if ($Bin =~ m!^(/home/someuser/somewebsite/[a-z]{2,4}/cgi-bin/)! ) { $Bin = $1; } else { die "Go away, stupid script kiddie!\n"; } # or maybe: $Bin =~ m!^(/home/someuser/somewebsite/[a-z]{2,4}/cgi-bin/)! or die "Where am I?\n"; $Bin = $1;