So you need to restore a MySQL database from the files which were on a server and don’t have a proper SQL dump which you can just easily import, d’oh! Below is a brief example from a WAMP server of how this can be done. Before starting you should stop the WAMP services, or at least restart the services when prompted to start them. On the old server instance navigate to the MySQL data folder by default this should look something similar to “C:\wamp\bin\mysql\mysql5.1.53\data\” … Continue reading →

Here’s a quick and simple guide to creating a short script to backup your MYSQL databases for your WAMP server. To do this we will create a .bat file using notepad, or your favourite text editor, you can then even go onto automating the execution of this script using the in-built Windows Task Scheduler. I won’t bother going into detail, if you’ve already setup a WAMP server I assume you’re pretty capable with a computer already and the script is only … Continue reading →

There are numerous reason you may wish to redirect an old webpage or file on your webserver to a new location, typically however this is used when moving web address or trying to improve your search engine ranking. Duplication can count against you in certain search engine rankings, this includes the same document reachable from different URLs, for example http://techhack.co.uk/ and http://www.techhack.co.uk/index.php and http://www.techhack.co.uk/ and http://www.techhack.co.uk/index.php all point towards the same file, however this can be viewed from four different … Continue reading →

“Hot Linking” also known as “bandwidth stealing” relates to websites linking directly to non-html objects not on their own server, such as images, scripts, pdf’s etc. The victim’s server in this case is deprived of bandwidth as the hot linked file is served to a client. Meaning the offending website is able to provide content without the cost of the bandwidth. Using a .htaccess file, you can disallow hot linking on your server. Syntax: RewriteEngine <state> RewriteCond [rule-condition] [! – … Continue reading →

Apache web servers implement the use of .htaccess (hypertext access) files to govern the way information is managed for a client. These directory-level configuration files are placed inside a web tree and allow for decentralized management of a web server’s configuration, capable of overriding the server’s global configuration. The original purpose of .htaccess was to allow per-directory access control (e.g. requiring a password to access specific content). Today .htaccess can override many other configuration settings, commonly related to content control … Continue reading →