osCommerce and DreamHost Compatible???

Hello Everyone,

If you look up my list of recent topics I've entered in the oscommerce forum (http://oscommerce.org), you'll see that I've been recovering from:

1. Malware Attack that brought my site (http://menswork.org) and my store (OSC2.2 MS2) down on 09/11
2. DreamHost Unannounced Upgrade to MySQL5
3. DreamHost Unannounced Upgrade to PHP5 that simultaneously included disabling register_globals without warning

I have cleansed my site and store of the malware cr** and got back up and running fine.

And I have found and implemented (I think, at least) the fix for 1054 error caused by the MySQL5 upgrade (related to the "from join left" queries).

I have found and implemented (I think, at least) the fix for the register_globals disabling.

However, my store (http://menswork.org/catalog/) continues to be broken. Sadly, no one has responded to my last two posts on the osCommerce forum, (1) Product Listings Broken - Please, Please Help of Sep. 17, 2009, and (2) Admin: Error with Function.Include of Sep. 17, 2009.

Today, Sep. 18, 2009, I discussed my store "brokenness" with one of the vendors (nameless) that does osCommerce customization and support for fee. They were unwilling to even give me quote to help me get fixed until I move my domain to a hosting provider that allows register_globals to be enabled. They said that osCommerce (any version level) will absolutely not work on a hosting service that insists on register_globals being disabled.

So, my question, the 64 million dollar question, is, "Are they correct?" osCommerce (any version level) will absolutely not work on the DreamHost hosting service that insists on register_globals being disabled????

If that is so, I've got to abandon any effort to fix my store hosted on DreamHost and move!

Oh, by the way, before the malware attack, this store has been operating for successfully for the last five years.

I'm eager to see what you experts have to offer.

Thanks and Cheers,
Rich

ps. On osCommerce forum, I got a reply to the above that says that yes, osCommerce 2.2 RC2a will definitely run in a register_globals disabled environment. Any DreamHost hosted store owners/admins have an opinion?

OsCommerce can most certainly run with register_globals OFF. What did you try so far, and what is (still) broken on your site?




How To Install PHP.INI / ionCube on DreamHost

In reply to:

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So, my question, the 64 million dollar question, is, "Are they correct?" osCommerce (any version level) will absolutely not work on the DreamHost hosting service that insists on register_globals being disabled????

If that is so, I've got to abandon any effort to fix my store hosted on DreamHost and move!

---

I don't know how familiar you are with the issue, so I'll start from the beginning. CGI scripts get input from a couple of different channels - post data, query string, environment variables, PHP settings. So when writing code you expect to have to address a certain channel to get the data and store it in your own variable. PHP started out with a shortcut - it would make the variables for you! This shortcut is called register_globals. However it now made it easier for hackers to exploit PHP scripts by overwriting all types of variables. So for now it's a great idea to disable it and PHP 6 won't be able to do it anymore period. And given that your site was already exploited once I'm sure you wouldn't want to increase the changes of it happening again by moving to a less secure hosting environment.













Customer since 2000 openvein.org

Thank you, sXi, for you vote of confidence.

If you're on the osCommerce forums, I've posted a number of threads there under the user name, "niganit."

My last poster there was Can You Really Run OSC2.2 MS2 with register_globals disabled. I did get some affirmative responses, but recommended that I upgrade to osCommerce 2.2RC2a to make everything work.

You can see that I have been able to view my store at http://www.menswork.org/catalog/index.php, but when I follow the link to http://www.menswork.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=21 I get this error:

Error!

Unable to determine the page link!

That last page should show all my products. We only have three products in this store:
1. Men (20+)
2. first youth
3. additional youth

When I follow the link to any one of these products, say "Men (20+)" I get the following error:

Product not found!

Error!

Unable to determine the page link!

And then in my Admin area I get the following errors at the top of the page:

Warning: include(includes/languages/english/) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/niganit2/menswork.org/catalog/admin/includes/application_top.php on line 158

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'includes/languages/english/' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/php5/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/niganit2/menswork.org/catalog/admin/includes/application_top.php on line 158

Besides using the contribution Register Globals Easy http://addons.oscommerce.com/info/5729 to help me get beyond the register_globals issue, in that I can now at least view http://www.menswork.org/catalog/index.php. I also used the http://addons.oscommerce.com/info/4654 contribution to fix a 1054 error.

This catalog also has the PWA (Pay without Account) contribution installed, also "My Homepage," and an eqrly version of "Options Type."

So, do I need to upgrade to 2.2RC2a now? I would rather find a way to ffix for now, because our event starts on Oct. 11, 2009, so I don't have much time. the upgrade to 2.2RC2a looks like a very big job, and I think I must be very close in MS2 to be able to display my products???

Any help would be most appreciated.

Thanks and Cheers,
Rich

The patch that springs to mind was written by Richard Bentley years ago and was titled simply "register_globals". Maybe a search for his name over at the oc site will bring some relevant info up. I do think it wise that you upgrade to the latest release of osCommerce as a priority.




How To Install PHP.INI / ionCube on DreamHost

Thanks for reply,

I did installed the contribution, "Register Globals Easy http://addons.oscommerce.com/info/5729"

So I can get to my index. I just can't display my new product list.

Got any ideas, short of upgrading, to fix my problem?

Thanks,
Rich

That's not the patch I mentioned

I'd strongly suggest you upgrade, but you could also undo any patches you've
tried and have a search around for Richard's register_globals patch.

The best advice is that you upgrade, of course.




How To Install PHP.INI / ionCube on DreamHost