You need root capabilities to use `loadkeys`. It is common to set the [setuid permission bit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setuid) on `loadkeys`. Setting this bit will cause any processes spawned by executing the `loadkeys` file to run as the owner of the file (usually root). For added security, you should change `loadkeys`'s permissions to `750`, make a group for it, and add any users that need to use `loadkeys` to that group. $ groupadd loadkeys # you can use any group name $ chgrp loadkeys /bin/loadkeys $ chmod 4750 /bin/loadkeys # setuid, group- and user-only read and execution $ gpasswd -a user loadkeys # add user to the group