SharonM Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 Hi There, First can I say that I have been using TNG v9 since 2012 and I love it. 😃 Secondly I need to confess that I am completely out of my depth when it comes to talking about servers, php files, SQL etc and all that sort of thing, so please treat me gently and excuse the ignorance which I am bound to show. It is also the reason why I have never upgraded to later versions of TNG - I remember the confusion and difficulty i had setting up my website initially, but, after a few months it was up and running and for my simple needs works perfectly and still does. Finally, I should let you know that I don't get chance to do genealogy much these days, and it must be nearly 2 years since I updated the data on my website (although my desktop software (Family Historian 6.2) was last updated in Nov 2017. It is because I now want to update my website data that I have logged into my hosting server, and noticed what may or may not be a problem - hence this post as I am unsure what, if anything, I need to do. I think my problem might be related to chMod codes - which I understand are about file permissions. Having logged onto my hosting server, I have seen that some of the TNG software files in the main (root?) folder are highlighted in red - this is something that wasn't happening before. These files all have permission codes of 666. All of the other files have codes of 664; some folders have 755 and others 711, but these are not highlighted so presumably are ok. I have looked in some of the subfolders and the files in them seem to be ok, with the exception of the genback folder - every file in there is highlighted in red even though they have chmod codes of 664. In total there about 10 txt and php files in the main folder - eg adminlog.txt and config.php, and all the bak files - about 32 - in the genbak folder. The last time I logged onto the host server a couple of years ago, nothing was highlighted so something must have changed. Is anyone able to tell me whether I have a problem and if so what I need to do to fix it? (I am keeping my fingers crossed I don't have to re-install TNG) Thank you for your help, SharonM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lloyd Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 If you have not made any changes at all then I would suggest you contact your hosting provider - they should be able to tell you what has changed over the time period ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayat1familytree Posted June 15, 2018 Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Sharon, Is your web site online now? If So a link that would help when diagnosing problems. Have you made any changes to the TNG code for your site (Other than the fields inputted via the Admin Menu Panel? If not, it might be good to upgrade to the newest version and rest easier about security and performance. (It's a lot easier to set up than it used to be.) (and if you start with a new ver 12 and not try to upgrade your online files, when you create the database most all permissions are set at that time.) If you only have 10 files in your main folder, something is wrong as there should be close to 500. I use FileZilla to FTP (transfer) files fro my desktop to the server and one feature is a "compare", so you can see what is different between the folders on your desktop vs what on the server. You can also adjust file permissions thru FileZilla. Hope that helps, Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted June 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Thank you for your replies. My website is online, is working fine as far as I can tell and has been ever since I installed it 6 years ago. I'm happy to provide the link, but the problem is only apparent when I log on to my hosting server and view the files there. The website is at http://parcel-of-rogues.org.uk/ . I definitely haven't changed any TNG code since installation, and I don't recall having changed any during installation. I realise I may have to re-install or upgrade, but I'm hoping that will be a last resort. There are lots of files in the main folder, but only 10 are highlighted and they have chmod code 666. Is that code correct? I don't use FTP software, I upload files directly by logging on to the server, but I haven't uploaded/changed any TNG code files since it was installed 6 years ago. The only things I upload are media files - documents, photos etc - when I am updating my genealogy data. The Gedcom I upload using the Import/export options in the Admin panel of the TNG software. Can anyone tell me if the chMod code of 666 on some txt and php files, and all bak files is OK, or have I been hacked? Or are the files expired in some way? If they need codes changing, what code should I use and can I do it without having to reinstall the whole software? Through FileZilla perhaps? I will also contact my hosting provider and see if they can throw any light on why the files have been highlighted. I appreciate your help, thank you, Regards, Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted June 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 For extra clarification - the files which are highlighted in my main folder are the ONLY files in that folder with chmod of 666. All the rest have 664. This is why I thought maybe the problem assuming it is a problem) is related to the chmod code. It was only when I started looking in some of the other folders that I found files highlighted in the genbak folder which have chmod of 664, which seems to undermine my theory. (The genbak folder itself has chmod of 755). At the time of installation, I would have accepted the default chmod codes for all the files in the installation. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted June 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 I have been in touch with my hosting provider and they have told me that these files have been highlighted because the permissions are none standard. They tell me it is nothing to worry about, which is a relief, but still begs the question, are the codes correct? What does TNG require them to be? Are there any security issues if I leave the codes as they are, or should I change them to be in line with all the rest of the files - ie 644? (Which I now know I can do through the hosting console on the host server) To remind you, it is some txt and php files in the main folder and all the bak files in the genbak folder which are affected. I very much appreciate your help, Regards, Sharon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Roy Posted June 15, 2018 Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Maybe your host implemented Suexec which allows running scripts run as the user in whose directory they are installed. My host (ICDSoft) runs that way. PHP files that have permissions of 666 and are executed return a 500 internal system error code. .txt files with 666 permissions like the genlog.txt file and the ...config.php files with those permissions are not an issue because they are not executed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted June 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Ken Roy - Yes I think something like that is going on. According to my provider they recognise 644 for files and and 711 for folders as being standard permissions. Anything else is highlighted by them. I honestly don't know enough about permissions to know if the current settings of 666 and 664 have always been that or whether they have been changed somehow and now present a security risk, or even whether the permissions of some files get changed during the normal execution of the software program. If I hadn't had logged onto the host server for another reason, I would never have known there was anything 'non-standard' about the permissions. So finally - am I ok to ignore this highlighting then and leave the file permissions as they are? I don't want to fix something that 'ain't broke', but my worry is that my site may have be hacked and they have changed the permissions to allow them greater access or something. Regards, Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Roy Posted June 15, 2018 Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Sharon, The ...log.txt files have always had permissions 666 and I maybe the ...config.php files also. You only need 644 for the files. You might need 664 if you allowed Darrin or some other TNG user to FTP fixes into your site. So 644 or 664 should be OK. If your host highlights 664 you might change them to 644. I don't think is a security issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted June 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Ken Roy - Thank you very much for this information, it sets my mind at rest. Now you mention it, I do very vaguely remember getting some intensive help from Darrin about something years ago. Sounds like that must have been when the bak files were changed, but I can't for the life of me remember what the issues were then (old age setting in ). I think in that case, I'll just leave everything as it is so as not to mess anything up. I'll also make a prominent note about this for me to find when I next look at the files in another couple of years and have forgotten all about this conversation! Haha! Thank you again. I shall now get back to updating my data so my website is in line with my desktop software. Very grateful regards, Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.JPG.6173285cf3428c51605449774a8a1739.JPG)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.