MySQL is a lovely way to store data, however as soon as we let users adjust the queries we use it can go pear shaped. Here are some really easy ways to protect yourself from those evil users.

Check Everything!

Seriously, never trust user input. They may not intend to do a SQL inject, but they could still end up doing it anyway. Any data coming from an uncontrolled source should be checked. In the below example I am going to use the if() function:

<?php
if(!is_numeric($_GET['ID'])){ // If it's not a number
echo 'Sorry you ID is not a number.'; die();
}
// Do the SQL here.
?>

Hash/Encrypt It

Hashing or encrypting something is essentially changing a string of data into something more manageable. In the below example, I’ll use MD5 as my hashing method. This should remove any dangerous characters which could lead to a SQL error.

<?php
$password = md5($_POST['password']); // run a MD5 on the password
// If the password was 1234, it will now be 81dc9bdb52d04dc20036dbd8313ed055

// do the SQL Query
?>

Of course there are other functions to hash or encrypt something. Take a look at the PHP manual for more of them.

Serialize
Serializing a string creates a storable representation of a value, personally this is my favorite way of putting some data into SQL because it can store arrays (So when I select the field, I get a big array of data). Here is a very quick example on how to do it.

<?php
$data = serialize($_POST['data']);
// do the SQL Query
?>

Well we have now got all the new bits and bobs on the site and we are eger to get feedback and see what you think, so please feel free to leave a comment or send us an email.

What’s new?

We have doubledour money back guarantee to 28 days!

Launched our reseller packages, which all include a free domain and as a special launch promotion sign up now using promo code 50offreseller3month to get half price reseller hosting for the first three months!

Business plan has been upgraded bandwidth from 15GB to a whopping 25GB!

Advanced plan has been upgraded disk space has been upgraded from 800MB to 1GB and bandwidth has jumped from 8GB to 10GB.

We will also be launching a perks program (details coming soon), which will reward our clients who among other things make payments on time. We will are interested to see how this goes and would like to see what kind of effect it has on our current client base.

And of course we have been tweaking the site design, and had added more information about XDnet and the products we provide, we now have detailed information about our US and UK datacenter so you can see where your websites live, we have also added new UK dedicated servers.

We have also been able to reduce all UK VPS prices as well as a few others.

Regrettably we have had to slightly increase the price of some of our US products due to the current exchange rate which means, because we work close to cost prices it was unsustainable to provide the products at the previous prices. We intend to keep XDnet as a sustainable web host ensuring stability with your hosting.

We also have a few more tricks up our sleve which we will be implementing soon, so look out and don’t forget to tell us what you think of changes and we will do our best to make our service as best as it can be fo you.

We are very pleased to announce that off-site backups is now back in operation!

What this means:

All users can expect their account(s) which includes files, databases, email accounts and everything to be automatically backed up to another server every single day, meaning should something go wrong we can recover your account for you meaning minimal (if any) data loss.

Backups are taken daily, weekly and monthly.

Backups are generally stored for one month and will be deleted periodically to minimise costs.

This also means if for what ever reason you require a backup of your account we can provide it (for a small fee).

Any Questions or Comments please add them below, or contact support@xdnet.co.uk

Whats RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts, XDnet uses the inbuilt RSS feed which wordpress generates – http://xdnet.co.uk/blog/feed/ so you can subscribe and always stay up-to-date with the going on’s at XDnet.co.uk

The RSS feed, which is also called a “web feed,” or “channel,” contains a summary of the blog post or news and a link to the full page with the info and if avalible articles about the event/news. RSS makes it possible for you to keep up with the latest content from your favourite sites in a format which is easier than checking them manually.

How do I use it?

RSS content can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader” or an “aggregator”. You can subscribe to our feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking on the RSS icon (right) or the Orange RSS icon which appears in the top tabs bar. Which ever reader you use it will check our feed, once you have subscribed, regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.

Using Internet Explorer for feeds

You can use Internet Explorer 7 to read and manage your RSS feeds and keep you updated.
Click to find out how!

Here are some quick tips for getting work done

• Make sure you can concentrate, try to get rid of distracting things such a MSN, email and RSS while you work. Interestingly enough, I recently monitored the ratio of work applications to other applications, my results were about 1:5 which was shocking!
• This varies from person to person, but music and podcasts can be a distraction. Avoid anything which could need extra attention (such as news programs or music which has lots of lyrics).
• Avoid taking regular coffee and toilet breaks. It can be difficult to keep your trail of thought if you keep needing to go off and do something.
• Make sure you have had enough to eat and drink before you work. Like scientists always say “If you miss breakfast, it’s hard to concentrate”. If you really want to go crazy, have some small nibbles near by to keep you full up.
• Know what your doing! If you are unsure of what you need to do, you could end up just making a pile of crap. So when you start, make notes of what you need to do, so you know what you have done and what is still to be done.

I hope this helps ^_^