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Subject:RE: HTML help and security issues From:"David Knopf" <david -at- knopf -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 25 Apr 2001 06:41:50 -0700
Beard, Lori wrote:
| Hello! I've checked the archives (spent most of yesterday wading through
| them) and have not found anything that helps us with our problem.
|
| We're transitioning from a windows-based help system to an HTML-based
| help system for a client/server product as well as web applications and
| possibly programs used in handhelds as well. This year we are focusing
| on the client/server help.
|
| Here's my dilemma: We may want to use the functionality found in
| WebHelp, although that type of help file is uncompiled, exposing the
| html files to anyone. As our files will be delivered to the user's site
| (they don't always have full access to the Internet), we consider this
| to be a security risk.
|
| Has anyone out there found a way to deliver WebHelp for a client/server
| system so that the underlying html cannot be tampered with?
There is no way to deliver WebHelp (or any other uncompiled, HTML-based Help
format) and absolutely prevent tampering with the underlying HTML files.
About the best you can do is ensure or recommend that the HTML files be
published in a protected directory (unless that interferes with the
application in some way). This problem is not particular to WebHelp. Even if
you use compiled Microsoft HTML Help or WinHelp, there are freeware
decompilers all over the Internet, and anyone can de-compile the Help file,
change it, and then recompile it.
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