security ssl cert

I am not a security expert, but I began to realize a need to provide encryption on websites. I went over to startssl.com and created an account and a certificate for heroLFG.com. I had a key file, a certification file, and a chain file which I referred to in my ssl.conf file which is included in the httpd.conf file for the apache web server. I went ahead and did a redirect so that http://heroLFG.com went to https://heroLFG.com. I had to update my deployment url with my version control system. And I had to update my global DOMAIN variable to use https instead of http. I have the nice little green padlock for now. I imagine that no security system is perfect. But it does help to provide some kind of deterrent.

Postfix

I started using the default godaddy "sendmail" program that came with my linux web server, and I quickly bumped up against my daily sending limits enforced by godaddy. This led me toward a namecheap server where I have no email sending limits. I just have to make sure I don't let my users send spam. Sending spam from my IP address could get it blacklisted, and namecheap could block my email capabilities. My quick and dirty solution involved using a program called "postfix" to create a basic "SMTP mail server". My mail server is dedicated to my customers. And it is "send only". I had to whitelist my web server's IP address so that it wasn't an "open mail relay". I hope to one day enhance my mail server and integrate it with a MySQL database. I also want to host virtual email addresses for the domains I own.

Postfix Website

Resources

I use resources from other developers all of the time. I know I will not be able to recognize all of them, but I want to start trying to keep notes. Some of these may get a post of their own, but for now:

JSColor - Color Picker Plugin

JSColor Website
This is a color picker plugin using Javascript. Thank you for your work! I emailed the developer asking about determining whether text should be white or black when using a given RGB color as a background:

Hi Gavin,

sorry for the late response.

I first calculate color's luminance and then determine if it is darker than 50%, in which case I use white font, otherwise black one.

The algorithm is as follows:

styleElement.style.color =
0.213 * this.rgb[0] +
0.715 * this.rgb[1] +
0.072 * this.rgb[2]
< 0.5 ? '#FFF' : '#000';

Numbers in the array "this.rgb" range from 0.0 to 1.0. If your input values range from 0 to 255, you must obviously compare them with 128 instead of 0.5.

See also:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/596216/formula-to-determine-brightness-of-rgb-color


Regards,

---
Jan Odvarko

Color Themes

Help with Color Themes Website
This website helps me to establish a color theme. Thank you for your work!

Paypal Libraries

Paypal Guru
I haven't started using these libraries very much, but I have tested them a little and I intend to use them! Thank you for your work! I found this developer through the stackoverflow website.

PHP Login & Registration

PHP Login Guide
David Carr's login & registration guide has helped me get up and going. I am almost paying my bills now! Thank you so much for your help!

Google Fonts

Google Fonts Website
This is a nice resource for using different fonts on your website. I think Google knows I am thankful in many ways. :)

API

API is an abbreviation for Application Programming Interface. APIs allows developers to share information with other developers and I am very excited about the future of information technology using APIs. I am just beginning to use the API provided by other developers. So far, I have successfully integrated basic functionality with Google, Paypal, and Facebook. I look forward to integrating more capabilities with these teams I have mentioned. I look forward to integrating with other teams. And I look forward to eventually providing my own API.

Google API
Paypal API
Facebook Graph-API
StackExchange API
Runkeeper API

Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a collection of CSS and Javascript resources. A web page can be viewed from multiple devices with different screen sizes. Bootstrap allows a web page to respond to the device which is accessing the web page. A team of developers can agree to use bootstrap libraries so that different developers can create a common user experience. Integrating bootstrap into a website helps the website to be more "responsive". This is "responsive design". A developer uses the bootstrap resources by defining an HTML element's "class" attribute.

Get Boostrap
Bootstrap Q & A

Javascript

I use Javascript as a client-side programming language. I mentioned that PHP is a programming language on the web server. Understand that a web server is a device that the client device connects to. I use PHP in combination with the Apache web server to send resources like HTML, CSS, and Javascript to a client device. And Javascript allows the developer to use the client devices hardware to manipulate HTML and CSS as the user interacts with a web page. Javascript can enhance the user experience by allowing the web page to respond without asking for more information from a distant web server.

Javascript at w3.org
Javascript at w3schools.com
Javascript Q & A

CSS

CSS is an abbreviation for Cascading Style Sheets. An HTML element can have an attribute called "style". CSS allows a developer to define "style" attributes for multiple HTML elements simultaneously. Styling can be implemented in multiple ways and CSS helps the developer to maintain a common look and feel for multiple web pages. The developer can make a small number of changes using CSS which will cause a large number of web pages to inherit those changes. CSS helps the developer to enhance the user experience and general aesthetic choices.

CSS at w3.org
CSS at w3schools.com
CSS Q & A