Running A Board forum From Your Own Pc

Running A Board forum From Your Own Pc

If you wish to install php and mysql to run a phpBB installation on your computer, first you will need installers. Most of you have windows, so I recommend FoxServ. This is a great program that installs php, mysql, and more on your windows machine in under a minute, excluding download time.

Download foxserv 3.0 from http://www.foxserv.net/

Run the foxserv install program, it is pretty self explanatory, just do what it says.

After you get everything installed, run the foxserv control panel and click the install buttons for everything.

Open winmysql ADMIN. Create a new username and pass at start-up, and then create a new database, the one you will be using for your phpBB installation.

Now download phpBB 2.0.x from phpbb.com, or download phpBBplus from http://www.phpbb2.de/phpbb2plus/phpBB2_plus_1.2.zip.

Unzip the phpBB2 folder into C:\Foxserv\www\

After you have done such, visit http://localhost/phpBB2/ to view your install page. enter the correct information.

database name: the name of the database you created.

database username: username you created

database password: password you created

then enter your email information and everything else as it should be. Now delete the install and contrib directories from the phpBB2 folder on your computer.

Voila! All set up. If you want to have other people view your site, then you need a forwarding service. I have a dynamic IP, so I use http://www.dynu.com. Register an account there and follow all of their instructions if you have a dynamic IP. Now you should visit http://yoursite.dynu.com/ to make sure everything worked.

Also, windows xp users BE SURE TO INSTALL SERVICE PACK 1. SP1 fixes critical incompatibility issues with the apache 2.x server that prevents it from using php correctly. If you do not have service pack one, php pages will load incorrectly or not at all on your webserver.

I posted this because I was fed up with trying to find a host that supports php and mysql and doesnt have any ads on it.

NOTE: You wont get any HOST that will allows you WAREZ, then you can use your own pc as your own HOST

another program that works well is phpdev5 i have used it for a long time. and another site to register a dns name is http://dyndns.org it gives you better names, for example mine is http://shag.kicks-*ss.net.

Translating Binary to Text

Translating Binary to Text

Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Binary System

3. Converting Binary to ASCII (Text)

Introduction:

We’ve all seen binary code. We’ve come to think of them as a bunch of ones and zeroes in long strings…

010010101010101001101011

But these ones and zeroes can also represent decimal numbers. First off, I will show you how to read these numbers as the decimal numbers we’re used to in our daily life. Then, I will show you how to use those numbers and your keypad to translate them into text. Note that your computer doesn’t use the decimal system, so technically, when it converts binary to text, it doesn’t go through the process I will show you. This is just a divertive way of explaining you how the binary system works.

The Binary System:

Here’s a simple example of binary:

10101

Let’s think of the example above as empty slots:

_ _ _ _ _

First off, you read binary from right-to-left. It’s just the way it’s designed. The first slot from the right represents a value of one, the second from the right a value of two, the third from the right a value of four, the fourth from the right a value of eight, the fifth from the right a value of sixteen, and the cycle continues by multiples of 2. This will never change.

By putting a 1 or a 0 in those slots you are either saying you want to corresponding value that’s attached to that slot or you don’t. A 1 means yes, and a 0 means no. For example, putting a zero in the first slot from the right, but a 1 in the second slot from the right means you want a two, but not a one:

_ _ _ 1 0

As such, the number above equals to a decimal value of two.

As an example, let’s say you want to represent eight in binary form. Well, thinking about the slots, you want the first slot to be 0 because you don’t want a one, you want the second slot to also be 0 because you don’t want a two, you want the third slot to also to be 0 because you don’t want a four, but you want the fifth slot to be 1 because you want a value of eight. As such, eight in binary form is:

1 0 0 0 (or simply 1000 without those underlines)

Now it is important to note that the amount of zeroes that precede the first value of one from the left is unimportant. So for example:

1 0 0 0 is the same as 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 (1000 = 000100)

To get it cleared up, here’s another example:

0 1 is the same as 1

Exercises: What do the following equal in decimal terms?

a) 100

b] 000100

c) 100000

d) 0010

Answers:

a) 4

b] 4

c) 32

d) 2

If you got the answers above right, then you pretty much understand the basics of binary.

Let’s now understand how to get the corresponding decimal values to the numbers which are not multiples of 2.

To get the total value of a binary number, add the values corresponding to each slot. So, for example, three in binary would be:

11

The above corresponds to three because if you add the total values of all the slots, that is to say a one from the slot to the right, and a two from the second slot to the right, then it equals three.

As another example, let’s say you want to represent 5 in binary terms. Then you would need a value of one to be added to a value of four, and you would not want a value of two:

101 [Reading from the right: 1(one) + 0(two) + 1(four) = five]

Here’s an additional example:

001011 [Reading from the right: 1(one) + 1(two) + 0(four) + 1(eight) + 0(sixteen) + 0(thirty-two) = eleven)

Exercises: What do the following equal in decimal terms?

a) 11011

b] 110

c) 010101

d) 10110

Answers:

a) 27

b] 6

c) 21

d) 22

If you got the above questions correct [without cheating], then you essentially understand the binary system. Understanding the binary system was the hard part. What follows is pretty easy.

3. Converting Binary to ASCII (Text)

ASCII is essentially the letters, numbers and symbols that are stored in our computers through the use of fonts. When the keyboard relays the buttons you pressed, it sends in a code which is then converted to the ASCII equivalent of “k” or “5” or whatever key you pressed.

Here’s an example of a message “hidden” in binary text:

0100100001100101011011000110110001101111

Now there are only so many letters, numbers and symbols stored for ASCII. Having sets of 8 digits for their binary equivalent is more than enough to represent all of these letters and the like. As such, all strings that represent text like in the above are separated into bits of 8 for simplicity:

01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111

Okay, so our example message was separated into 8 digit strings. The decimal value for each of these strings in the example was calculated for you.

01001000 = 72

01100101 = 101

01101100 = 108

01101100 = 108

01101111 = 111

The result was 72,101,108,108,111. Now, there is something called the ASCII table. It essentially corresponds to the binary numbers from yore to the equivalent letters/symbols/numbers. But since we found the decimal values of these binary strings, we can use a major shortcut.

By pressing ALT + [The Number], you will get the ASCII equivalent of that number. For example, by pressing the ALT key and at then (while keeping it down) the numbers 72 in any text editor, you will get the corresponding “H” to show up.

Let’s do so for the entire example message:

72 = H

101 = e

108 = l

108 = l

111 = o

So the entire “hidden” message translates to “Hello”.

Exercise: Decode the following message

01000011011011110110111001100111011100100110000101110100011101010110110001100001

011101000

1101001011011110110111001110011 00100001

Hint: The first step on your way to decoding the message (separated into bytes for you)

01000011 01101111 01101110 01100111 01110010 01100001 01110100 01110101 01101100 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 01110011 00100001

WINDOWS TRUE HIDDEN FILES

--ACRONYMS--

DOS = Disk Operating System, or MS-DOS

MSIE = Microsoft Internet Explorer

TIF = Temporary Internet Files (folder)

HD = Hard Drive

OS = Operating System

FYI = For Your Information

1)SEEING IS BELIEVING

No. Enabling Windows Explorer to "show all files" does not show the files in mention. No. DOS does not

list the files after receiving a proper directory listing from root. And yes. Microsoft intentionally

disabled the "Find" utility from searching through one of the folders.

Oh, but that's not all.

To see for yourself simply do as you would normally do to clear your browsing history. Go to Internet

Options under your Control Panel. Click on the [Clear History] and [Delete Files] buttons. (Make sure

to include all offline content.)

So, has your browsing history been cleared? One would think so.

These are the names and locations of the "really hidden files":

c:\windows\history\history.ie5\index.dat

c:\windows\tempor~1\content.ie5\index.dat

If you have upgraded MSIE several times, they might have alternative names of mm256.dat and

mm2048.dat, and may also be located here:

c:\windows\tempor~1\

c:\windows\history\

Not to mention the other alternative locations under:

c:\windows\profiles\%user%\...

c:\windows\application data\...

c:\windows\local settings\...

c:\windows\temp\...

c:\temp\...

(or as defined in your autoexec.bat.)

FYI, there are a couple other index.dat files that get hidden as well, but they are seemingly not very

important. See if you can find them.

2)IF YOU HAVE EVER USED MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER

1) Shut your computer down, and turn it back on.

2) While your computer is booting keep pressing the [F8] key until you are given an option screen.

3) Choose "Command Prompt Only" (This will take you to true DOS mode.) Windows ME users must use a boot

disk to get into real DOS mode.

4) When your computer is done booting, you will have a C:\> followed by a blinking cursor.

Type this in, hitting enter after each line. (Obviously, don't type the comments in parentheses.)

C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV (Loads smartdrive to speed things up.)

CD\

DELTREE/Y TEMP (This line removes temporary files.)

CD WINDOWS

DELTREE/Y COOKIES (This line removes cookies.)

DELTREE/Y TEMP (This removes temporary files.)

DELTREE/Y HISTORY (This line removes your browsing history.)

DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1 (This line removes your internet cache.)

(If that last line doesn't work, then type this

CD\WINDOWS\APPLIC~1

DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1

(If that didn't work, then type this

CD\WINDOWS\LOCALS~1

DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1

If you have profiles turned on, then it is likely located under \windows\profiles\%user%\, while older

versions of MSIE keep them under \windows\content\.)

FYI, Windows re-creates the index.dat files automatically when you reboot your machine, so don't be

surprised when you see them again. They should at least be cleared of your browsing history.

3)CLEARING YOUR REGISTRY

It was once believed that the registry is the central database of Windows that stores and maintains the

OS configuration information. Well, this is wrong. Apparently, it also maintains a bunch of other

information that has absolutely nothing to do with the configuration. I won't get into the other

stuff, but for one, your typed URLs are stored in the registry.

HKEY_USERS/Default/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/TypedURLs/

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/TypedURLs/

These "Typed URLs" come from MSIE's autocomplete feature. It records all URLs that you've typed in manually

in order to save you some time filling out the address field.

4)SLACK FILES

As you may already know, deleting files only deletes the references to them. They are in fact still sitting

there on your HD and can still be recovered by a very motivated person.

Use window washer to delete slack files. /http://www.webroot.com/download/0506/reg3ww.exe

5)STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE THROUGH YOUR HIDDEN FILES

The most important files to be paying attention to are your "index.dat" files. These are database files

that reference your history, cache and cookies. The first thing you should know is that the index.dat files

is that they don't exist in less you know they do. They second thing you should know about them is that

some will *not* get cleared after deleting your history and cache.

To view these files, follow these steps:

In MSIE 5.x, you can skip this first step by opening MSIE and going to Tools > Internet Options > [Settings] > [View Files].

Now write down the names of your alphanumeric folders on a piece of paper. If you can't see any alphanumeric

folders then start with step 1 here:

1) First, drop to a DOS box and type this at prompt (in all lower-case). It will bring up Windows Explorer

under the correct directory.

c:\windows\explorer /e,c:\windows\tempor~1\content.ie5\

You see all those alphanumeric names listed under "content.ie5?" (left-hand side.) That's Microsoft's

idea of making this project as hard as possible. Actually, these are your alphanumeric folders that was

created to keep your cache. Write these names down on a piece of paper. (They should look something like

this: 6YQ2GSWF, QRM7KL3F, U7YHQKI4, 7YMZ516U, etc.) If you click on any of the alphanumeric folders then

nothing will be displayed. Not because there aren't any files here, but because Windows Explorer has lied

to you. If you want to view the contents of these alphanumeric folders you will have to do so in DOS.

2) Then you must restart in MS-DOS mode. (Start > Shutdown > Restart in MS-DOS mode. ME users use a

bootdisk.)

Note that you must restart to DOS because windows has locked down some of the files and they can only be

accessed in real DOS mode.

3) Type this in at prompt:

CD\WINDOWS\TEMPOR~1\CONTENT.IE5

CD %alphanumeric%

(replace the "%alphanumeric%" with the first name that you just wrote down.)

DIR/P

The cache files you are now looking at are directly responsible for the mysterious erosion of HD space

you may have been noticing.

5) Type this in:

CD\WINDOWS\TEMPOR~1\CONTENT.IE5

EDIT /75 INDEX.DAT

You will be brought to a blue screen with a bunch of binary.

6) Press and hold the [Page Down] button until you start seeing lists of URLs. These are all the sites

that you've ever visited as well as a brief description of each. You'll notice it records everything

ou've searched for in a search engine in plain text, in addition to the URL.

7) When you get done searching around you can go to File > Exit. If you don't have mouse support in DOS

then use the [ALT] and arrow keys.

Next you'll probably want to erase these files by typing this:

C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV

CD\WINDOWS

DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1

(replace "cd\windows" with the location of your TIF folder if different.)

9) Then check out the contents of your History folder by typing this:

CD\WINDOWS\HISTORY\HISTORY.IE5

EDIT /75 INDEX.DAT

You will be brought to a blue screen with more binary.

10) Press and hold the [Page Down] button until you start seeing lists of URLS again.

This is another database of the sites you've visited.

11) And if you're still with me, type this:

CD\WINDOWS\HISTORY

12) If you see any mmXXXX.dat files here then check them out (and delete them.) Then:

CD\WINDOWS\HISTORY\HISTORY.IE5

CD MSHIST~1

EDIT /75 INDEX.DAT

More URLs from your internet history. Note, there are probably other mshist~x folders here so you can

repeat these steps for every occurence if you please.

13) By now, you'll probably want to type in this:

CD\WINDOWS

DELTREE/Y HISTORY

6)HOW MICROSOFT DOES IT

How does Microsoft make these folders/files invisible to DOS?

The only thing Microsoft had to do to make the folders/files invisible to a directory listing is to

set them +s[ystem]. That's it.

So how does Microsoft make these folders/files invisible to Windows Explorer?

The "desktop.ini" is a standard text file that can be added to any folder to customize certain aspects of

the folder's behavior. In these cases, Microsoft utilized the desktop.ini file to make these files

invisible. Invisible to Windows Explorer and even to the "Find: Files or Folders" utility. All that

Microsoft had to do was create a desktop.ini file with certain CLSID tags and the folders would disappear

like magic.

To show you exactly what's going on:

Found in the c:\windows\temporary internet files\desktop.ini and

the c:\windows\temporary internet files\content.ie5\desktop.ini is this text:

[.ShellClassInfo]

UICLSID={7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}

Found in the c:\windows\history\desktop.ini and the c:\windows\history\history.ie5\desktop.ini is this text:

[.ShellClassInfo]

UICLSID={7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}

CLSID={FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}

The UICLSID line cloaks the folder in Windows Explorer. The CLSID line disables the "Find" utility

from searching through the folder.

To see for yourself, you can simply erase the desktop.ini files. You'll see that it will instantly give

Windows Explorer proper viewing functionality again, and the "Find" utility proper searching capabilities

again. Problem solved right? Actually, no. As it turns out, the desktop.ini files get reconstructed every

single time you restart your computer. Nice one, Slick.

Luckily there is a loophole which will keep Windows from hiding these folders. You can manually edit the

desktop.ini's and remove everything except for the "[.ShellClassInfo]" line. This will trick windows into

thinking they have still covered their tracks, and wininet won't think to reconstruct them.

Your Own Home Server - Introduction

An Introduction

In this tutorial you will learn how to step up your own server. This server will be comprised of Apache 1.3.5, PHP 4.2.0, and MySQL 3.23.49. This tutorial will address the basic setup of a server on your own computer. This means the removal of hassles of dealing with the company that is running a remote web server. It will be easy to modify. You can add any thing you want to it, be it CGI/Perl, Zope, Roxen, etc, all by your self. You will have unlimited disk space, well at least as big as your hard drive is =) Now that you know the advantages, it is time that I tell you what i used, and what you will need.

What I used

* Windows 2000 - NOTE that if you are using 2k you WILL NEED Administrative Privileges. If you don't then get them somehow =) If you are on 95, 98, NT, XP, ME, I

* Apache 1.3.6 - I tried to use 2.0 but I could not get it work. I also feel that 1.3.6 is tried and true, so why mess with greatness.

* Mysql 3.23.49 - The newest version of MySQL when I set up my server. MySQL also the is the best PHP supported Database, and well love PHP don't we.

* PHP 4.2.1 - The latest and greatest PHP release. -nt

What you will need

* Apache 2 - Link: h**p://www.apache.org/dist/

* Mysql 3.23.49 - Link: h**p://www.mysql.com/downloads/mysql-3.23.html

* PHP 4.2.0 - Link: h**p://www.php.net/downloads.php

* Windows - This tutorial is ONLY written for new versions of Windows.

Once you have downloaded all the programs you are ready to continue.

1. Installing Apache

Installing Apache

The first step is to download Apache for Windows. Before you install it make sure that any other server software is removed. Remove it all via the control panel.On

Once you have clicked on the executable, a screen should com up that looks like this. Go ahead and click on next

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Of course you plan to abide be the license agreement, so click on I accept.... and click on next.

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You really don't need to read this, but if you want you can. Read it if you want feel informed. When you are ready click on next.

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Here is where the actual setup of Apache begins. For Network Domain put in localhost as for Server Name You want these both to be localhost because the server is running locally, on your computer. It doesn't matter what is in email field, just put in yours. No one will no it because it's just you.

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For the sake of this tutorial it is better to just leave it as it is because, later in the tutorial I will show you how to start the server with one click of the mouse, and for the sake of ease, it will be easier for you to follow along. You can change it if you want, but you will have to realize where to substitute it. For me the root drive is E: but for you will probably be C:

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Once you have all the jazz set up, it is time to install the server. If you are on w2k or XP be sure that you have Administrative permissions or you will get an error about half way through the install saving cannot access msvrt32.dll or something. If you get that error run it again when you have admin privileges. Once you are ready click on install.

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If all went well you just see a screen similar to this. Now it is time to test the install of apache. Click on Start > Program Files > Apache HTTP Server and look for start Start Apache in Console. Click it. Once it says Apache XXXXX running, press Windows Key + R and type -http://localhost/. If the install works you should see a page saying that it works. If all is set and done, continue to the next step.

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______________________________________________________________________

2. Installing PHP

Once you have clicked on the executable, a screen should come up that looks like this. Go ahead and click on next.

user posted image

Of course you plan to abide be the license agreement, so click on I accept.... and click on next.

user posted image

For this information, we will want the simple standard install. Chances are you if you are reading this tutorial, you will probably not even want to talk about advanced =)

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This is the mail setup, just enter localhost, and me@localhost.com. These are not important, because you, the admin, are the only person that will use the server, and you will be the one handling errors.

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We are going to want this install to work is Apache, so click on Apache, and move on.

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Once you have all the jazz set up, it is time to install the server. If you are on w2k or XP be sure that you have Administrative permission or you will get an error about half way through the install saving cannot access msvrt32.dll or something. If you get that error run it again when you have admin privileges. Once you are ready click on install.

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After the install is done you should get something that says you will have to manually configure apache to use php. Assuming you have a working Apache server installed, make sure that it is not running. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\conf\ open the httpd.conf file. Note that you can also get to the http.conf from the start menu. Start > Program File > Apache HTTP Server > Configure Apache Server > Edit the Apache httpd.conf Configuration File and the window will open up in notepad. Now hit Ctrl + End if you see something like what follows, you can skip this step. If you do not see that code, copy it. This code will only work if you used the default install folder when you installed php. If you did, copy that code and paste it into the end of the file. Select the code to right, and hit crtl + c , then go into the httpd.conf file and hit ctrl + v and save the file.

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php/"

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .phtml

Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"

Now that we have php installed, it is time to test it. Open up notepad and type the code to the right. Save it as phpinfo.php. Remember to set it as all files in the drop down menu, or the file will be a text file. Save in the Directory: C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\htdocs. htdocs is the directory where all the files go. You can create endless dir's and browse them. For Example E:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\htdocs\mydir\myfile.php could be accessed as http://localhost/mydir/myfile.php. Once you have that file saved. You will need to start the Server. Click: Start > Program File > Apache HTTP Server >; and look for something like Start Apache in Console. After you have found it, launch it. You should get a window saying that Apache is running. Now go to Start > Run > and type in -http://localhost/phpinfo.php. If you don't see anything, php is not installed correctly. If php is installed correctly, you will see a few large tables, displaying php's configuration. Now Your are 1/2 done!

______________________________________________________________________

3. Installing MySQL

Once you have clicked on the executable, a screen should com up that looks like this. Go ahead and click on next.

user posted image

Of course you plan to abide be the license agreement, so click on I accept.... and click on next.

Just like before you should leave the default dir alone, so you will be able to follow along with me when I show you how to start and stop all the aspects of the server.

Stay with the typical installation. Just like before, if you don't have admin privileges, the install will be faulty. After you click next, the install will begin. After the install has finished, move on to the next step.

Now you have to set up the root account. The root account is the absolute admin of the system, the highest possible. Click on Start > Run and type cmd to open up the command prompt. You are going to have to navigate to where MySQL is installed. Type C: > Enter > cd mysql > Enter > cd bin > Enter. Now you have to tell setup the root settings. Type mysqladmin -uroot password InsertYourPasswordHere then hit enter.

To see an image of the screen, -h**p://www.webmasterstop.com/tutorials/images/doscreen1.gif

What is the point of having a database if you can't easily administer it! That is where phpMyAdmin comes into play. phpMyAdmin is a free piece of software written in php that makes the administration of a mysql or many other types of databases easy. You will want to download (h**p://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/phpmyadmin/phpMyAdmin-2.2.6-php.zip?downloadrelease_id=85832)the latest version. Save it in the htdocs folder. Once it is done downloading it, right click on it and select Extract > To Here. When it is done you should end up with a directory in the htdocs folder called phpMyAdmin-2.2.6 To make it easier to access, rename it to phpMyAdmin. After you have renamed it, click on it and look for a file called config.inc Open it. This is where you set the configuration of phpMyAdmin. When you open it up, it should look similar to the image to your side. On yours there should be a few things missing. The $cfgPmaAbsoulteUrl and $cfgservers[$i]['password']. You will need to fill those in between the quotes. for the $cfgPmaAbsoulteUrl enter -http://localhost/phpMyAdmin/ if you followed my instructions to the letter. If you did not rename it or extracted to a different directory, put that in there. For the $cfgservers[$i]['password'] enter the password you entered when you were setting MySQL in the set above. You can refer to the image for help. After you have put the right things in save the file.

To see an image of the screen, -h**p://www.webmasterstop.com/tutorials/images/phpmyadminscreen1.gif

Now we want to test the install of mysql, php, phpmyadmin, and apache all at once. Start apache in console like we did before. Now, you are going to need to start mysql. For myself I made a file that would start mysql for me. Open notepad and type: start c:\mysql\bin\mysqld-nt.exe --standalone and save that as Start MySQL.bat. Once you have saved it, click it. A window should open and then close. Mysql is now running on your computer. After mysql and apache are started go to run again and type -http://localhost/phpMyAdmin/index.php and if everything is installed correctly phpmyadmin should so up. You are almost done! Now we have the easy part =)

4. Finishing it all up

Wow! We mad it through the whole process. Now we want to simplify the whole process of controlling the server. I made a toolbar with all the things I needed. I made a new folder on my desktop and called it Server Folder and put all the stuff there. I made a new shortcut and gave it a value of -http://localhost/ made a shortcut to the PHP Documentation page. Another shortcut to my php editor, which is now unavailable. The phpMyAdmin shortcut is set to -http://localhost/phpMyAdmin/index.php. I made another shortcut htdocs. I moved the Start Apache in Console program that was in the start menu folder and moved it to the server folder. You can take the Start Mysql file you made in the last page and move it to the new folder. After you have put all the desired things into that folder, right click on a blank space in stat menu task bar (where the program boxes lie) and select Toolbars > New Toolbar and navigate to the folder. Voila!

Now all you have to do is click Start Apache in Console , Start Mysql, and Lauch browser biggrin.gif