What is .htaccess file? - apache

I am a beginner to Zend framework and I want to know more about the .htaccess file and its uses. Can somebody help me?
I found an example like this:
.htacess file
AuthName "Member's Area Name"
AuthUserFile /path/to/password/file/.htpasswd
AuthType Basic
require valid-user
ErrorDocument 401 /error_pages/401.html
AddHandler server-parsed .html

It's not part of PHP; it's part of Apache.
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/howto/htaccess.html
.htaccess files provide a way to make configuration changes on a per-directory basis.
Essentially, it allows you to take directives that would normally be put in Apache's main configuration files, and put them in a directory-specific configuration file instead. They're mostly used in cases where you don't have access to the main configuration files (e.g. a shared host).

.htaccess is a configuration file for use on web servers running the
Apache Web Server software.
When a .htaccess file is placed in a directory which is in turn 'loaded via the Apache Web Server', then the .htaccess file is detected and executed by the Apache Web Server software.
These .htaccess files can be used to alter the configuration of the Apache Web Server software to enable/disable additional functionality and features that the Apache Web Server software has to offer.
These facilities include basic redirect functionality, for instance if a 404 file not found error occurs, or for more advanced functions such as content password protection or image hot link prevention.
Whenever any request is sent to the server it always passes through .htaccess file. There are some rules are defined to instruct the working.

Below are some usage of htaccess files in server:
1) AUTHORIZATION, AUTHENTICATION: .htaccess files are often used to specify the security restrictions for the particular directory, hence the filename "access". The .htaccess file is often accompanied by an .htpasswd file which stores valid usernames and their passwords.
2) CUSTOMIZED ERROR RESPONSES: Changing the page that is shown when a server-side error occurs, for example HTTP 404 Not Found.
Example : ErrorDocument 404 /notfound.html
3) REWRITING URLS: Servers often use .htaccess to rewrite "ugly" URLs to shorter and prettier ones.
4) CACHE CONTROL: .htaccess files allow a server to control User agent caching used by web browsers to reduce bandwidth usage, server load, and perceived lag.
More info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Htaccess

You are allow to use php_value to change php setting in .htaccess file. Same like how php.ini did.
Example:
php_value date.timezone Asia/Kuala_Lumpur
For other php setting, please read http://www.php.net/manual/en/ini.list.php

Htaccess is a configuration file of apache which is used to make changes in the configuration on a directory basis.
Htaccess file is used to do changes in functions and features of the apache server.
Htaccess is used to rewrite the URL.
It is used to make site address protected.
Also to restrict IP addresses so on particular IP address site will not be opened

You can think it like php.ini files sub files.. php.ini file stores most of the configuration about php like curl enable disable. Where .htaccess makes this setting only for perticular directory and php.ini file store settings for its server' all directory...

It is not so easy to give out specific addresses to people say for a conference or a specific project or product.
It could be more secure to prevent hacking such as SQL injection attacks etc.

.htaccess file create in directory /var/www/html/.htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteRule ^ index.php [QSA,L]
</IfModule>

What
A settings file for the server
Cannot be accessed by end-user
There is no need to reboot the server, changes work immediately
It might serve as a bridge between your code and server
We can do
URL rewriting
Custom error pages
Caching
Redirections
Blocking ip's

Related

.htaccess file on localhost

I have a localhost on ubuntu 16. In the root localhost directory (/var/www/html/) i put this htaccess file.
AddDefaultCharset utf-8
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^index?$ index.php
When I type localhost/index apache says me
The requested URL /index was not found on this server.
Is that an error in Apache configuration?
Basicly I want to make redirects to index.php in the root of my site and here I want to parse something like this localhost/cart/item/1 to array and then realize MVC. I am new in web dev and do not realy understand how can I do it, please help me.
You have to enable the interpretation of such dynamic configuration files (".htaccess" style files) first. They are disabled by default, since they slow down the server considerably. Usually it is preferable to place such rules directly in the servers static configuration files.
To enable them take a look at the AllowOverride command: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html#allowoverride
<Directory "/var/www/html">
AllowOverride All
</Directory>
So since you have to modify that configuration anyway... why don't you place your rewrite rules in there too? Easier, more robust and faster too...
Apart from that it sometimes is a good idea to implement rewrite rules in such way that they work in both locations, the http servers (virtual) host configuration and dynamic configuration files:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^/?index/?$ index.php [L]
And a general hint: you should always prefer to place such rules inside the http servers host configuration instead of using dynamic configuration files (".htaccess"). Those files are notoriously error prone, hard to debug and they really slow down the server. They are only provided as a last option for situations where you do not have control over the host configuration (read: really cheap hosting service providers) or if you have an application that relies on writing its own rewrite rules (which is an obvious security nightmare).
Maybe you need to create a folder, and then, work in your application inside there. Ex:
Create a var/www/html/project;
Put yout .htaccess inside;
Work with your application inside that folder.

Can a .htaccess file be hacked?

On a subdomain I want to use only a .htaccess file for redirects. No PHP, no database or something else will be used. Can a .htaccess file still be hacked? What should I do to protect it?
The apache2.conf file has following lines by default which prevent viewing of htaccess files:
#
# The following lines prevent .htaccess and .htpasswd files from being
# viewed by Web clients.
#
<FilesMatch "^\.ht">
Require all denied
</FilesMatch>
It will not be visible under standard Apache setup which blocks all files starting with.ht from being served. So nobody will be able to view the contents or get at it through the Apache front-end. Take the usual precaution of having it be 644 permissions and not owned by the user that Apache runs as. No extra security needed outside of protecting your server generally.
Check that the standard protection is in place, so it can't be viewed. Easiest way is just to try visiting it in a web browser. You should get a 403 forbidden.
If you're worried you could put the rules in the main server config instead. I wouldn't worry as long as the above is in place.

Can't remove index.php without 404 error

I'm using Joomla 2.5 and Apache and I have followed this steps:
1- mod_rewrite module is eneabled? YES
2- htaccess.txt renamed to .htaccess
3- set "Use URL Rewriting" to YES.
And this is what I get:
Not Found
The requested URL /about-us was not found on this server.
The web is located in /var/www/
The .htaccess is located in /var/www/
And this is my .htaccess: http://pastebin.com/dq1TYs1t
Thanks for the help.
Since you said allowoverride was set to none, your .htaccess file will be ignored. You need to set allowoverride to all the other option is leave allowoverride at none, and take the contents of the .htaccess file and incorporate it into your apache configuration file. This has the benefit of being slightly faster as apache doesn't need to look in directory tree for .htaccess files (they are really good to allow users that don't have access to the configs the ability to override the base settings, but if you have access to /var/www you should also have access to make changes to the config files.
There is no need to enable any mod_rewrite module.
Need to enable URL rewriting option in global configuration. Also need to rename htaccess.txt file to .htaccess.
please check there is no any third party component of security like admin tools are enable or installed which is blocking this mod rewrite option.

Set path to php.ini

Is it possible to have just a single php.ini file, for example in the webroot (or even outside of it to prevent people accessing it via GET), and tell PHP quickly and easily where it is?
I know you can set php.ini directives in .htaccess, but is it possible to define a specific php.ini file to be used?
Add this to your server configuration...
<VirtualHost 1.2.3.4:80>
PHPINIDir /path/to/new/php_ini
</VirtualHost>
Make sure to just include the path to the directory, not the entire path to the file.
Then restart Apache.
Check it worked with phpinfo().
Have a look at .user.ini section at the php docs.
Since PHP 5.3.0, PHP includes support for .htaccess-style INI files on
a per-directory basis.
But beside the .unser.ini solution you can place an additional ini file in the "additional .ini files parsed" directory. There you can use one single ini file to overwrite all other settings. Name it with zzz at the beginning and it will be parsed at last. This is also easy for your hoster to deploy without destroying his settings.
Kolink, I suspect that you are on a shared hosting service, in which case your host may be using something called suPHP. In this case -- as you describe -- the PHPINIDir directive doesn't work, in which case there is a suPHP_ConfigPath directive.
In terms of access, I have a standard mod_rewrite in my DOCROOT/.htaccess:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
# if a forbidden directory or file name (starting with a . or /) then raise 404 Fatal
RewriteRule (^|/)[_.] - [F]
What this does is forbid any request for any filename or directory prefixed by . or _. I have a DOCROOT/_private where I keep this stuff for me:
suPHP_ConfigPath DOCROOT/_private
where you will need to replace DOCROOT by your local setting on your service. Look for DOCUMENT_ROOT in a phpinfo() listing.

PHP: How to code .htaccess to make it work both on localhost & online without editing

I have a .htaccess file & I currently I am working on localhost. For a 404 page error, I have the following code in the .htaccess file:
ErrorDocument 404 /my_local_domain/404.php
But when I upload this file to my website online, the functionality of the file breaks. It no longer shows the 404.php page. It works if I modify the code in the .htaccess file of my online website to the following:
ErrorDocument 404 /404.php
Now all through the changes that I do in the .htaccess file, I would have to remember to remove the domain name before I upload it to the website or I risk breaking the functionality. So with this in mind, here are my questions:
1. How do I solve the above problem without needing to edit the .htaccess file each time (by stripping it off the my_local_domain) I make a change & upload it online?
2. How do I setup 404 page redirection for all the nested folders? (I don't want to setup a .htaccess file for each of the folders. A single .htaccess file that resides in the root folder of the website & controls all the redirection for all the sub-folders would be awesome)
All help is appreciated.
Thank you.
I believe you have two different issues here.
First of all, you should not need to have different paths in development and live site. It appears that you've configured your local Apache to host only one site and each actual sites goes in a subdirectory. It's not a good idea: you'll soon be mixing cookies and sessions between all your dev sites. Have a look at the name based virtual hosts feature: you can configure as many independent sites as you need. You don't even have to buy real domains in you set them in the hosts file.
Secondly, under certain circumstances it can be useful to have different Apache directives. I've been using the following trick.
Pick a keyword for the dev server, e.g. DEV_BOX.
Pass that keyword to Apache in the -D parameter. If you run it as service, you can run regedit and find the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Apache2.2\Parameters key. Append -D DEV_BOX to the ConfigArgs value. Restart Apache.
Now, you can use the <IfDefine> directive to set local directives:
-
#
# Common stuff
#
AddDefaultCharset UTF-8
#
# Local-only stuff
#
<IfDefine DEV_BOX>
Options +Indexes
</IfDefine>
#
# Live-only stuff
#
<IfDefine !DEV_BOX>
Options -Indexes
</IfDefine>
First of all I suggest you setup local domains for development. For example if you are developing a website which will go under www.example.com, you can setup a local.example.com in your HOSTS file. You'll do a VirtualHost setup in your apache and the .htaccess will then be the same.
Also, you can setup a build process (e.g via Ant) which will allow you to prepare and generate a zip file with the files which go on the live server. This build will feature the correct configuration files (db configs, mail servers, htaccess etc).