Putting some colors on your terminal can help you to distinguish folders, files, archives, devices, symbolic links and executable file from others. My opinion is that colors help to make less errors and fast navigation on your system. It's important to note that this hack is necessary only for Red Hat Linux version 6.1 (Cartman) and older, since the new Red Hat Linux version 6.2 (Zoot) now enables and includes this feature by default. Edit the profile file vi /etc/profile and add the following lines:

         # Enable Colour ls
         eval `dircolors /etc/DIR_COLORS -b`
         export LS_OPTIONS='-s -F -T 0 --color=yes'
         

Edit the bashrc file vi /etc/bashrc and add the line:

         alias ls='ls --color=auto' 
         

Then log in and out. The new COLORS-environment variable should now be set, and your system will recognize that.