New Webspace Problems

Simon · Sep 19, 2007, 10:12:01

Yeah... obviously I know what it is,

but for the benefit of others, what's a "publishing url"?

Rik · Sep 19, 2007, 10:14:56

The one quoted on the setup pages.

It's the ftp URL used to send your data to the webspace, whereas people looking at it will use an http URL.

cavillas · Sep 19, 2007, 10:25:12

Now Si6776 knows what it is as well.

Simon · Sep 19, 2007, 10:35:25

Thanks Rik, that will no doubt be a help to someone.

Ray · Sep 19, 2007, 15:47:08

Well I've managed to upload to my web space using WS-ftp with no problems and have uploaded a temporary Photo Gallery.

The web address is http://scolebrook.www.idnet.com if any one wants a look, the gallery has been created using Photoshop Elements which seems to use Flash to produce the page so you will need Flash player installed on your browser to view the photos.

Rik · Sep 19, 2007, 15:49:00

Nice work, Ray.

Simon · Sep 19, 2007, 17:09:18

So... can anyone who knows the web address see all files on a users webspace? Is there any way to stop that? For example, I might want to upload files that I wouldn't want anyone else to be able to 'steal'. I'm sure, with my Poopex webspace, my files aren't open to all.

Rik · Sep 19, 2007, 17:13:28

If people know the URL, they can see the files. If you want something more sophisticated, you'd probably have to pay for hosting. Of course, if you put files into a folder with a cryptic name, it would make life harder for people, but it's essentially in the public domain once you publish the URL.

I suppose one thing you could do is to ZIP the photos with a password...

RobMc · Sep 19, 2007, 17:27:25

The simple answer under linux hosting is to password protect a folder with .htaccess and a password file but whether this is available under the idnet hosting I'm not unsure (I don't plan on using the free webspace as I have hosting elsewhere). When you sign up for webspace it does say...

QuoteIf you require something more advanced like php, cgi, domain name mapping, mysql databases or more space then please contact us and ask about our web hosting services.

Rob.

colirv · Sep 19, 2007, 18:57:06

Quote from: Si6776 on Sep 19, 2007, 17:09:18
So... can anyone who knows the web address see all files on a users webspace? Is there any way to stop that?

I have my own domain hosted with purplecloud, where it is very easy to password protect directories. Otherwise the easiest way to make files invisible (unless the name of the file is already known) is to put an index.htm file in every directory, even if index.htm contains nothing, or nonsense, or a message saying "oh no you don't!". If someone then types a URL in their browser just down to directory level at your web site, instead of getting a list of files in that directory they will get the index.htm.

Rik · Sep 19, 2007, 18:59:16

Nice trick, Colin. Thanks.

RobMc · Sep 19, 2007, 19:21:42

Yes that's a good approach to hiding your files but they are still accessible to anyone who guesses the filenames. However you're not likely to be putting anything sensitive on a publicly accessible website are you? $:-\$

Rob

RobMc · Sep 19, 2007, 19:38:47

A sample file to "hide" your files would be:

Code Select


<html>
	<head>
		<title>No Browsing</title>
	</head>
	<body>
		<h1>No Browsing</h1>
	</body>
</html>

Save this as a file called index.htm and copy it into your folder that you want to hide your files in.

eg. whatever.www.idnet.com/myfiles/index.htm

Now when people visit whatever.www.idnet.com/myfiles/ all they will see is "No Browsing" and not a list of your files.

Please note this isn't a secure way to hold files on the internet. If you have files that you want to keep secure then maybe something like bt digital vault would be a better solution (and free for 1GB of space).

Hope this helps.

Rob.

Simon · Sep 19, 2007, 21:28:35

Thanks guys, I'll do the index.htm thing. It's not that I have anything I especially want to hide, but I don't particularly wish to allow the world and it's wife access to my files either. Just a paranoid privacy thing, I guess.