October 13, 2017 / Comments: 0

Shell script - PHP and MYSQL login system addendum

In previous post, we've taken a closer look at how to create PHP and MYSQL login system that collects attempt and ban data and compares a user's IP against it to see whether the IP is banned or not. While the system works like it is supposed to, the data collected in the login_attempts and login_banned tables becomes obsolete after 10 minutes since our script is set up that way. This doesn't mean that it gets deleted or disappears. Quite contrary, as things stand, the...

October 12, 2017 / Comments: 0

How to create a login system using PHP and MYSQL?

Today we are going to create a secure login system using PHP and MYSQL. It will use PBDKF2 hashing method with username as a salt and 100k iteration rounds to authenticate the user. Another feature we will make is to count login attempts and ban the ip address for 10 minutes after a few unsuccessful attempts. We will use sessions to create condition structure, one for successfuly authenticated user and one for banned status. The login form will appear as default when...

October 6, 2017 / Comments: 0

Shell script to check for any changes in folders

Anyone concerned with security of their sites might find this useful. We will discuss how to make a script that will be run by cron periodically and send an email, if any file changes have been observed in the specific folders. This is a good way to monitor files and activity on your server. So, to get started, the first part will contain information about the script and in the second part, we will look at how to set up the script on a Linux/Unix server. PART 1 -...

September 28, 2017 / Comments: 0

How to create a cookie based login system using PHP?

In this tutorial we are going to make a basic PHP authentication system using sessions to authenticate and also as an attempt counter that will set a cookie and hide the login screen after a few failed attempts. The script will contain ONE hardcoded user login credentials with BCRYPT hashing method as a form of user validation. All will be wrapped up inside a basic IF ELSEIF ELSE condition structure. The tutorial will be done in 3 parts. First will be about creating...

September 21, 2017 / Comments: 0

A word on security aspect of programming

I feel that at some point I would have to say a few words on the topic so why not right at the start. In my opinion, security of the code should always be equally evaluated as functionallity because what good is the code that's working, if you have to rewrite it when it's compromised. Not to mention the potential damage that can be the result of neglecting the security aspect. However, I believe that most vulnerabilities pop up, not due to lack of focus or...

September 14, 2017 / Comments: 0

How to connect to MYSQL database?

This tutorial will contain information about how to connect to MYSQL database using different programming languages and different techniques. In the first part, we will take a look at PHP mysqli, both procedural and object-oriented programming(OOP) methods and PDO(OOP only) and its prepared statements. In the second part, we'll discuss 2 Python modules that you can use to make a connection. The final part will be about how you can connect manually to database using...

September 7, 2017 / Comments: 0

HTML & CSS basics for beginners

Anyone trying to make a website will have to go through HTML and CSS, there is simply no way around it. And anyone with a basic knowledge of HTML and CSS can practically make a type of website that doesn't include interactivity with users, such as portfolio sites, information or presentation sites, bascially anything that doesn't require user input can be done with just a markup language that is HTML but you will still need CSS to style the colors, fonts, positions,...