411 Bliss

SQL injection is becoming a problem for web developers- especially those new to the field who aren’t up to speed on how insecure PHP can really be. But as the experts like to say, PHP isn’t the problem- it’s the knowledge of the programmer that counts when it comes to preventing SQL injection attacks.

SQL injections are defined by the vulnerability in the SQL query that PHP developers make use of. When the developer in question puts forth an SQL query, he or she needs to make an effort to validate any input that could come from any web form or entry field. A simple input statement such as “a’ OR ‘a’='a’” could compromise the security of one’s database with ease.

As long as we can escape the quote that needs to be used in the injection, we can prevent any type of harm that may come to a web application. The first way to accomplish this is to simply use magic quotes. It should be noted that magic quotes are no longer supported as of PHP 6, and shouldn’t be used. Instead, we leave SQL injection prevention up to a newer and more dependable command.

There is but one simple solution when it comes to getting rid of the threat of an SQL injection. This simplle solution comes via the function mysql_real_escape_string(). This function was created specifically for safeguarding against SQL injections, so it’s well worth the time to use. Just pass any values being inserted through this function, and the result is a perfectly escaped string.

Another good way to prevent SQL injections is to simply restrict authority in SQL users where possible. For instance: it would be a good idea to create individual users that do specific things: such as create a table or update rows in the said table. This can help make the task of ruining one’s hard work much harder for malicious web users, although it’s a lot more work for webmasters (Although well worth it).

It should be noted that programs and web applications that stop SQL injections should not be obtained- since they commonly cost quite a bit of money. As long as webmasters take precautions with what they create, there should be no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on software that only makes use of escape characters and formatting data correctly. This type of application is created to con webmasters into buying something they don’t need- so dont fall victim to them!

In Conclusion

SQL injections are never a pretty sight. They ruin databases, can be a security risk to users of the website, and they even can destroy entire websites. Thus, it’s good to either hire developers that know what they are doing or to brush up on some security topics by one’s self. Doing so can save a world of hurt for a webmaster, as well as quite a bit of money from not having to buy mock applications that claim to do the “hard work” for webmasters. In the end, it’s recommended developers pick up a good book or visit their favorite PHP security websites to stay informed.

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