Scripts for AVS and Free Sites?

[Dravyk]

Originally Posted by ecchi

using an "off the peg" script is like wearing a big old badge saying "Want to hack my site? Here's how".

Hi Ecchi, I know this was not directed at me, so I'll not it take it personally. I know you're talking generally. That said, I still have to strongly disagree with your statement.

First, in terms of general scripts that are off the rack, if we're talking about PhpNuke or something, then yes, everybody keeps the scripts the place they are installed. Now while that may make it easier to hack those scripts, knowing where the admins are located and their structure, it still does not necessarily mean they are open to be hacked.

Webmasters have to take precautions! Change passwords in configs, change the "key" in Nuke, add htaccess files, etc. But only complete dopes who put something up and leave the default logins unchanged would actually be open to attack. (And even then, I wouldn't call it a hack, per se; a five year old can figure out the avowed location and put in "admin" and "test" or whatever!) Anyways, that for general scripts of that type.

Secondly, with a program such as Content God, specifically, nobody even knows that it is being used by the webmaster!! There is absolutely nothing in the galleries or sites created that lead back to, nor in any other way indicate, that a script was ever used to make them.

And, it can be placed in any domain, any directory, any location anywhere on the server that the customer wants it to be. Combined with the normal precautions, this particular off the peg program is NOT in any way prone to be hacked, I can assure you.

I'd like to see some examples of sites created with it, and get their opinion of the program.

Ann, we have an on-site public working demo that creates real (albeit ugly) sites and galleries.

You call also contact us at support and I'm sure we can dig up some TGP galleries and possibly some free sites that have been made up. I'm honestly in doubt about having any handy AVS sites around, as there hasn't been a big call for that in recent years, but again you can test it out on the live demo. And again ask us any questions. Thanks.

[ecchi]

No my comments were not aimed at "Content God" but at the use of scripts in general. And sorry if my comments pissed on your salespitch, I had not realised anyone was pushing their own scripts, if I had I would have chosen my words more carefully.

If you don't know how to write Perl then yes, you do have to buy other people's scripts, and please don't take my post to be aimed at any particular script mentioned in this thread, or anywhere else. However if you do use "off the peg" scripts take careful note of what Dravyk says about security ("Change passwords in configs..................a five year old can figure out the avowed location and put in "admin" and "test" or whatever!"). However do not assume that doing this makes you 100% safe, it does not, it just makes you safer.

But that said, if you are serious about making money in this business I strongly urge you to learn Perl. Not only is it safer, it also means you can write the scripts exactly the way you want them, and it is often cheaper (I have several scripts I wrote in 3 or 4 hours that I would have had to work several days to earn enough to pay for a commercial version). Plus you get into the habit of looking at every job you do and thinking "can I write a script to do this that will save me time". I literally could not do everything in a day that I currently do in a day if Perl did not do a lot of the repetitive work for me. And a lot of the jobs it does are so "me specific" that I don't think there are commercial scripts that would help.