Safe to use software?

[flutem3]

Hi, All,

I find the software offered on the internet is getting scarier and scarier the more I get into it. In my opinion it is getting more and more difficult to know whether I am getting myself, the website, or our church into some kind of difficulty or not. I think that part of my job as web site editor is to protect the church and its people as well as the rest of the jobs involved. If I do not, who will?

Is there a safe way through or around this swamp? Because of my own monetary situation I like to use freeware when I can. However, it seems to me that a company has to get something out of my using it in order to survive. In cyberspace, I am not certain what these things are. Does anyone else know? Actually, I have also discovered that a person can get into trouble with almost any kind of software...but I am especially suspicious of freeware.

Thoughts and ideas? Thanks!!

Carol

[David Gillaspey]

Hi, All,

I find the software offered on the internet is getting scarier and scarier the more I get into it. In my opinion it is getting more and more difficult to know whether I am getting myself, the website, or our church into some kind of difficulty or not.Hi Carol,

I didn't want to leave your post unanswered.

First, distinguish between freeware and shareware software, and open-source programs.

The former are usually created by one or a handful of people. Usually, they just want to show off their coding skills (I mean this in a good way), help people by creating a useful tool, and sometimes make a few dollars for their trouble.

Among this class of software, you may very well unintentionally download and install spyware and malware (software created for malicious purposes). Generally, though, if you download this type of software from sites such as shareware.com or tucows.com, you'll be OK. Editors of these sites will keep the bad stuff off (the site), and the software is usually rated by users so you know what's useful and what's not.

Open source software is typically created by a large number of people located around the world who are committed to the security and success of a given software program. (Such software may very well have started life as the brainchild of one person, but then other people joined in helping to develop the software.) The question of security varies by type of program. With GIMP, the image manipulation software, you hardly have to worry about security. With phpBB (as one example of open source software -- forum software in this case) and other open source web-related programs, hackers regularly find new ways to compromise the security of such a program, and so the development community behind this software and like programs regularly has to issue updates to fix security problems. The important thing with such open-source software is to keep up to date with upgrades as much as possible and follow recommendations for closing security gaps. The advantages of using such software generally outweigh the disadvantages of security problems. (Having said that, I would note the some open-source programs gain a reputation for not being very secure, and these you will want to avoid.)

Jotform, the online application being discussed in this thread, is a useful program. The developer no doubt saw a need and is attempting to meet that need. The problem, as members have noted, is that the program's usefulness intersects with privacy concerns in a way that most online applications don't. How so? Most web applications are installed on your OWN server (or hosted web server account), and you manage and are responsible for the data you collect. That's not quite the case with Jotform.

It will be interesting to see how the creator of Jotform will work to increase its usefulness while ensuring that people's private information is protected. Regardless, I am thankful to Pete for sharing the resource with us. It has much potential -- if the creator will address security concerns.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[flutem3]

Hi, David,

Thank you for taking time to respond to my post. I appreciate it. I understand the differences in general among freeware, open source, etc. However, you helped me better understand which ones are more risky. That was what I have been concerned about.

I have been in touch of a Filipino who is in Rome. He and his family were sent there as missionaries. And he wants to get a web site up. I sent him information on beginning...including questions like why are you making the website, what are its goals, etc. I hope I have not scared him away!

By the way, if you were going to recommend free software or freeware to edit a web site, what would you or anyone else who is reading this recommend? I would like to check it against what I know...or think I know.

I have not understood the jotform discussions except that it doesn't sound like something I will use. It doesn't sound "safe" which is a relative word, I think.

Who on here uses cPanel and what do you think of it? Thanks! :D

Carol

[JackWolfgang]

By the way, if you were going to recommend free software or freeware to edit a web site, what would you or anyone else who is reading this recommend? I would like to check it against what I know...or think I know.

Araneae (http://www.ornj.net/araneae/)--For raw (X)HTML, CSS, PHP, and XML--Name comes from Latin for spider
GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/)--For photo/image manipulation
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/)--For logo design (although I wish I could use it a whole lot better)
Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)--For audio editing
LAME (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3)--For MP3 Encoding (beware of doing this from Audacity at low bit rates, however)
FileZilla (http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla/)--For FTP


Who on here uses cPanel and what do you think of it? Thanks! :D
cPanel is great for administering web domains. I wish I had it on both domains I administer.

[Websquad]

Who on here uses cPanel and what do you think of it?
Thanks!
Carol

Carol, I manage 13 domains with cPanel, and have found it to be an essential tool in what I do. It is an excellent facility for managing domain mail, changing passwords, parking domains, adding domains (i.e., http://newdomain.mydomain.com) (http://newdomain.mydomain.com%29), password protecting subdirectories, adding custom error pages, reviewing site statistics, loading new software (such as chatrooms and shopping carts), setting up Cron jobs, and accessing the neat Web Host Manager (which allows a reseller to list all of their accounts and manage storage quotas and bandwidth usage).

About a year ago I had to move about 10 domains from one web server facility to another, and found that the cPanel backup and restore capability made it a quite possible: the only thing it didn't move was some ListServ member lists; but then MailMan has you cover on that front.

Bottom Line: I'm a true believer! :)

Bob

[flutem3]

Hello,

Is there a good place where I can check out cPanel? I would like to take a look at it. I have heard lots of stuff about it. However, I am not certain that I could manage it. I know I can manage with parts of it because I have, but I am not familiar with the entire "thing" for lack of a technical term.

Thanks!

Carol

[Websquad]

As best I can tell, your hosting provider is the party that installs cPanel, and it is NOT freeware: a one-year license is $425, and a one-time license with only one year's support is $1499.99. Clearly, this is something a hosting provider would do in a reseller environment so the license fees can be spread to a number of customers. It is also not for the uninitiated to install. One of my clients uses a hosting provider who has only Windows 2003 Server based servers, and those folks have been working on bringing up cPanel in April or May, 2007. Note that the cPanel site indicates that it is "under development" for Windows 2003 Server.

So, bottom line, find a hosting provider that includes cPanel as part of their package. Most all of my sites are located with a hosting provider (a 100% Linux shop) that has a "reseller" account for $30/month that allows up to 15 domains ... I've been very pleased with their service.

Here are some tutorials in Flash that will give you a basic understanding of how you would interact with cPanel:

http://www.dewahost.com/tutorials_cpanelx.html

[flutem3]

Hi,

Thank you for the information on cPanel. I have looked at some of it, and I have filed it so I can check it out some more.

It appears to me the cPanel is included with Lunarpages. However, the entire package including hosting is much less by far than the sums you were mentioning.

Do they offer CPanel "lite" or what is the difference?

Thanks!

Carol

[David Gillaspey]

Hi Carol,

As Bob correctly points out, cPanel (a proprietary name for a web hosting account control panel) is merely something provided by web hosters for the benefit of customers, at no charge to customers.

Any web hosting company worth dealing with includes cPanel or an equivalent control panel free with a hosting account. The control panel saves the web hoster tons of money by enabling and empowering customers to manage many aspects of their website by themselves without having to rely upon tech support. Many web hosters offer a demo of their control panel so you can check it out before signing up for an account.

Personally, I would not choose a web hoster merely because they offer cPanel vs. another brand of control panel, but other members may have found cPanel to be measurably superior to other brands or homemade control panels.

My opinion, anyway.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[Websquad]

Thank you for the information on cPanel. I have looked at some of it, and I have filed it so I can check it out some more. It appears to me the cPanel is included with Lunarpages. However, the entire package including hosting is much less by far than the sums you were mentioning. Do they offer CPanel "lite" or what is the difference?

As best I can tell, there is no cPanel "lite" available.

I just read your "basic" hosting plan from Lunapages, and most of it is what I would expect. I think it is a little self serving to indicate that they have "flash support", when there are no server-side components to flash support. They will probably support Microsoft Expression Web (the replacement for FrontPage); alas, for most of the basic stuff I don't think you need anything special from the server (for some of the advanced ASP functions, however, you would want to pay a couple of dollars more each month and use a Windows server).

Remember, the $425/month (or whatever it was - I don't remember) for cPanel is spread out over the entire number of web sites on each server ... hundreds more than likely. I agree with David's comment: cPanel, when prorated to an individual account, costs very little, and allows you to do so much more than anyone other than a highly trained network and website administrator could do on his/her own. It is a good deal for the hosting service, and a good deal for the hosting customer.

[flutem3]

Hi, Bob, David, and all,

I appreciate your time. I am at the point in my learning which is dangerous...you know the expression, "She/he knows just enough to be dangerous." I think that is about where I am now. I have some ideas about doing our website differently as time goes by; however, I am not certain that I have the knowledge or wisdom to make wise choices.

That is why this place is so terrific. Most of you have had much more experience than I, at least it sounds like it to me. Therefore, this is a terrific "school" for me to attend.

I know a few other new (to computing) people have come to the forum but have left because "everyone was too far ahead of them." I try to get them back because if you are not ahead of me, how can I ever learn anything. However, because a couple of the people have been so new, I have contacted them off-list and offered my help.

That is how I learned about cPanel. One man was so upset and frustrated that he gave me his username ID and password. Then I got into his stuff and was able to teach him right on his website. Now, he is pretty much on his own. He is 86. You may remember that he wrote about sound. He now has it on the church website. The one thing that really bothers me is that he doesn't seem to see...or to mind that material is not aligned. :D I do!! But he has learned a lot, I have learned even more...and I have met a terrific person!! In fact, I have met a number of terrific people here. I am glad.

Thank you all!!!

Carol