Ask HN: Encrypt/Encode single php file?

3 pointsrealschool6 comments

We want to encrypt or encode a config file for our web based php app, any suggestions?

I'm assuming the sysadmin cannot/would not edit the source?

If that's the case, a solution like IonCube might do the trick. Just make sure PDO connection errors aren't displayed/logged, since they may contain connection info.

You can also try restricting the sql user's access to the server's IP, but it still may be possible to connect directly from the server itself.

If the sysadmin can't access the db, who's managing the db server?

its a managed host, so we dont want them to see. we maintain the db.

IonCube is expensive, any free alternatives, we are a startup.

http://www.ioncube.com/online_encoder.php

I'm not sure how safe this is for running config files, but since the decoder is free, this would be affordable. You can also look into the pricing for Zend Guard.

Why would you like to do it? Against what kind of attacks this encryption should protect?

sys admin having access to our database server.

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