t = c_int
+            r = __uid_t()
+            e = __uid_t()
+            s = __uid_t()
+            ret = _getresuid(byref(r), byref(e), byref(s))
+            self.assertEqual(ret, 0)
+            self.assertEqual(r.value, os.getuid())
+            self.assertEqual(e.value, os.geteuid())
+            # NOTE: no other portable way to get saved UID
+        def test_getresuid(self):
+            (r, e, s) = getresuid()
+            self.assertEqual(r, os.getuid())
+            self.assertEqual(e, os.geteuid())
+            # NOTE: no other portable way to get saved UID
+        def test__getresgid(self):
+            __gid_t = c_int
+            r = __gid_t()
+            e = __gid_t()
+            s = __gid_t()
+            ret = _getresgid(byref(r), byref(e), byref(s))
+            self.assertEqual(ret, 0)
+            self.assertEqual(r.value, os.getgid())
+            self.assertEqual(e.value, os.getegid())
+            # NOTE: no other portable way to get saved GID
+        def test_getresgid(self):
+            (r, e, s) = getresgid()
+            self.assertEqual(r, os.getgid())
+            self.assertEqual(e, os.getegid())
+            # NOTE: no other portable way to get saved GID
+
+    class test_setresuid(unittest.TestCase):
+        """Test the call to setresuid"""
+        def setUp(self):
+            self.uid = os.geteuid()
+        def test__setresuid(self):
+            __uid_t = c_int
+            r1 = __uid_t(1)
+            e1 = __uid_t(1)
+            # Must save root UID so that we can reset UIDs for other tests
+            s1 = __uid_t(0)
+            if self.uid == 0:
+                rv = _setresuid(r1, e1, s1)
+                self.assertEqual(rv, 0)
+                (r2, e2, s2) = getresuid()
+                self.assertEqual(r1.value, r2)
+                self.assertEqual(e1.value, e2)
+                self.assertEqual(s1.value, s2)
+            else:
+                rv = _setresuid(r1, e1, s1)
+                self.assertEqual(rv, -1)
+        def test_setresuid(self):
+            if self.uid == 0:
+                setresuid(1,1,0)
+                (r, e, s) = getresuid()
+                self.assertEqual(r, 1)
+                self.assertEqual(e, 1)
+                self.assertEqual(s, 0)
+            else:
+                self.assertRaises(OSError, setresuid, 1, 1, 1)
+        def tearDown(self):
+            if self.uid == 0:
+                # Restore UIDs for next test
+                _setresuid(0, 0, 0)
+
+    class test_setresgid(unittest.TestCase):
+        """Test the call to setresgid"""
+        def setUp(self):
+            self.uid = os.geteuid()
+        def test__setresgid(self):
+            __gid_t = c_int
+            r1 = __gid_t(1)
+            e1 = __gid_t(1)
+            s1 = __gid_t(1)
+            if self.uid == 0:
+                rv = _setresgid(r1, e1, s1)
+                self.assertEqual(rv, 0)
+                (r2, e2, s2) = getresgid()
+                self.assertEqual(r1.value, r2)
+                self.assertEqual(e1.value, e2)
+                self.assertEqual(s1.value, s2)
+            else:
+                rv = _setresgid(r1, e1, s1)
+                self.assertEqual(rv, -1)
+        def test_setresgid(self):
+            if self.uid == 0:
+                setresgid(1,1,1)
+                (r, e, s) = getresgid()
+                self.assertEqual(r, 1)
+                self.assertEqual(e, 1)
+                self.assertEqual(s, 1)
+            else:
+                self.assertRaises(OSError, setresgid, 1, 1, 1)
+
+    class test_sort_uniq(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_sort_uniq(self):
+            l = [ 'c', 'a', 'b', 'a' ]
+            self.assertEqual(sort_uniq(l), [ 'a', 'b', 'c'])
+
+    class test_user_credentials(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_negatives(self):
+            self.assertRaises(PrivilegeFail, user_credentials, -1, 0, [])
+            self.assertRaises(PrivilegeFail, user_credentials, 0, -1, [])
+            uc = user_credentials(0, 0, [0, 1])
+
+    class test_eql_sups(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_equal(self):
+            self.assert_(eql_sups([0, 1, 2], [0, 1, 2]))
+        def test_contains_egid(self):
+            self.assert_(eql_sups(sort_uniq([0, 1, 2, os.getegid()]), [0, 1, 2]))
+            self.assert_(eql_sups(sort_uniq([0, 1, os.getegid(), 9999]), [0, 1, 9999]))
+
+    class test_get_sups(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test(self):
+            self.assertEqual(os.getgroups(), get_sups())
+
+    class test_set_sups(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_equal(self):
+            sups = os.getgroups()
+            set_sups(sups)
+            self.assertEqual(sups, os.getgroups())
+        def test_unequal(self):
+            old_sups = os.getgroups()
+            sups = [ 1, 2, 3 ]
+            if os.geteuid() == 0:
+                set_sups(sups)
+                self.assert_(eql_sups(os.getgroups(), sups))
+                # Clean up by resetting supplementary groups
+                set_sups(old_sups)
+            else:
+                self.assertRaises(OSError, set_sups, sups)
+
+    class test_res_ids(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_res_ids(self):
+            ids = res_ids(1, 2, 3)
+            self.assertEqual(ids.r, 1)
+            self.assertEqual(ids.e, 2)
+            self.assertEqual(ids.s, 3)
+
+    class test_proc_credentials(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_pc(self):
+            pc = proc_credentials()
+            self.assertEqual(pc.uids.r, os.getuid())
+            self.assertEqual(pc.uids.e, os.geteuid())
+            self.assertEqual(pc.uids.s, (getresuid())[2])
+            self.assertEqual(pc.gids.r, os.getgid())
+            self.assertEqual(pc.gids.e, os.getegid())
+            self.assertEqual(pc.gids.s, (getresgid())[2])
+            self.assertEqual(pc.sups, sort_uniq(os.getgroups()))
+
+    class test_get_fs_ids(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_get_fs_ids(self):
+            uid, gid = get_fs_ids()
+            self.assertEqual(uid, os.getuid())
+            self.assertEqual(gid, os.getgid())
+
+    class test_drop_privs(unittest.TestCase):
+        def test_drop_privs(self):
+            """This test must be run last"""
+            if os.geteuid() == 0:
+                drop_privileges_permanently(1, 1, [1])
+
+    suite = unittest.TestSuite()
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_getresXid))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_setresuid))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_setresgid))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_sort_uniq))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_user_credentials))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_eql_sups))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_set_sups))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_res_ids))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_proc_credentials))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_get_fs_ids))
+    suite.addTest(unittest.makeSuite(test_drop_privs))
+    unittest.TextTestRunner().run(suite)
diff --git a/settings.py b/settings.py
index 245e34e..eef79a5 100644
--- a/settings.py
+++ b/settings.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ DEBUG = True
 # default in projectdirectory/static/content/
 # use "/" even under Windows
 PASTE_FILES_ROOT = os.path.join(STATIC_FILES_ROOT, 'content')
-
 # Port and host the embeded python server should be using in prod and in dev
 PROD_HOST = "0.0.0.0"
 PROD_PORT= "80"
diff --git a/start.py b/start.py
index bc15d78..41f2e18 100644
--- a/start.py
+++ b/start.py
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
 
 import os
 import hashlib
+import thread
+import time
+import tempfile
+import glob
 
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 
@@ -14,6 +18,8 @@ from src import settings, setup_path, Paste
 
 setup_path()
 
+from privilege import drop_privileges_permanently, coerce_user, coerce_group
+
 from bottle import (Bottle, route, run, abort,
                     static_file, debug, view, request)
 
@@ -86,8 +92,32 @@ def server_static(filename):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+
+    def drop_privileges():
+        time.sleep(5)
+        if settings.USER:
+            settings.GROUP = settings.GROUP or settings.USER
+            try:
+                user = coerce_user(settings.USER)
+                group = coerce_group(settings.GROUP)
+
+                lock_files =  glob.glob(os.path.join(tempfile.gettempdir(),
+                                                     'bottle.*.lock'))
+                for lock_file in lock_files:
+                    os.chown(lock_file, user, group)
+
+                drop_privileges_permanently(settings.USER, settings.GROUP, ())
+            except Exception:
+                print "Failed to drop privileges. Running with current user."
+
+    thread.start_new_thread(drop_privileges, ())
+
     if settings.DEBUG:
         debug(True)
-        run(app, host='localhost', port=8000, reloader=True, server="cherrypy")
+        run(app, host=settings.DEV_HOST, port=settings.DEV_PORT,
+                 reloader=True, server="cherrypy")
     else:
-        run(app, host='localhost', port=8000, server="cherrypy")
+        run(app, host=settings.PROD_HOST,
+            port=settings.PROD_PORT, server="cherrypy")
+
+