I haven’t had time to post much the past year, I’m always working! So I wanted to make up for that by publishing an article on a topic that would blow your mind and be something that you could actually start using and really get some benefit out of it. This is one of those articles that the majority of web hosting companies would love to see in paperback, so they could burn it. Now ask yourself, if a webhost makes money based on how much memory, bandwidth, and data used by a customer, what would they not want their customers to do? That’s right, they do not want their customers to learn how to minimize and drastically reduce these moneymakers. They get giddy when you complain about slow-site-speed, or that it takes a long time for your site to load, because they have exactly the right answer- upgrade your memory, bandwidth, and data by purchasing a more expensive plan.
Tagged: Cache, devshm, filesystem, ram, ramdisk, ramfs, server, slram, speed, tmpfs | Continue...
The bottom line for this article is that I want to make WordPress as fast, secure, and easy to install, run, and manage because I am using it more and more for client production sites, I will work for days in order to solve an issue so that I never have to spend time on that issue again. Time is money in this industry and that is ultimately (time) what there is to gain by tweaking WordPress.
Note: I spent no time on readability, this is primarily a read the code and figure it out article.. This is for advanced users looking for a reference or discussion and for those of you looking to advance. Feedback would be great if you make it that far..
Tagged: admin, advanced, Cookies, debugging, htaccess, mod_rewrite, PHP, phpinfo, WordPress, wp-config.php | 4 Comments | Continue...
Note: Extremely ILL Content
Find the key to unlocking mod_rewrite and you WILL be sick.. sick with a diamond disease on your wrist!
Tagged: advanced, askapache, cheatsheet, howto, htaccess, htaccess rewrite, mod_rewrite, tutorial | 19 Comments | Continue...
So my blog as been rather quiet for almost a year now, and very few updates if any have been released for my Password Protection PLugin, my Google 404 Plugin, and definately not for my AskApache CrazyCache plugin, which I will be releasing last… So for all of you who’ve helped me out by sending me suggestions and notifying me of errors and sticking with it… Just wanted to say sorry about that, and thanks for all the great ideas.. Well, I’ve been sticking with it as well believe it our not. I manage to get free days once in a while, and then its time to jam.
Tagged: AskApache Google 404, AskApache Password Protection, Fsockopen, WordPress Plugins, wordpress security | 1 Comment | Continue...
The goal is to add the HostGator server to be an exact mirror of the static.askapache.com domain, then to add that server as a 2nd A record to my DNS zone. That way half the visitors to the size will be taking up resources and bandwidth on the HostGator server instead of mine.
Round Robin A records in DNS are intended to evenly distribute queries between each host of the same name. Using some tricks straight out of a hackers toolbox we can verify if the distribution is taking place. (It is.)
Tagged: DNS, DreamHost, HostGator, Powweb, Round Robin, rsync, ssh | 4 Comments | Continue...
This is not an introduction to .htaccess… This is the evolution of .htaccess… The BEST, the ORIGINAL, the NEWEST, and the most HIGHEST, FLYEST .htaccess tricks I can find.
Originally known as the “Ultimate .htaccess Guide”, its changed over the years by adding new .htaccess tricks and .htaccess examples to it.. I also add my favorite .htaccess links, the best .htaccess articles on AskApache, the coolest .htaccess experiments, the Web’s best .htaccess hacks, and update this article on the regular.
Tagged: .htaccess examples, Apache, Cache, caching, Files, FilesMatch, Google, Hacking, howto, htaccess, htaccess guide, htaccess help, htaccess howto, htaccess rewrite, htaccess tricks, htaccess tutorial, httpd, litespeed, mod_rewrite, Mod_Security, rewritecond, rewriterule, sample .htaccess, Security, SEO, seo secrets, SetEnvIf, ssl, ultimate htaccess | 56 Comments | Continue...
This is all new, experimental, and very very cool. It literally uses .htaccess techniques to create several virtual “locked gates” that require a specific key to unlock, in a specific order that cannot be bypassed. It uses whitelisting .htaccess tricks to specify exactly what is allowed, instead of trying to specify everything that isn’t allowed. Also, by setting specific cookies/tokens after successfully passing through a gate, we can then require the exact cookie/token from the previous gate, which stops an attacker from skipping or bypassing gates.
Tagged: advanced, Hacking, htaccess, mod_rewrite, phpBB, Security, ssl | 7 Comments | Continue...
A list of API Versions and the corresponding HTTPD Version, for use in determining the version of Apache currently running without having to rely on the often inaccurate SERVER_SOFTWARE Header.
Tagged: Apache, Apache Modules, httpd, Module API | 1 Comment | Continue...
Well what can I say, other than this is sooo DOPE! Here is a list of the modules this plugin (version 4.7 unreleased) will automatically detect. I compiled the list myself using every module included with any default Apache installation for ALL the versions listed below, 1.3 to 2.2+
Want to know something else I’m including in this plugin? For each and every module that is detected, this plugin can then detect ALL of the modules .htaccess Directives! For instance, RewriteRule, AccessFileName, AddHandler, etc.. are each a directive belonging to a module that is allowed to be used from within .htaccess files.
Talk about sick.. these tricks have the diamond disease!
Tagged: Hacking, htaccess, htaccess rewrites, mod_rewrite, Security | 38 Comments | Continue...
Unix file permissions are one of the more difficult subjects to grasp.. Well, ok maybe “grasp” isn’t the word.. Master is the right word.. Unix file permissions is a hard topic to fully master, mainly I think because there aren’t many instances when a computer user encounters them. I’ve done a lot of research on it the past couple weeks… and now here’s everything I’ve learned so far.. cuz you guys AskApache Regs Rock!
Tagged: chmod, File Permissions, fileperms, Hacking, Security, stat, umask | 5 Comments | Continue...
Learn how to setup, configure, secure, optimize, and create a low-maintenance website the AskApache way. I’m piecing together all the hacks, tricks, methods, and ideas discussed throughout this blog and all across Netdom and glueing them all together to show you how to have the most optimized, crazy fastest, and best website setup I can think of.
Tagged: Apache, Cache, compression, hosting, htaccess, optimization, Security, server | 5 Comments | Continue...
We’ve figured out what mod_rewrite variables look like, a cheatsheet of the actual value.
Tagged: cheatsheet, htaccess, mod_rewrite, mod_rewrite cheatsheet, rewritecond, rewriterule | 4 Comments | Continue...
I’ve had a lot of people ask about the FeedBurner FeedCount image on AskApache. Specifically how to set it up with custom messages and different colors each page view… It is pretty sweet..
Tagged: feed, FeedBurner, FeedCount, htaccess | Continue...
Scrolls the latest log entries for multiple log files to the current screen or to any other monitor or TTY in color using syntax highlighting, making debugging easier and saving a lot of time for multi-monitor workstations.
Tagged: bash, CCZE, Color Logs, debugging, Elite, error log, fifo, linux, Logs, shell script | 2 Comments | Continue...
If you want to pre-load .flv / .mp3 files into a visitors browser cache using flash, here’s the actionscript I use to do it, and some ideas behind a good javascript implementation using swfobject or ufo.
Tagged: actionscript, htaccess, Javascript, preloading | 9 Comments | Continue...
PHP’s fsockopen function lets you open an Internet or Unix domain socket connection for connecting to a resource, and is one of the most powerful functions available in the php language.
Tagged: Cache, Fsockopen, Hacking, HTTO, linux, Networking, Performance, PHP, Pipelining, Socket | 3 Comments | Continue...
1 minute Install!
Turns every 404 Not Found error into a SEO traffic generating event! Now you have many unique users with unique IP addresses and cookies searching your blog on all of the Google Indexes… Sweet!
Its really nice to be able to print out a webpage you are reading using your browsers built-in print feature. Using CSS you can easily transform your site into a print-friendly site.
Today I received an email from a visitor to my site requesting that I add a way to print site articles on AskApache
Tagged: Accessibility, CSS | 3 Comments | Continue...
Learn how in a year, with no previous blogging experience this blog was able to rank so high in search engines and achieve 15,000 unique visitors every day. Uses combination of tricks and tips from throughout AskApache.com for Search Engine Optimization.
Tagged: askapache, SEO, seo secrets | 5 Comments | Continue...
Mod_Security rivals Mod_Rewrite in the amount of features it provides. I decided to go ahead and post what I learned about it today, even though its tough to give away such awesome htaccess and apache tricks.. Learn how to control spam once and for all, conditionally log/deny/allow/redirect requests based on IP, username, etc.. Mod_Security is so fine!
Tagged: Hacking, htaccess, Mod_Security, Security | 8 Comments | Continue...
htaccess rewrite / Mod_Rewrite Tips and Tricks is as glamorous as it sounds! htaccess rewrite mod_rewrite is just possibly one of the most useful Apache modules and features. The ability to rewrite requests internally as well as externally is extremely powerful.
Tagged: htaccess, htaccess rewrite, mod_rewrite, Redirecting URLS, rewrite, Rewrite Tricks, rewritecond, rewriterule | 57 Comments | Continue...
A plugin built to generate static files from php+mysql for Apache to serve the way its supposed to be.. My dream. Conclusion: Needs some improvement, pretty sweet though.
SetEnv, SetEnvIf, and SetEnvIfNoCase directives conditionally set environment variables accessible by scripts and apache based on HTTP Headers, Variables, and Request information.
Tagged: Examples, htaccess, mod_rewrite, mod_setenvif, SetEnv, SetEnvIf | 4 Comments | Continue...
My improved version of the common printenv / test-cgi scripts for debugging Apache environment variables set in .htaccess files
.htpasswd is a flat-file used by Apache and other applications to store usernames and password for HTTP authentication. Apache .htpasswd files may contain multiple types of passwords; some may have MD5-encrypted passwords while others in the same file may have passwords encrypted with crypt(3) and/or SHA-1. Usernames are limited to 255 bytes and may not include the character :.
Htpasswd Formats
Apache Servers recognize 4 formats for representing a password hash in the text file usually named .htpasswd.
CRYPT
crypt(3) is the library function which is used to compute a password hash. Technically the name is a misnomer since it is actually a cryptographic hash function. The output of the function is not merely the hash: it is a text string which also encodes the salt and identifies the hash algorithm used. Apache uses the traditional Unix crypt function with a randomly-generated 32-bit salt (only 12 bits used) and the first 8 characters of the password. ALG_CRYPT
MD5
MD5 is one in a series of message digest algorithms designed by Professor Ronald Rivest of MIT. The 128-bit (16-byte) MD5 hashes (also termed message digests) are typically represented as a sequence of 32 hexadecimal digits. In .htpasswd files the hash is: $apr1$ + an Apache-specific algorithm using an iterated (1,000 times) MD5 digest of various combinations of a random 32-bit salt and the password. ALG_APMD5
SHA-1
The SHA hash functions are a set of cryptographic hash functions designed by the National Security Agency (NSA) and published by the NIST as a U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard. SHA-1 produces a 160-bit digest from a message with a maximum length of (264 − 1) bits. SHA-1 is the most widely employed of the SHA family. It forms part of several widely used security applications and protocols, including TLS and SSL, PGP, SSH,…
WordPress blogs show the same duplicate content for http://www.askapache.com/index.php and http://www.askapache.com/. If you’ve read about using a robots.txt file for WordPress SEO, than you already understand this setup results in Duplicate Content penalties being levied against your Blog and Web Site by Search Engines.
Tagged: htaccess, htaccess rewrite, mod_rewrite, rewriterule | 8 Comments | Continue...
Learn how to make YOUR DreamHost promo codes work much better for YOU! This is not about promo-codes, this is about a simple method you should implement.
High Performance Web Site list of the best and newest methods to make web pages super fast using caching, compression, cache-control, etc.
Server and Environment Variables are used by The Apache HTTP Server by provides a mechanism for storing information. This information can be used to control various operations such as logging or access control.
Apache has the best SSL/HTTPS support and can be controlled by the httpd.conf file or other HTTPD server configuration file. This htaccess tutorial has htaccess example code to make it easy to secure and use HTTPS and SSL with Apache.
Apache Security tips and tricks for securing Apache Web Servers using htaccess, httpd.conf, and other built-in techniques to thwart attackers. This really should be required reading for any Apache admin or user because these little tricks are so easy to do.
Tagged: Hacking, htaccess, mod_python, Security | 2 Comments | Continue...
How to password-protect, Allow or Deny a visitor based on a condition. If you are having trouble getting htaccess-based password protection to work see: Troubleshooting htaccess Authentication: Getting it to work
Caching with .htaccess and Apache will take your website and your web skills to the next level. This is some technical and advanced methods condensed to simple htaccess code examples for you.
Web Professionals use mod_rewrite to issue 301 and 302 Redirects for Search Engines. Sometimes you may not have mod_rewrite.c or you want an alternative redirect method. Using mod_alias RedirectMatch you can use REGEX in Redirect commands!
Tagged: htaccess, ultimate htaccess | 11 Comments | Continue...
Htaccess php tips and tricks for the Apache HTTPD Web Server, mostly these tips show you how to run customized versions with customized php.ini files, I require custom php.ini files because they are so useful!
Apache .htaccess and httpd.conf have the power to send and manipulate HTTP Header Requests like sending P3P privacy headers, Content-Type: UTF-8, Content-Language, etc. The power is immense and you can do some really cool stuff with HTTP Headers!
Some of my favorite htaccess examples from some of my favorite .htaccess tutorials. These cut-and-paste ready htaccess code snippets are very useful for website and server administrators.
Tagged: htaccess, htaccess tricks | 9 Comments | Continue...
Comprehensive .htaccess example file with advanced examples in 1 htaccess sample skeleton .htaccess file with the very best apache htaccess examples… Updated frequently based on detailed info from the Apache htaccess tutorial.
301 Redirects using Apache mod_rewrite or RedirectMatch in .htaccess or httpd.conf
Time-dependant rewriting uses mod_rewrite and apache server time variables to display different files depending on the time, while the URL stays the same. An often requested implementation of this is to display a different home page or image depending on if its morning, noon, or night.
Tagged: htaccess, mod_rewrite | Continue...
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-- William Hazlitt
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