Sticky Bits
Lets start with Sticky bit first. Since this is the most simplest to explain. Setting the sticky bit tells Unix that once the concerned application is executed, it should remain in memory. Remember that Unix is a multi-user OS and was mainly designed so that multiple users can work simultaneously. Thus the logic used is that a program that exists in memory requires lesser time to start when a new user requests for the same program. Thus when one user has just used a program and then a new user wants to use the same program, the second user doesn't have to face a time delay for the program to initialize itself. It would be readily available to him. The concept of the sticky bit was a very useful one, long back when fast disk access and other memory access technologies weren't around. But in today's age the concept of sticky bit is obsolete, since modern day technology is advanced enough to reduce the time delay while loading applications into the memory. Thus currently the sticky bit is of very little significance. Sticky bit is only associated with executables.
SUID (Set User ID) Bit
Sometime you may faced an error while trying to run any application stating that the application must be 'SUID root' . You might have been confused that time, but now once you read this article you would no longer find it confusing.
SUID stands for Set User ID. This means that if the SUID bit is set for any application then your user ID would be set as that of the owner of application/file rather than the current user, while running that application. That means in case I have an application whose owner is ' root ' and it has its SUID bit set, then when I run this application as a normal user, that application would still run as root. Since the SUID bit tells Linux that the the User ID root is set for this application and whenever this application executes it must execute as if root was executing it (since root owns this file).
In case you have really understood the above you may be wondering - isnt this a major security risk? If users are able to run applications as root, then it must be definitely posing as a threat to the security of the system. Actually the SUID is used to increase the security in a way. Let me explain this with my own example I use on my machine.
One way I use SUID on my machine
I have a few files that I modify through Linux and then before I shutdown Linux I have to transfer them to my Windows partition for further use there. As a normal user I do not have write access to the Windows partitions that I have mounted. So I have to be the superuser to be able to write to that partition. I have created a simple shell script that copies my files to the Windows partitions. This script was created by root user and the SUID bit was set. Access rights to this script have been given to all users. Now whenever I want to copy my files I simply run this script. Even though I have logged in as a normal user, the SUID bit which is set causes this script to execute as if the root was executing it and it allows me to write to the Windows partitions.
Had the SUID bit not been set, I would have to type ' su ' at the prompt and get temporary superuser access to get write access to the Windows partitions. Hope you got the point..
You may be thinking that since these applications would run as root they can do harmful things and destroy the system. The concept behind SUID bit is that you as the superuser would be able to allow certain applications / scripts to be run by the users as if they were the superuser for the time being. What these application / scripts do when they execute should be completely known to you. Even though the users would be allowed to execute these programs as root they would be able to do ONLY THOSE things that these programs were designed to do. So in case a script was designed to copy 5 files from one place to another. Then the user who would run that script would be able to ONLY copy those 5 files from one place to another. He would not be able to modify that script in any way since he would not have write access to the script. He would only be having execute rights for that script. Hence its an excellent idea to allow users to do some important backup using a script that does only that and by setting the SUID bit for that script. This way the users don't have to know the superuser password but can still use some facilities that are only available to the superuser
Important : Think twice before setting the SUID bit for scripts (owned by root) that take arguments at the command line. Since you never know what parameters a malicious user may pass to your script. Since the script would run as root it could do great damage if misused.
SGID (Set Group ID) bit
Just like SUID, setting the SGID bit for a file sets your group ID to the file's group while the file is executing. IT is really useful in case you have a real multi-user setup where users access each others files. As a single homeuser I haven't really found a lot of use for SGID. But the basic concept is the same as the SUID, the files whose SGID bit are set would be used as if they belong to that group rather than to that user alone.
Note : Making SUID and SGID programs completely safe is very difficult (or maybe impossible) thus in case you are a system administrator it is best to consult some professionals before giving access rights to root owned applications by setting the SUID bit. As a home user (where you are both the normal user and the superuser) the SUID bit helps you do a lot of things easily without having to log in as the superuser every now and then.
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