> everyone has write priviledge to moodledata folder.
_Everyone_ does not need that, only the web-server daemon, Apache in your case.
> What would be the procedure I would go through to ensure that the permissions are working correctly?
If you want maximum security, follow this http://docs.moodle.org/en/Security#Most_secure.2Fparanoid_file_permissions
Keep in mind that security and manageability have opposite requirements.
> I am very new to linux so I need additional help... smile
Like what?