i just found out that the administrator in my web hosting company had looked at my source files. that means he will know my database password too. i really don;t feel comfortable about it. it it a normal practice for web hosts to do that?

.... I am not sure I understand. Are you using Visual Studio to create your applications? If you are, there is no need to upload your source files, just your aspx pages and the compiled .dll, effectively closing your code to prying eyes.

Do you own the boxes your site is hosted on or are they shared servers? This makes a big difference because if you own the boxes and just have them at a data center, then that is a huge problem if one of their admins are getting on your box without your permission.

If you are on a shared box, meaning the hosting company owns the box, there is nothing you can do about it really. THEY own the server and are the administrators of that box and can do anything they wish really. Also, if you are using a SQL Server that, again, is on a box they own they do not need to go through your code to get your password and such...they have admistrator rights to the entire box and hence the SQL Server.

hth.



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but does that mean we all have to encrypt configuration files like web.config?

If you are running into this problem and that is where your connection string is stored, yes it would be a good idea to encrypt it.

Like I said though, if you are on shared hosting, the Admin doesn't need to look at your source code to access your database.

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While it is not commonplace, administrators are responsible for the operation of the network and will occasionally look at files if they think something may be a factor in the performance of the network.

I'd not be concerned about an administrator seeing your password because they really don't need it and are concerned about their reputation. An apartment building manager doesn't need an apartment owner's key when he has the master key.

points taken but my database contains some very sensitive infomation and that makes me uneasy that someone else can access, and make a copy of my database if he wants to. i guess i just have to live with it.

Mythical makes a good point, their rep is online. Can they copy your database, ya sure they can, are they going to, probably not.

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Unless, of course, you want to hire me to do work for you.
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Read this if you want to know how to get a correct reply for your question:
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^^Modified text taken from gbianchi profile^^
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I guess the best option, other than just plain buying your own personal server(s), would be to use hashing encryption for sensitive passwords etc in your database. Not even you will be able decipher the hash-stored items.

SQL 2005 has an encryption option. But you have to modify the SQL to use it, so it's not terribly easy to use. Oracle's encryption doesn't require any changes to the SQL, so maybe Microsoft has some room for improvement.

Eric

When I was young and waiting to go into the army I worked for a while at the phone company. Late at night I would amuse myself by listening in on random phone conversations. No fancy NSA technology. I just put the alligator clips on a pair of leads and listened on my headset. When I went downtown I probably could have done that for the White House too - but I was too scared.

The point is a lot of technical security is an illusion. If your data is in somebody else's machine in somebody else's building it is in technical jeopardy. However, my house is in technical jeopardy too from anyone with a rock to break a window. I am protected from burglars by law and police not by my window glass. Similarly social constraints (law, business reputation, etc.) are what really protect your data.

Web hosting is a highly competitive business even a whisper about data hanky panky would be taken very seriously by any vendor with a sense of self preservation. I know the phone company would have fired my ass in a New York minute if they had ever found out I had been doing.