Posted by Jon on 12/09/05 16:50

"Andy" <Andy@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:6f2dnXPUMLK2XAXeRVn-gg@rogers.com...
>I am new to PHP so need to ask you something. I read some posts in Forums
>that many free php scripts contain a spyware code, so programmers can
>collect your data. For example they can stole collected members e-mail
>addresses or even transaction infos. I read that many hackers download
>freeware scripts than they put a malicious code and than they post it on
>net waiting for their "victims". Please tell me how I can find out if my
>script contains that code ? Where to look for and how this code looks like
>? Right now what I am doing is testing php scripts by HomeSite program. I
>check php file for all links included in that file. But I noticed that
>HomeSite can be fooled and doesn't show all links.
>

Well, you always have full access to any scripts you download, and I know
that I personally go through any scripts I use to make sure that the code is
"good" (algorithmically, aesthetically, etc), so if there's spyware in there
you should be able to catch it. Otherwise, you can always be safe by
searching for pre-written scripts just to get the algorithm used, or
particular functions you may not have known about.

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