Fooling with Apache

Churnd · 02-10-2005, 10:28 PM

Let me know if anyone has any trouble seeing this page...

http://hearn.serveftp.com

Basically, I'm just learning how to run my own web server with Apache. It's nothing fancy for now, just trying to see if it'll work. It's running fine on my other laptop but I wanted to see if anyone else had trouble viewing it.

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WATRD · 02-10-2005, 10:30 PM

It looks like an "under construction" page

Churnd · 02-10-2005, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WATRD

It looks like an "under construction" page

Wooooo Hoo!!!!!!

Rob, I figured maybe you'd know something about this. I downloaded AppServ which comes with Apache, MySQL and other little doodads. I probably need to read up on how to actually use it (i.e., make it more secure for my server), because once I figured this out it seemed a little too easy. Any pointers? I want to learn how to use MySQL but I don't know exactly what it can do.

Poopshute · 02-10-2005, 10:43 PM

what exactly do you wanna do? If you're just making an informational site you don't really need to make it any more secure than it is. I mean just make sure you permissions for the files you have are read only...

WATRD · 02-10-2005, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Churnd

Wooooo Hoo!!!!!!

Rob, I figured maybe you'd know something about this. I downloaded AppServ which comes with Apache, MySQL and other little doodads. I probably need to read up on how to actually use it (i.e., make it more secure for my server), because once I figured this out it seemed a little too easy. Any pointers? I want to learn how to use MySQL but I don't know exactly what it can do.

The biggest deal to keep in mind with a webserver is to keep permissions as low as you possibly can. NOTHING should ever be permissioned to 777. 755 is all you will ever need and even then most scripts won't need even that. That is fully half the battle when it comes to security.

If you install PHP on your Apache/MySQL box, you have a SERIOUSLY powerful combination. PHP and MySQL are designed from the ground up to work together. It's still under construction, but take a look around the WATTORA site. The forum and all the members features are run via PHP and MySQL.

In answer to what you can do... with that combination, you can do anything you have ever seen on a website

Churnd · 02-11-2005, 06:10 AM

As far as permissions go...

I couldn't really find anywhere that included the numbers 777 or 755. I hope I'm not doing myself wrong by posting some of my .conf file here but I've found these sections and wonder if they have to do with configuring my permissions correctly...

Quote:

# First, we configure the "default" to be a very restrictive set of
# permissions.
#
(Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks ExecCGI Indexes
AllowOverride None
(/Directory>

Or possibly another part...

Quote:

# Controls who can get stuff from this server.
#
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
(/Directory>

I know it probably should be somewhere in that neighborhood of the .conf file, but don't know where...

To get some of the code to show up properly, I had to change the beginning "<" on each "Directory" to "("

jacksonpt · 02-11-2005, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WATRD

The biggest deal to keep in mind with a webserver is to keep permissions as low as you possibly can. NOTHING should ever be permissioned to 777. 755 is all you will ever need and even then most scripts won't need even that. That is fully half the battle when it comes to security.

If you install PHP on your Apache/MySQL box, you have a SERIOUSLY powerful combination. PHP and MySQL are designed from the ground up to work together. It's still under construction, but take a look around the WATTORA site. The forum and all the members features are run via PHP and MySQL.

In answer to what you can do... with that combination, you can do anything you have ever seen on a website

I've been using Apache, PHP, and MySQL for a long time. Open source is the shizzle.

Churnd · 02-11-2005, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacksonpt

I've been using Apache, PHP, and MySQL for a long time. Open source is the shizzle.

Fo' rizzle!

WATRD · 02-11-2005, 07:10 AM

777 and 755 refer to the permissions of the folders that contain your web facing files. Look up the term "chmod".

http://catcode.com/teachmod/

You are on the right track by locking things down. If in doubt, make things more restrictive and loosen up permissions as you need them, not the other way around.

Churnd · 02-11-2005, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WATRD

777 and 755 refer to the permissions of the folders that contain your web facing files. Look up the term "chmod".

http://catcode.com/teachmod/

You are on the right track by locking things down. If in doubt, make things more restrictive and loosen up permissions as you need them, not the other way around.

I'm running Apache in Windows, if that matters.

WATRD · 02-11-2005, 09:23 AM

Ah... I can't help you much there. I have completely abandoned Windows hosting in favor of *nix hosting.

jacksonpt · 02-11-2005, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Churnd

I'm running Apache in Windows, if that matters.

Assuming it's XP or 2000... click on the folder that contains your web files, click the security tab, and look at the permissions set for EVERYONE. Then do this for all the files/folders inside that folder. For all of these, make sure the inheritance checkbox is checked (lower left hand corner).

Set everything to read only... then increase the accessability as necessary. It'll probably take some playing around with, and it may very well get frustrating and tedious, but it's very much worth it in the long run.

CynicX · 02-11-2005, 12:42 PM

sweetness.....I was about to setup something similar or learn how too before I my computer up a little, regardless I got it back up and running....

Maybe you can post some link of where you downloaded apache and any information you have thus far. Then I can give it a try

jacksonpt · 02-11-2005, 12:44 PM

Apache is open source, which means it's free to the public. You can download the http server directly from the Apache site. Setup is pretty straight forward.

Churnd · 02-11-2005, 02:59 PM

Cynicx -

Here's what I've learned so far:

When you install Apache, you don't really "see" it running. It just creates a service.
Setup is pretty straightforward, and anything you enter can be changed in your .conf file later
It'll create a folder on your c:/ drive called "www". Anything you place in this folder will be made viewable online. Any html file labeled index will be the first page it looks for.

CynicX · 02-11-2005, 03:34 PM

I'm a bit confused.....where do you get the domain name from?....sorry I should really read up on it before asking questions.....

EDIT: I'm dumb, I dunno what I was thinking, I had the port closed in my router....derrhhh

Churnd · 02-11-2005, 03:56 PM

If I recall right, you signed up with no-ip.com, right? Well, whatever name you used for your FTP server, you can use the same one for your web (HTTP) server. It's just a name for your computer that's more handy to use instead of remembering and typing in a full IP address every time. The domain name just points to your IP address. That little program you downloaded updates no-ip to your current IP address in case it changes. If you had a static IP (which costs more), you wouldn't need that.

So, once you get Apache up and running, your address would be http://cynicx.myftp.org.

Your domain name is cynicx.myftp.org.

CynicX · 02-11-2005, 03:58 PM

lol if you click that link you'll see my progress....

Churnd · 02-11-2005, 04:09 PM

Great, that means you have it up and running. Now all you do is design web pages to reside in that folder. As far as the structure of how to maintain that folder, I'm not 100% sure. I think you should be able to create other folders for different web pages as long as you point to them correctly through the index.html file.

That page you see right now is just a pre-written html file that came with Apache.

I think you should also be able to host as many sites as you want through different domain names as long as you edit the .conf file correctly and create different domain names for them.

WATRD · 02-11-2005, 04:12 PM

Pages are served up via the following scheme;

You can use any of the following (listed in order of priority):
index.htm
index.html
index.shtml
index.shtm
index.php
index.php3
default.htm

The root page, the page that people see when they hit the domain must be in the root, but from there you can build any directory structure that you may desire.

jacksonpt · 02-11-2005, 04:22 PM

By default, you can't use php files for default/index pages... Apache doesn't recognize the extension. You have to add a line of code to the conf file to tell Apache to also look for php files. I forget the line, but I can get it for you when I get to work on Monday. PM me a reminder if you want it.

WATRD · 02-11-2005, 04:38 PM

True, I had forgotten about having to do that. You can also tweak the order that those pages will be served in.

CynicX · 02-11-2005, 04:41 PM

What I'm trying to accomplish is basically a low traffic web server that page will just be directories, clicking will open thumbnails, when clicked will enlarge.....is apache a good webserver to do this with?...maybe something a little bit simpilar (not that its complicated I just havent done any reading yet)?

I'm gonna have to do this tomorrow I have zero desire to "learn" now heheh....

WATRD · 02-11-2005, 04:57 PM

It sounds like you are on the right track. Your other real option is IIS and it's so buggy and full of vulnerabilites that you are better off working through the quirks of Apache.

02-10-2005, 10:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
WATRD Contributing Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Duvall, WA Posts: 5,109	It looks like an "under construction" page __________________ -Rob Slightly Modified 2001 Tacoma - WATRD.COM WATTORA is becoming NWToys! Tread Lightly! certified Tread Trainer Search 100+ Toyota tech sites, including this one: Toyota Tech Search

02-11-2005, 07:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
WATRD Contributing Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Duvall, WA Posts: 5,109	777 and 755 refer to the permissions of the folders that contain your web facing files. Look up the term "chmod". http://catcode.com/teachmod/ You are on the right track by locking things down. If in doubt, make things more restrictive and loosen up permissions as you need them, not the other way around. __________________ -Rob Slightly Modified 2001 Tacoma - WATRD.COM WATTORA is becoming NWToys! Tread Lightly! certified Tread Trainer Search 100+ Toyota tech sites, including this one: Toyota Tech Search

02-11-2005, 09:23 AM	#11 (permalink)
WATRD Contributing Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Duvall, WA Posts: 5,109	Ah... I can't help you much there. I have completely abandoned Windows hosting in favor of nix hosting. __________________ -Rob Slightly Modified 2001 Tacoma - WATRD.COM WATTORA* is becoming NWToys! Tread Lightly! certified Tread Trainer Search 100+ Toyota tech sites, including this one: Toyota Tech Search

02-11-2005, 12:42 PM	#13 (permalink)
CynicX Contributing Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,371	sweetness.....I was about to setup something similar or learn how too before I my computer up a little, regardless I got it back up and running.... Maybe you can post some link of where you downloaded apache and any information you have thus far. Then I can give it a try __________________ 06 Subaru WRX

02-11-2005, 12:44 PM	#14 (permalink)
jacksonpt Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Binghamton, NY Posts: 2,753	Apache is open source, which means it's free to the public. You can download the http server directly from the Apache site. Setup is pretty straight forward. __________________ Jackson - My Site 96 SR5 4x4 - 33" MTs, open diffs, and 3.90s - LET'S ROCK! My runner has bee traded in sniff on an 06 SR5 long bed d-cab Tacoma. The tacoma is nice, but... sniff ... I'll update my site when I'm done grieving.

02-10-2005, 10:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
Poopshute Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Boulder, Colorado Posts: 195	what exactly do you wanna do? If you're just making an informational site you don't really need to make it any more secure than it is. I mean just make sure you permissions for the files you have are read only...

02-11-2005, 02:59 PM	#15 (permalink)
Churnd Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 4,093	Cynicx - Here's what I've learned so far: When you install Apache, you don't really "see" it running. It just creates a service. Setup is pretty straightforward, and anything you enter can be changed in your .conf file later It'll create a folder on your c:/ drive called "www". Anything you place in this folder will be made viewable online. Any html file labeled index will be the first page it looks for. __________________ -Chris If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. Click here to search! My Website

02-11-2005, 03:34 PM	#16 (permalink)
CynicX Contributing Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,371	I'm a bit confused.....where do you get the domain name from?....sorry I should really read up on it before asking questions..... EDIT: I'm dumb, I dunno what I was thinking, I had the port closed in my router....derrhhh __________________ 06 Subaru WRX Last edited by CynicX; 02-11-2005 at 03:57 PM.

02-11-2005, 03:56 PM	#17 (permalink)
Churnd Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 4,093	If I recall right, you signed up with no-ip.com, right? Well, whatever name you used for your FTP server, you can use the same one for your web (HTTP) server. It's just a name for your computer that's more handy to use instead of remembering and typing in a full IP address every time. The domain name just points to your IP address. That little program you downloaded updates no-ip to your current IP address in case it changes. If you had a static IP (which costs more), you wouldn't need that. So, once you get Apache up and running, your address would be http://cynicx.myftp.org. Your domain name is cynicx.myftp.org. __________________ -Chris If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. Click here to search! My Website Last edited by Churnd; 02-11-2005 at 03:58 PM.

02-11-2005, 03:58 PM	#18 (permalink)
CynicX Contributing Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,371	lol if you click that link you'll see my progress.... __________________ 06 Subaru WRX

02-11-2005, 04:09 PM	#19 (permalink)
Churnd Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 4,093	Great, that means you have it up and running. Now all you do is design web pages to reside in that folder. As far as the structure of how to maintain that folder, I'm not 100% sure. I think you should be able to create other folders for different web pages as long as you point to them correctly through the index.html file. That page you see right now is just a pre-written html file that came with Apache. I think you should also be able to host as many sites as you want through different domain names as long as you edit the .conf file correctly and create different domain names for them. __________________ -Chris If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. Click here to search! My Website Last edited by Churnd; 02-11-2005 at 04:10 PM.

02-11-2005, 04:12 PM	#20 (permalink)
WATRD Contributing Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Duvall, WA Posts: 5,109	Pages are served up via the following scheme; You can use any of the following (listed in order of priority): index.htm index.html index.shtml index.shtm index.php index.php3 default.htm The root page, the page that people see when they hit the domain must be in the root, but from there you can build any directory structure that you may desire. __________________ -Rob Slightly Modified 2001 Tacoma - WATRD.COM WATTORA is becoming NWToys! Tread Lightly! certified Tread Trainer Search 100+ Toyota tech sites, including this one: Toyota Tech Search

02-11-2005, 04:22 PM	#21 (permalink)
jacksonpt Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Binghamton, NY Posts: 2,753	By default, you can't use php files for default/index pages... Apache doesn't recognize the extension. You have to add a line of code to the conf file to tell Apache to also look for php files. I forget the line, but I can get it for you when I get to work on Monday. PM me a reminder if you want it. __________________ Jackson - My Site 96 SR5 4x4 - 33" MTs, open diffs, and 3.90s - LET'S ROCK! My runner has bee traded in sniff on an 06 SR5 long bed d-cab Tacoma. The tacoma is nice, but... sniff ... I'll update my site when I'm done grieving.

02-11-2005, 04:38 PM	#22 (permalink)
WATRD Contributing Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Duvall, WA Posts: 5,109	True, I had forgotten about having to do that. You can also tweak the order that those pages will be served in. __________________ -Rob Slightly Modified 2001 Tacoma - WATRD.COM WATTORA is becoming NWToys! Tread Lightly! certified Tread Trainer Search 100+ Toyota tech sites, including this one: Toyota Tech Search

02-11-2005, 04:41 PM	#23 (permalink)
CynicX Contributing Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,371	What I'm trying to accomplish is basically a low traffic web server that page will just be directories, clicking will open thumbnails, when clicked will enlarge.....is apache a good webserver to do this with?...maybe something a little bit simpilar (not that its complicated I just havent done any reading yet)? I'm gonna have to do this tomorrow I have zero desire to "learn" now heheh.... __________________ 06 Subaru WRX

02-11-2005, 04:57 PM	#24 (permalink)
WATRD Contributing Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Duvall, WA Posts: 5,109	It sounds like you are on the right track. Your other real option is IIS and it's so buggy and full of vulnerabilites that you are better off working through the quirks of Apache. __________________ -Rob Slightly Modified 2001 Tacoma - WATRD.COM WATTORA is becoming NWToys! Tread Lightly! certified Tread Trainer Search 100+ Toyota tech sites, including this one: Toyota Tech Search

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