[FX.php List] Encrypting Solutions?

[Bob Patin]

Here are my thoughts on this:

My understanding is that, when I develop a project for a client,  
unless we agree that they will own the subsequent code, then the code  
ownership stays with me. In fact, I've had several website clients  
come to me when they discovered that their website pages didn't  
belong to them; when they decided to move hosting, their hosts  
wouldn't give them their code. Several times I've had to recreate  
sites for clients because their previous hosts wouldn't give them  
their sites--I find that reprehensible and unethical, but to my  
understanding, these guys were within the letter of the law.

Now having said that, I've never been so hard-nosed about it; if I  
develop a website or database for someone, unless they fail to pay  
for services, I give them all of the code upon request; they paid for  
it, they requested the work, they should have the code. This very  
thing came up the other day, when one of my clients asked for an  
unlocked version of his database for safekeeping. I stripped my admin  
username/password from it, made it openable with full access, and  
mailed it to him.

To take it a step further, however, if I were to develop a  
registration system for one client, and wanted to use it for a  
second, I would have no problem reusing the code I've written, UNLESS  
I've made an agreement not to do that very thing. That rarely happens  
for me, except for shopping carts; each site I've done has been a  
custom job, so all I've ever done is to refer back to old jobs for  
reminders on how I dealt with certain issues. But my shopping cart  
gets a little better with each implementation, and I definitely won't  
rewrite it the next time I need one! :)

I protect my own code simply by hosting it on my own servers, so  
clients never see the PHP anyway; the simple way to protect the code  
is to put it on a server which you host (or manage), give them FTP  
access to one part of the site, but not to a folder containing the  
PHP code. Simple, easy, and you don't have to have the sticky  
discussion about why you're keeping their eyes off your creation. :)

My rather long-winded thoughts on the matter... an interesting topic,  
really...

Bob Patin
Longterm Solutions
bob at longtermsolutions.com
615-333-6858
http://www.longtermsolutions.com

   CONTACT US VIA INSTANT MESSAGING:
      AIM or iChat: longterm1954
      Yahoo: longterm_solutions
      MSN: tech at longtermsolutions.com
      ICQ: 159333060



On Feb 7, 2007, at 8:26 AM, Jonathan Schwartz wrote:

> Up until now, my business hasn't been development for hire.  It's  
> been for services rendered, specifically in the user registration  
> and content management area.   In short, organizations need online  
> registration systems and the ability to manage the resulting  
> records. Compensation has either been Pro Bono (!), on a project  
> basis for a given registration event or period, or on a per-person  
> registered basis.  In no case does the client think that they are  
> buying the code. I believe that makes me an Application Service  
> Provider (ASP). No?
>
> Now, I recall assisting a client with a Content Management System a  
> while back. They paid a modest monthly fee ($39) to use the system  
> which was hosted by the CMS company.  There was ftp access to the  
> server and the php files that ran the service where right there in  
> view....but they were encrypted.  Aha!, I said to myself. This is  
> how they can offer access to the server and not suffer loss of the  
> code that they had developed. I made a mental note to remember this  
> technique in case I ever needed it.
>
> So here we are today, and I was thinking about if/when I need to  
> protect my own code from prying eyes.  Of course I Googled also,  
> coming up with dozens of alternatives.  Back to my original  
> post...I was asking for any particular solutions that were  
> recommended.
>
> However, I *am* enjoying the lively conversation about the business  
> side of the fx.php world. ;-)
>
> Jonathan

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.iviking.org/pipermail/fx.php_list/attachments/20070207/be78b436/attachment-0001.html