Just found we can host our own site on our Macs!

[jcarter]

Looking in a MacLife magazine, I saw a way to host your own site, rather complex, but it said there was an easy way,,,,,,,so I looked at the instructions, wow, there it is really simple!
But my questions are, does this allow anybody to get into your computer?  Or can anybody outside our own household network see it?
Here it is,
http://192.168.1.3/~Jane/
If there is any danger with leaving it on, I will disable Web Sharing right now.
Thanks,
Jane

[Xairbusdriver]

The problem is not so much the ability of anyone getting into your computer, you can make unix even more difficult to hack. But, without having a static IP address, people will not be able to easily visit your site. Most ISPs renew your 'lease' on a schedule. Of course, you can use a service that puts a little app on you machine that monitors your assigned address and changes where they send people who access the IP they will give you, it's basically a 're-direct' system.

However, you might get a nasty letter from your ISP if/when your traffic becomes suspiciously high. Most IPSs specifically restrict using your 'residential' connection for use as an Internet server. They'll usually be quite happy to 'give' you a static address and higher bandwidth allowances for a 'small' extra fee, of course.

I suspect most people enable Apache so they can access their own machines on the LAN or to use it during web  development. I've never bothered to use it as I have enough space on the hosting service to test pages/php/etc. without affecting any live sites. YMMV. I think Apache has been installed since Jaguar, maybe even 10.1. But it's certainly easier to enable now.

[jcarter]

Could you see it?
 Its not there if the machine goes to sleep.  I just tried it from this mac and had to wake up the new one to see it.
I wont have any traffic because nobody knows about it except TS.  I think that number is my router address?
This is fun to learn new stuff.
Jane

[dolphin]

QUOTE(jcarter @ Oct 23 2009, 08:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Could you see it?
 Its not there if the machine goes to sleep.  I just tried it from this mac and had to wake up the new one to see it.
I wont have any traffic because nobody knows about it except TS.  I think that number is my router address?
This is fun to learn new stuff.
Jane

I couldn't see it Jane.  It timed out saying it was taking too long.

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

Could you see it?

Of course. Anyone who finds the IP number could see whatever you allow them to see. That's the point, "Sharing" what's on you machine. How, what and with whom is up to you, of course. No one has to know your IP address (your router MAC address is important only to your ISP, no one else ever sees it or cares, really). There are ways to 'find' your IP number, even if it is only a temporary one.

As I understand it, the ISP uses the router MAC address to know who is at the end of the IP address, obviously for accounting purposes. That's why they have that number recorded when they 'give' you a router' or ask you for it when you buy one. They basically then attach that number similarly as a "port" number to the end of your assigned IP address. It's simply how they know where to send info you've requested to the right place. It's your ID as far as they are concerned, you are just a non-human, MAC address number to them!

"Stuff" is fun to learn, but it is important to learn enough to be aware of any dangers, problems, expenses and capabilities before attempting to put that information to practical use. It is one thing to know all the fundamentals of flight, a completely different one to build and aircraft and actually fly it! "Curiosity killed the chemist!" "A little knowledge can be a dangerous experience!"

[Paddy]

Jane, 192.168.x.x is a PRIVATE IP address - nobody in the outside world will be able to see it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_network

And don't try to run a web site at home (it is possible - but you'd need a bit more configuration than just clicking on internet sharing) - your ISP WILL cancel your service if they discover you're doing that. It's specifically prohibited in the terms of service. There are way too many cheap ISPs out there who offer lots of great services at a miniscule price to risk your broadband connection at home.

I've just signed one of my clients up with http://www.dinsol.com - $37/year for oodles of room & bandwidth, CPanel, etc. Already I've noticed their servers are FAST - faster than than the ones at GoDaddy where the site was hosted before. Sandbox recommended them, so I'm trying 'em out. They also have a $19/yr plan that would be enough for many.

Another host that gets raves is http://www.arvixe.com/ (I mean real raves - not those paid-for "reviews")

[jcarter]

Thank you all for the great explanations.    Without TS, I would never try some of this stuff. Security I know very little about.

I have Comcast for our ISP, they are expensive but very fast, no complaints so far.
The TV part leaves a bit to be desired, but we aren't avid TV watchers, so it doesn't bother us much.

For my webhost I use, MacHighway, actually I think I found about them here. The main reason I went with them is phone tech support. And they specialize in Mac people I guess.
Had a bit of trouble with the cpanel, as they have some of us on a 'legacy' server which has no cpanel. Its OK by me. But when they lost the other server, they let us switch over to the new one for no cost.
And now I do have the cpanel on my other site.  When I need extra help, I can call, and they are really nice about explaining stuff that sometimes is out of the realm of their official tech support info.

The dinsol webhost is neat, Ive been looking at some of their tutorials.
Jane

[FLASH1296]

Firstly, securing your Mac with a password is a no-brainer.

Secondly, as you assuredly have a dynamic i.p. address

you simply get a FREE "redirected" I.P. account.

Thus you will give friends and anyone who you want to have access to your Mac

a link that will look something like   janesgoodfiles.no-ip.com

Then, if the person goes to Finder's Connect to SERVER command (command-K)

in the Finder "GO" menu - on the Finder Menu Bar,

they will simply enter the password that you have provided and VOILA !

The best is no-ip.com

http://www.no-ip.com/

Also very good is dyndsl.com

http://www.dyndns.com/about/

[jcarter]

Hi Flash,
That sounds neat! But if we arent home, our computers are off.  Nor would I want anybody to have access to our Macs, friends maybe, but Im not really sure what could be done with that.  Our kids would be a yes, they could log in from their houses.  Within our house everything is networked so that we can see or play with any of the Macs. But outside the house, for people outside the family,,,,,I would have to think about that.
Yes, I could put in a password, but then we would have to enter it here at home as well.  

no-ip.com looks neat too, though nothing would connect if our machines were off.
I tried that with the link I put in this morning with friends, only works till the machine goes to sleep.

Ive learned a lot this morning!
Jane

[FLASH1296]

Firstly, Macs should not be turned off unless you are going to be away for several days, otherwise they simply sleep or hibernate.

The password is not an issue for you and family as the administrators can have BLANK passwords.

[jcarter]

Yes, I LOVE blank passwords.

When my other Mac sleeps, you cant get to that link.
http://192.168.1.3/~Jane/
I will keep it one on for a while. Just run a slide show with Preview does it, so I dont have to change my settings.

[Paddy]

In order to have your Mac work as a server, you'd have to set the energy saver prefs to have it never sleep. (you can let the monitor sleep, however) Web servers don't sleep.

But as I noted, only people within your own network can reach the 192.168.x.x URL. Anything else requires something along the lines of what Flash mentions. But again - not an especially good idea to try to run a web server on residential broadband.

From Comcast's list of Prohibited Uses and Activities:

QUOTE

• use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local area network (“Premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, e-mail, Web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;

http://www.comcast.net/terms/use/

[jchuzi]

QUOTE(FLASH1296 @ Oct 23 2009, 03:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The password is not an issue for you and family as the administrators can have BLANK passwords.

Yes, but there's a problem with that in 10.5 and, presumably, 10.6. If you opt to use sudo in Terminal, a blank password will not be accepted. In addition, File Salvage requires a password in order to launch it and FS does not accept a blank password either. There may be other instances of problems with blank passwords but those are the two that I know.

[jcarter]

Whew, this is getting beyond me now. I just thought I would try something that was installed on my new Mac.  I like to experiment around with stuff in the Mac magazines.
Though I will try most anything that is fun,,,, if its not bad for the computer.
Jane
 

[sandbox]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Oct 23 2009, 11:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jane, 192.168.x.x is a PRIVATE IP address - nobody in the outside world will be able to see it.

I've just signed one of my clients up with http://www.dinsol.com - $37/year for oodles of room & bandwidth, CPanel, etc. Already I've noticed their servers are FAST - faster than than the ones at GoDaddy where the site was hosted before. Sandbox recommended them, so I'm trying 'em out. They also have a $19/yr plan that would be enough for many.

They seem to be working out OK so far Paddy.

Jane, I ran a server at my office for a while, and it's better to use server software.
Your computer will always be running, so try not to use a large multiple drive CPU.
The new MiNi servers would be great, and for $1000 they're a bargain.
I needed a commercial account with a dedicated IP address to legally operate a server, I ran it without the account for a few weeks before I decided, just to see if it would be useful. After a few months I decided that i didn't want to be operating servers. It's a 24/7 job and I was doing it as a favor for local non-profits. When web hosts became less expensive I convinced everyone that it was better to have their sites on a 24/7 host.