Security on Shared

[DreamSync]

How secure are databases on a shared server verus a stand alone? I know it's a bit generalized, but will be running oscommerce on a network solutions server shortly. What are there any major and minor issues to look out for?

[DanInManchester]

Either way your database is accessible to the administrators of the data centre so if your data is particularly sensitive e.g. credit card numbers, etc then it's worth considering encrypting it. this is something I hear a lot... How do I protect my business data from nosey admins. I think ultimatley you can't but you can add levels of protection. This is harder to gaurantee in a shared data centre environment as you are not in physical control.

Certainly with a repuatable provider you would expect their shared plans to be fully locked down and tightly controled both in terms of the server and access to facilities. however with small providers I have found their security to be flawed.

The problem with a dedicted server is that in some cases depending how flexible the hosting plan is you can screw up security yourself and leave it open. So this is where a shared or managed server may be better.