Any known dangers of PHPBB?

Plonking · 18-04-2004, 14:46

Hey all,

Following advice from a thread earlier on in the week, I think I'll be signing up to dear old I-web for my website pretty soon (no surprise there, then!). I've been thinking about adding a message board to my site using phpbb.. it looks quite good. Have any of you had any experience with using it? Any problems or pitfalls or dangers that I need to be aware of?

Cheers!

P

**Russ B** · 18-04-2004, 15:00

OK, firstly let's put this in the right forum area.....

**Russ B** · 18-04-2004, 15:02

...secondly, I use phpbb for the site in my sig - it's VERY easy to use, easier than vBulletin to set up although not as professional-looking.

It's a very good bit of kit

**Matt D** · 18-04-2004, 15:11

phpBB is great - not as featured as VBulletin, but it's v easy to use, & has the benefit of being free.

Have a look at: www.phpbb.com

Lots & lots of info there.

The latest version of phpBB is 2.0.8a - click here for the changelog

If you use I-Web for your hosting, adding a phpBB forum is extremely easy - all you do is log on to your I-Web cPanel, click the button to install phpBB (after quickly telling it where you want the forum located e.g. yourdomain/forum), et voila, you now have phpBB v2.0.8a installed.

www.forumimages.com has some excellent templates you can use to customise your forum, plus a few other things

www.phpbbhacks.com has (as the name says) hacks for phpBB, plus also has templates & other bits

homealone · 18-04-2004, 15:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plonking

Hey all,

Following advice from a thread earlier on in the week, I think I'll be signing up to dear old I-web for my website pretty soon (no surprise there, then!). I've been thinking about adding a message board to my site using phpbb.. it looks quite good. Have any of you had any experience with using it? Any problems or pitfalls or dangers that I need to be aware of?

Cheers!

P

don't know about phpbb, but I-Web's control panel has the facility to set up an Invision Power Board very, very easily. Just a few mouse clicks & tell it the path you want & a name for the forum & it is all set up for you, including the mysql database. - put it this way, If I could do it, anyone can

**Matt D** · 18-04-2004, 15:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by homealone

don't know about phpbb, but I-Web's control panel has the facility to set up an Invision Power Board very, very easily. Just a few mouse clicks & tell it the path you want & a name for the forum & it is all set up for you, including the mysql database. - put it this way, If I could do it, anyone can

It's the same for phpBB too using I-Web

couple of clicks & it's done

Plonking · 18-04-2004, 15:19

hey all,

thanks for the info

sorry i put this in the wrong place.. i keep doing stuff like that, i apologise for giving y'all extra work :P

I've downloaded the files for phpbb and everything and was reading the documentation.. the only bit I am confused on is the mySQL database thing - do I need to create my own beforehand? If so what would I need to do?

I had a quick test on this computer (with apache), and it chucked out some errors that were related to the fact that I had made no database to connect to. The documentation didn't really seem to say much about this database that I have to make! Maybe it's just a problem witht he fact that I am not doing it on a proper server (i mean, I have mySQL stuff installed on this pc, but have not got round to learning how to use it yet :P )

If it turns out to be too much of a nightmare, I think I'll follow homealone's advice and go for Invision - although I can't get I-web stuff til tomorrow due to there being no money in the bank!

Cheers,

P

homealone · 18-04-2004, 15:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tezcatlipoca

It's the same for phpBB too using I-Web

couple of clicks & it's done

Thanks Tez, didn't know that

**Matt D** · 18-04-2004, 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plonking

hey all,

thanks for the info

sorry i put this in the wrong place.. i keep doing stuff like that, i apologise for giving y'all extra work :P

I've downloaded the files for phpbb and everything and was reading the documentation.. the only bit I am confused on is the mySQL database thing - do I need to create my own beforehand? If so what would I need to do?

I had a quick test on this computer (with apache), and it chucked out some errors that were related to the fact that I had made no database to connect to. The documentation didn't really seem to say much about this database that I have to make! Maybe it's just a problem witht he fact that I am not doing it on a proper server (i mean, I have mySQL stuff installed on this pc, but have not got round to learning how to use it yet :P )

If it turns out to be too much of a nightmare, I think I'll follow homealone's advice and go for Invision - although I can't get I-web stuff til tomorrow due to there being no money in the bank!

Cheers,

P

Didn't you see this post or this post above?

If you use I-Web, you don't need to download phpBB & install it yourself, nor do you need to mess about setting up a mySQL database.

All you do, is log on to your I-Web control panel (http://yourdomain:2083), click on "Bulletin Board" or "Scripts library", select phpBB, enter the location you want the forum (e.g. yourdomain/forum), & hit install. It does it all for you: forum installation & database creation & set-up.

Another way, is to click on the "Fantastico" button, scroll down to the "Discussion Boards" section, & then choose phpBB.

Either way, it's very simple & you do not need to install it yourself or do anything with the database.

"Invision Power Board" is also available to install from the "Fantastico" section on the I-Web cPanel, although personally I prefer phpBB.

**Matt D** · 18-04-2004, 15:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by homealone

Thanks Tez, didn't know that

LOL, no prob.

There seems quite a lot of stuff "ready to go" in the I-Web cPanel

aliferste · 18-04-2004, 16:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tezcatlipoca

There seems quite a lot of stuff "ready to go" in the I-Web cPanel

Is that why its called "fantastico"?

willie · 18-04-2004, 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by aliferste

Is that why its called "fantastico"?

Could well be the case

But for those not familure with fantastico here is a list of the scripts that can be installed with the click of a few buttons and some basic questions answered......

Blogs:
b2 (0.6.1)
b2evolution (0.8.6.2)
Nucleus (2.0)
pMachine Free (2.3)
WordPress (1.0.1)

Portals/CMS:
Drupal (4.4.0)
Geeklog (1.3.9)
Mambo Open Source (4.5(1.0.5))
PHP-Nuke (7.1)
phpWCMS (1.1-RC2)
phpWebSite (0.9.3-2 english)
Post-Nuke (0.7.2.6-1)
Siteframe (3.1.2)
Xoops (2.0.6)

Customer Support:
Crafty Syntax Live Help (2.7)
Help Center Live (1.2.4)
osTicket (1.2.5)
PHP Support Tickets (1.7)
Support Logic Helpdesk (1.2)
Support Services Manager (1.0b)

Discussion Boards:
Invision Board (1.3.1)
phpBB2 (2.0.8a)
YaBBSE (1.5.5c)

E-Commerce:
CubeCart (2.0.1)
OS Commerce (2.2 MS2)

FAQ:
FAQMasterFlex (1.0)

Image Galleries:
4images Gallery (1.7)
Coppermine Photo Gallery (1.2.1)
Gallery (1.4.2)

Mailing List:
PHPlist (2.8.3)

Polls and Surveys:
Advanced Poll (2.03)
phpESP (1.6.1)
PHPSurveyor (0.98rc8)

Project Management:
PHProjekt (4.1.1)
dotProject (1.0.2)

Wiki:
PhpWiki (1.2)
TikiWiki (1.8)
Other Scripts:
Moodle (1.2.1)
NoahÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Classifieds (1.3)
Open-Realty (1.1.5b)
phpAdsNew (2.0)
PHPauction (2.1)
phpCOIN (1.2.0)
phpFormGenerator (2.07b)
phpLinks (2.1.2)
WebCalendar (0.9.43)

As you can see there is quite a large selection to choose from also this is being updated on a regular basis i am sure you will find a script in there that will meet any of your requirements.

Plonking · 18-04-2004, 19:14

Heya,

Ah that's very cunning that it does it all for you! There was me trying to be all prepared and there was no need after all

Sorry Tez if it seemed like I was ignoring your original point that I-web offer lots of setup stuff, but I think, by the time stamp on your message, it meant that I was tapping my reply whilst you were making yours, and I didn't check to see if anyone had replied again.. so I guess our posts must have crossed each other ! Sorry 'bout that!

I was a bit concerned about how easy it would be to set up - I got scared after installing apache turned into a nightmare! Was getting a bit worried that I was 'out of my league' so to speak, but I'll have a go with it and stuff 'cos it sounds cool

Are there any general tips you might have about the 'security' side of php? I've read lots of stuff about it, but most of it applies to stuff with databases - am I mostly safe? Is there anything I should watch out for?

I've read it's best to make sure any files you include are in .php rather than in lots of examples that I've seen that end .inc because if you call up the .inc file the browser spits it out in text and people can use that info to get into your systems... but apart from that, is tehre anything else I need to worry about?

P

willie · 18-04-2004, 19:37

As long as you keep an eye on the site you got your script from they usually are pretty good at spotting any security issues with it and post any and all fixes for it so if you keep the board upto date then it should be fine.

zoombini · 19-04-2004, 11:54

The dangers of pfpBB?

Its addictive, its esy enough to inbstall, modify & upgrade.
There is plenty of help for it & IMO its the best freeware BBs software available.