Microsoft Access
  Home arrow Microsoft Access arrow Locking down your Access Database by Carl ...
ASP Free Forums 
.NET  
ASP  
ASP Code  
ASP.NET  
ASP.NET Code  
BrainDump  
C#  
Code Examples  
Database  
Database Code  
IIS  
Microsoft Access  
MS SQL Server  
Silverlight  
Visual Basic.NET  
Windows Scripting  
Windows Security  
XML  
Mobile Linux 
App Generation ROI 
IBM® developerWorks 
ASP Web Hosting  
ASP.NET Web Hosting 
Windows Web Hosting
 
Weekly Newsletter
 
Developer Updates  
Free Website Content 
 RSS  Articles
 RSS  Forums
 RSS  All Feeds
Write For Us Get Paid 
Request Media Kit
Contact Us 
Site Map 
Privacy Policy 
Support 
 USERNAME
 
 PASSWORD
 
 
  >>> SIGN UP!  
  Lost Password? 
MICROSOFT ACCESS

Locking down your Access Database by Carl McDade
By: Carl_McDade
  • Search For More Articles!
  • Disclaimer
  • Author Terms
  • Rating: 5 stars5 stars5 stars5 stars5 stars / 18
    2003-01-01

    Table of Contents:

    Rate this Article: Poor Best 
      ADD THIS ARTICLE TO:
      Del.ici.ous Digg
      Blink Simpy
      Google Spurl
      Y! MyWeb Furl
    Email Me Similar Content When Posted
    Add Developer Shed Article Feed To Your Site
    Email Article To Friend
    Print Version Of Article
    PDF Version Of Article
     
     
    ADVERTISEMENT


    Okay, About every month someone asks "How do I protect my Access database? Experienced developer's always suggest placing the database outside of the web root. Most developers suggest that you get a real Relational Database Management System :). Well there is a bug in the system that can be taken advantage of if you can't do either of the above First of all I did this using a DSNless connection to Access2000, win2kserver, IIS5. It has also been tested on IIS4 and works flawlessly

    DRIVER={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)}; DBQ=\\nas2.orcsweb.com\aspfree.com$\authors\carl_mcdade\db1.asp


    Notice anything strange about the above connection string? The file extension is *.asp rather than the usual *.mdb. The next step is to use the database encryption tool in Access. Why do this? Well just changing the extension name to *.asp will jumble the contents of the db. But a lot of it is still ledgible. If you are trying to protect passwords then one or more will be visible.This is because the web browser opens and tries to read the faked ASP file. Encrypting the file will stop any other program with the exception of Access and ASP code from reading the file. The database unencrypted. After encryption you will get an ASP tags not found error.

    Step_By_Step:
    1. Encrypt the database
    2. Rename the file from *.mdb to *.asp
    3. Use a DSNless connection to connect to the database file.
    Some Facts
    • One might try "save target as" the file then remove the encryption. In all cases both Netscape and Internet Explorer refused to do this.
    • The db cannot be downloaded because since the ASP file does not really exist. The visitor gets the standard IIS5 error page and no url. In the case of IIS4 one may get a code error message:
      Active Server Pages error 'ASP 0116'
      Missing close of script delimiter /mcdade/db1.asp, line 4
      The Script block lacks the close of script tag (%>).
    • The dsnless connection to the db file still works regardless of the file extension used in the connection string. This is a bug in the system but it is a useful one.
    • Using encryption on a MS Access database slows down the database by 15%, according to Microsoft
    • Using script tags within the database records seems to have no effect on the protection system. Because encryption does not allow the file to be read by any program other than MS Access

    Neat trick huh?.




    DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

    More Microsoft Access Articles
    More By Carl_McDade

     

    IBM® developerWorks developerWorks - FREE Tools!


    NEW! Webcast: What is new in Viper 2 for developers?

    Viper 2 brings a great value to developer communities including SQL, XML, PHP, Ruby, .NET and Java. You probably already know that DB2 Express-C is free for developers to develop, deploy and distribute. Viper 2 provides a variety of means that help move your application from the development stage to deployment more rapidly. This webcast shows how to best utilize the latest tools available for developing DB2 applications.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Webcast: Quickly provide customized, integrated user interfaces with Lotus Notes 8

    IBM Lotus Notes 8 provides a wide range of developers the ability to provide customized, integrated user interfaces via composite applications and via custom sidebar and toolbar plug-ins. This webcast provides you with tips and techniques to use with out-of-the-box capabilities of Lotus Notes 8, and survey how you can share useful components within your own company and within a larger community.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Evaluate IBM Rational Software Analyzer V7.0

    Download a free trial version of IBM Rational Software Analyzer Developer Edition V7.0 to identify bug defects earlier in the software development cycle. Rational Software Analyzer is an extensible software development solution that reduces the expense of bug-fixes by enabling static analysis code reviews and bug identification very early in the development cycle.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Application Development Tools for the Mainframe Developer

    You probably have thousands of lines of COBOL code loaded with business intelligence and being used to run your business, along with an army of developers maintaining these applications. Learn how to prepare your applications and developers so you can keep that competitive edge and move to a service-oriented architecture with the IBM Rational Enterprise Modernization solutions. Replay is available for 9 months.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    Role of Integrated Requirements Management in Software Delivery

    As organizations integrate software into every aspect of business, they are constantly pressured to deliver faster, better, and cheaper results. Unfortunately, a “dis-integrated” software delivery approach reduces returns while increasing costs. This IBM Rational White Paper shows how Integrated Requirements Management aligns organizations around maximizing value and keeping pace with change.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Try the IBM SOA Sandbox for Process

    Visit IBM developerWorks to try the IBM SOA Sandbox for process. The SOA Sandbox for process focuses on providing a trial environment with the necessary tooling and components required to gain a better understanding of business processes and how to best improve existing business processes to derive value quickly.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Rational Talks to You: Grady Booch on Architecture

    Join this Rational Talks to You teleconference on November 29 at 1:00 pm ET to participate in an interactive discusssion with Grady Booch around architecture and reuse. Get your questions answered!
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Best Practices in Integrated Requirements Management

    Poor Requirements Management capabilities in an Enterprise have been linked to excessive project failures, escalating IT costs, and failure to deliver competitive advantage into the marketplace. Join Brianna M Smith from IBM Rational and learn about how successful organizations align IT and Business stakeholders through collaborative processes and tools for effective requirements management, and how an integrated approach across the IT lifecycle can provide unparalleled visibility and traceability to ensure that project teams are delivering on the business vision by "doing the right things" and "doing things right."
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Project and Portfolio Management Executive Resource Kit

    Portfolio Management is about effectively managing portfolio value by aligning portfolio investments with business goals. This complimentary e-kit provides a collection of materials that can help you understand how IBM Rational enables and automates best practices for improved governance and clear visibility into portfolio and project performance across the entire IT project lifecycle.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Build Web services with transport-level security using Rational Application Developer V7, Part 1: Build Web services and Web services clients

    Build secure Web services with transport-level security using IBM Rational Application Developer V7 and IBM WebSphere Application Server V6.1. Follow this three-part series for step-by-step instructions about how to develop Web services and clients, configure HTTP basic authentication, and configure HTTP over SSL (HTTPS). This first part of the series walks you through building a Web service for a simple calculator application. You generate and test two different types of Web services clients: a Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) client and a stand-alone Java client. You also handle user-defined exceptions in Web services.
    FREE! Go There Now!



    All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!

    MICROSOFT ACCESS ARTICLES

    - Converting a MySQL Database to an Excel Work...
    - Linking SQL Express 2005 Tables to MS Access...
    - Working with Access Projects in Access 2007
    - Exploring Access 2007
    - Working with Stored Procedures in an MS Acce...
    - Creating and Using Action Queries
    - Creating Data Access Pages with Charts using...
    - Advanced Ideas using VBA
    - VBA Details
    - Updating Records in MS Access
    - Using ADO`s Record Object with URLs
    - Exporting XML from MS Access 2003
    - Importing XML into MS Access 2003
    - On Using Pass-through Queries in MS Access
    - Distributed Queries in MS Access





    © 2003-2009 by Developer Shed. All rights reserved. DS Cluster 6 Hosted by Hostway
    Stay green...Green IT