Turning on Web Sharing - a bad idea?

Mountain Lion killed Web Sharing but online forums say I can activate it in Terminal.
Is this a bad idea? Is there a reason Apple killed web sharing e.g. it posed a security risk?

RogerMac wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I always turned Web Sharing off whenever I wasn't using it. I guess it will be on from now on because it's way too much trouble to turn it on and off through Terminal.
The whole concept of "sharing" and "firewall" is woefully misunderstood. If only you are using it, then why share at all? I think that is the reason Apple removed the "web sharing" preference pane. Those services are meant for sharing data with other people. Virtually no one running Apache on a client version of OS X really wants to share that with anyone else. It is better to configure Apache to be always on and accept connections only from the local machine. Then, you are running the services you need, but not really sharing anything.

Similar Messages

Can't turn on Web Sharing on Mac OS 10.7.5

I'm not able to turn on Web Sharing on my Mac Mini, running 10.7.5. When I click the checkbox, it stays Web Sharing: starting very briefly, then immediately back to Off.
I keep reading that Apache comes preinstalled on Mac OS 10.7.5, but I'm not sure it's installed on my Mac? A search for 'apache' doesn't show the app, and typing apache -v in Terminal results in "command not found".
Any pointers would be appreciated!

I have the same problem, exept when i click start, it says its not running, but the web service is running because i can access the sites through http://localhost/.
I've tried replacing the httpd.conf with the one in /original, and i've also tried renaming the httpd.conf.default, non of these things worked (both of these thing made the check box active, but when you turn it off, you can turn it back on)
please please help

Turning on Web Sharing does not work and fails to load apache web server

Sort of answering my own question here but hope it will be useful to other people and save them some time.
After receiving my shiny new imac with os x lion pre-installed, I was a little dismayed and confused when I went to System Preferences -> Internet and Wireless -> Sharing and attempted to check the Web Sharing. Every time I clicked this option I was told Web Sharing was starting but would then repeatedly fail and apache failed to start.
Looking in the Console I find:
org.apache.httpd: dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib
org.apache.httpd: Referenced from: /usr/sbin/httpd
org.apache.httpd: Reason: image not found
Entering in the console:
vim /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/httpd_2011-08-06-165030_localhost.crash (date and time bit will vary)
reveals:
Process:         httpd [2418]
Path:            /usr/sbin/httpd
Identifier:      httpd
Version:         ??? (???)
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [1]
Date/Time:       2011-08-06 16:50:30.106 +0100
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.7 (11A511a)
Report Version: 9
Crashed Thread: 0
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Application Specific Information:
dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries
Dyld Error Message:
Library not loaded: /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib
Referenced from: /usr/sbin/httpd
Reason: image not found
Binary Images:
       0x1022f6000 -        0x102352fef httpd (??? - ???) <9D63FBFD-DD87-3DD5-AD1A-D8A79FEC3EE8> /usr/sbin/httpd
"/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/httpd_2011-08-06-165030_localhost.crash" 32L, 1469C
TO FIX THIS ISSUE:
It appears /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib does not exist but /usr/lib/libpq.5.3.dylib does.
Fix by creating a symbolic link from /usr/lib/libpq.5.3.dylib to /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib
=
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/libpq.5.3.dylib /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib
Going back to System Preferences -> Internet and Wireless -> Sharing clicking Web Sharing a couple of times turns Web Sharing on successfully!
Going to http://localhost/ displays the "It Works!" page.
HTH people as it took me a while to find the correct solution online from:
http://www.azattis.com/2011/07/os-x-lion-postgresql-84-install-problem.html

Hi there,
You seemed to have had a similar problem to what I now have and so wondered if you might be able to help me :-)
I have posted this as a new post as well but if anyone has five mins could they take a look - I would be very grateful. Here you go:
I am new to all this so I have probably made some simple errors and I hope someone can help me. I will retell what I have done as I haven't a clue what part of what I have done has mucked things up.
I am really stuck. Web sharing will not start on my iMac running Lion OS X. It did work fine and then I wanted to activate PHP so my test website contact form would work (and send the data on the form throught to my email address.
Before I did anything I turned on websharing and could view my website from another computer using: http://192.168.1.4/~stewartfergusson/
I think followed the instructions on this link to activate PHP -http://foundationphp.com/tutorials/php_leopard.php
I then did a few things in terminal and will paste below what I did:
Last login: Sun Jan 1 09:01:52 on console
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:~ stewartfergusson$ cd/private/etc
-bash: cd/private/etc: No such file or directory
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:~ stewartfergusson$ cd
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:~ stewartfergusson$ cd prvate
-bash: cd: prvate: No such file or directory
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:~ stewartfergusson$ cd private
-bash: cd: private: No such file or directory
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:~ stewartfergusson$ cd /private/etc
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$ sudo cp php.ini.default php.ini
WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss
or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your
typing when using sudo. Type "man sudo" for more information.
To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.
Password:
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$
Last login: Wed Jan 4 09:03:03 on console
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$
Last login: Thu Jan 5 06:19:15 on console
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$ sudo In -s /usr/lib/libpq.5.3.dylib /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib
Password:
sudo: In: command not found
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$ sudo ln -s /usr/lib/libpq.5.3.dylib /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib
ln: /usr/lib/libpq.5.dylib: File exists
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$ sudo apachectl -t
Password:
Syntax error on line 1 of /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf:
Invalid command '1', perhaps misspelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$ sudo apachectl configtest
Password:
Syntax error on line 1 of /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf:
Invalid command '1', perhaps misspelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration
Stewart-Fergussons-iMac:etc stewartfergusson$
An important point to note is that I now appear to have more than one http.config file and they are located in the following locations:
1) Macintosh HD/etc/apache2/httpd.conf.default
2) Macintosh HD/etc/apache2/httpd.conf.default.default
3) Macintosh HD/etc/apache2/original/httpd.conf
I edited this file (which one I have not got a clue) and also the php.ini file within Macintosh HD/etc/ using Terminal - the command I used was sudo cp php.ini.default php.ini
This php.ini file now exists in two locations now as well:
1) Macintosh HD/etc/php.ini
2) Macintosh HD/etc/php.ini.default
I then edited this file by changing the line of code below from:
514 error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE (I think it said E_DEPRECATED actually) but I am lifting this from the web page in the link above)
To:
514 error_reporting = E_ALL
I then saved this file.
I then deactivated web sharing in System Preferences and since then have not been able to restart Web Sharing. I click it and it flashes orange for a second then does not start.
This was all done to activate PHP on my iMac so I can host my own site which has a PHP contact form page.
Please help I am so out of my depth I am very worried I may have changed things and I am going to forget what I did.
If you need to know anything then please ask.
Thank you so much
sfergusson1
'JollyoldEngland'

Web Sharing, Firewall, & Security Issue

I recently turned on/activated Web Sharing, but I forgot to turn on the Firewall. Now I think I may have gotten malware, or some other sort of bad stuff on my machine.
Am I right in this thinking? If so, what steps might I take to offset the damage? Thanks.
Quick background note: I was experimenting with the using the Apache server that comes built in with Mac (because I'm learning mysql, php, etc.) And this tutorial mentions the importance of activating the Firewall if the user turns on Web Sharing http://www.macinstruct.com/node/112
Specs:

I didn't know about Quarantine being included in the Leopard OS ("Quarantine is a feature of Mac OS X introduced in version 10.5 (aka Leopard)) Thanks for pointing that out.
More generally, I've been using Macs for several years and really like them, but this was the first time I activated/enabled Web Sharing for using the Apache server software and so I was just a little worried about that. And also, it seems as though my system has been working more slowly than it usually does.
BTW: I did some of the most commonly suggested steps for improving performance.
1. Check to see I have latest OS updates. [Done]
2. Run/verify/repair disk permissions via Disk Utility [Done]
3. Clear browser caches [Done]
Thanks again.

Web Sharing Issues... No PHP support

Good morning all, I guess it's fair to say that we are having problems with PHP, but I'm curious to see if anyone is having the same issues that I am... here is the story:
I have two Mac's, a powerbook G4, and a powermac G5. I decide to wipe the hard-drive and start fresh with my G4 so when I got leopard I got my chance.
The install went pretty smoothy, and I'm enjoying the OS quite a lot and look forward to when I have a better Idea as to what I'm doing. On this device I was able to get MySQL server running (after I installed the wrong bit - G4 is not 64bit... do'h) but I got it up and running and can connect to my web server's database.
With my G5 I did the standard upgrade, but here is where I wish I would have held off on that upgrade for a few weeks. When I turn on Web Sharing, and try to navigate out to http://computername.home/~Brian/ I get the message that says that I do not have permissions to access this Server...
I do the same thing on the G4 and it works just fine, as I can't install PHP on it yet... Anyway, I've called Apple and made them aware of the issue, and I think I'm going to try some things in the terminal to perhaps turn off PHP or turn it on (apple's version of it) to see if that will let me access my web-server as now when I'm working on my website it won't let me access my MySQL etc...
Anyway, did anyone else run into this same issue?
Thank you,
Brian
http://www.comicearth.com

I had the same/similar problems to start with.
If your issues are the same as mine it is because Apache has been upgraded from 1.3 to 2.2.
The thread with the details (and solution) is:-
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5649480#5649480

Help! I need to get web sharing up and running!

I am working on a web project and just downloaded MAMP only to find that the Apache Server is not running on my laptop running OSX 10.7.5. My understanding is that all I need to do is to turn on Web Sharing but for some reason it refuses to start up... I did some searching around on the web to see what i should do and then Ran Console to see what messages the system was throwing up when I started up web sharing... here is what I got...
10/8/13 11:53:16.724 AM org.apache.httpd: httpd: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 192.168.1.254 for ServerName
When I open a browser and put in 192.168.1.254, I get the configuration page for the AT&T gateway! why would apache use the ip for the gateway?
Can anyone look at this and tell me what I need to do to get Apache started? This is for a very important project that I need to start for a client and I did not expect Apache not to work on my machine.. Please note that I am not too familiar with command line interface so if I need to go into terminal it would be helpful to have step by step instructions... Any help would be greatly appreciated, even pointers to references that might help...
Many thanks!
David

Not sure about MAMP but have a look at Setting up a local web server on Lion and Mountain Lion for how to get apache running.
regards

Web Sharing Help

Hi All
I have created a website and have uploaded it into /Library/WebServer/Documents/.
I have turned on web sharing and then opened up safari and directed it to my computer name which is
{apple.local} wothout the brackets, instead of it bringing up the web page automatically it brings up the Index of page and lists all the folders and files there.
To make it display the web page i have to type http://apple.local/index.htm
is there a way to make it automatically open the page instead of typing it in with the extension after it?
I have about 5 macs in my place and want to be able to allow all to see the page but not everyone know's about html code and dont know about putting /index.htm after the address ?
Thanks

Solved the problem now, for some reason the files were called default.htm instead of index.htm
Apple must have some filter to only search for index.htm
i changed the main page to index.htm and tried the page name and worked fine
Cheers anyway

Web Sharing broke

I've been using Web Sharing with php enabled to work on my webpage. Lately my macbook lost power and when I booted it back up the server seems to have stopped working. I've tried restarting, turning off web sharing and turning it back on. typing "sudo apachectl restart" in the terminal. It looks like everything is ok until I actually go to view the page. Chrome says that it could not connect to the IP. I can't access any of the files in my "Sites" folder.
Is there any way to reset the apache server? or even find some kind of info on what the error is?

Figured it out. silly mistake. My local IP had changed when I restarted.

Web Sharing on Local Network

I am trying to have my students share their pages on the school network in our classroom. It has worked in the past, however now when they turn on web sharing in the system preferences, the address is the local host instead of the IP address.
How can we fix this?
I tested it on my Macbook with the same result- local host when plugged in at school, my IP address comes up on my LAN at home.
We're running 10.6 on iMacs. iWeb '09.
Thanks in advance!

Heya,
You need to configure your virtual host file to have http://localhost/ point to the coinciding folder that the website is stored at. Web sharing is really meant to be used for local testing of server side scripts before they're launched on a live site, not hosting of static html pages. Although Web Sharing can be used for static pages as well, but you'd have to configure your virtual server regardless so that http://localhost, http://IP-Address, http://student-1-local-site, http://student-2-local-site (or whatever you set in the configuration) points to the directory where your site(s) are stored.
That a look at this page www.DwFAQ.info/home.php?id=18 and read section #3 which explains how to configure your virtual hosts.
HTH

Web-Sharing preference and apachectl not in sync in 10.5?

I noticed the following after upgrading to Leopard:
In the CLI, if I type:
+sudo apachectl -k start+
The Apache2 Server starts. Same thing happens when I click "Web Sharing" in the System Preferences. Previously, a change in the CLI would affect the System Preference directly and vise-versa. This does not happen now. I can start Apache in the CLI and those changes are not reflected in the System Preferences. It's like two separate Apache2 processes are created when they should be in sync. Is this expected behavior with Apache2?
Steps to repeat this situation:
1) Turn on Web Sharing in the Sharing panel
2) browse to http://localhost to verify that the server is running
3) Open Terminal and type: sudo apachectl -k start
4) Turn off Web Sharing in the Sharing panel
5) Verify that http://localhost is still running!?
6) Quit the apache server: sudo apachectl -k stop

Make sure there is a small gap between each audio file and the start and end of the timeline on each slide. That can help force the synchronisation to be a little more exact. However, since you are outputting to MP4 the entire project will end up as one big video file. So the synchronisation of audio with video is also somewhat dependent on the end user PC's ability to decode the video in time.

Unable to start/stop Personal Web Sharing

I do some web development, so I tried making the necessary changes to run PHP files via localhost. I followed various online articles by making some changes to the httpd.conf file, and then downloading MySQL and a later version of PHP (5.0). Since installing yesterday afternoon, I've been unable to start or stop Personal Web Sharing. Any ideas?
Thank you.
Nathan

Are you sure you got the proper version of each for your platform? Depending on which version you dowloaded it may not have been a universal bianary and you might be running ppc instead of x86 or vice versa. I wouldnt expect you to have broken apache if you made only the modifications you noted in your inital post - but perhaps if it was trying to load the php module and it was the worng platform it might through that error and prevent it fromt starting.. but normally whn php fails it jsut throws a warning and continues without it loaded (at least with Marc's automatic configuration). But thats the only thing i can think of.
So next steps:
1.) Verify you are running the x86/PPC (or Universal) versions of PHP and MySQL (MySQL shouldnt really matter but since its one of the majorchanges before apache broke we'll look at it as well).
2.) on the command line run this command and post the output back here:
<pre style="scrolling: auto; width: 90%;">httpd -V</pre>
3.) lets restore your old config:
<pre style="scrolling: auto; width: 90%;">
sudo cp /etc/httpd/httpd.conf /etc/httpd/httpd.conf.121906.bak
sudo cp /etc/httpd/httpd.conf.default /etc/httpd/httpd.conf
sudo apachectl start</pre>
And then post the ouput of the start command back here.

Web Sharing with Leopard 10.5.2 and Airport Extreme Base Station HELP!!!

Ok...I want to set up web sharing on my computer but so far my attempts have failed.
I have an intel iMac with Leopard 10.5.2 installed and I have the latest Airport extreme base station (With draft n).
I turn on web sharing, and of course it works locally but not when trying to be accessed over the internet.
Now I realize that by default my routers address wont let anyone connect to my computer over the internet.
My router has an ip of 10.0.1.1, and I assigned my computer a static ip address of 10.0.1.200.
Now in the network preferences pane and the airport category, i set my computers IP (the 10.0.1.200), I put the gateway as 255.255.255.0, the router as 10.0.1.1 and the DNS as 10.0.1.1
Now going over to the airport utility I added a new entry in the port mapping section, with port 80 (both public and private) and the IP of my machine, 10.0.1.200.
Now in theory this should work but NOOOOO.
Does anyone have the same setup? a wireless network with the new airport extreme base station and has successfully configured Web Sharing?
Thanks in advance.
Felipe

Well here is an update.
I saw an entry in apple support that said I had to change some setting in the apache folder /etc/apache2 in order to avoid getting the 403 forbidden error. I tried this and it did not work, i checked my user configuration file as well and the path to my home site directory was correct
Anyone here have a similar setup and has it working? It shouldnt be too hard to set up web sharing through a router. It has to be possible or else a lot of people would not buy a router because of this.
thanks in advance to anyone kind enough to help
Bye.

Snow Leopard 10.6.8 - Personal Web Sharing can't see it?

I am trying to set up the equivalent of a windows localhost:// on my MAC PRO for web site testing.
I have turned on "Web Sharing" and can see both my "personal" and "computer" web addresses. They appear to be working. However when I click to my .asp files in the browser I am just shown asp code.
Questions
Do I need to do something else to make .asp files work properly? They did work just fine in windows.
Is there a way to keep my personal web site turned on for testing but turn off my "computers website"?
I have turned on the firewall for safety, should I turn on the encryption for my files?
Is there anything else I should do to keep from being hacked, any suggestions?

Are you opening Safari directly from /Applications rather than using a Dock shortcut ?.
If the one in /Applications won't work either - what happens exactly... if there's a crash report, please post it here.
Also, check Software Update, and/or manually install Safari 5.1.9 for Snow Leopard

Wake on Demand and "Web Sharing"

Does anyone know if the new Wake on Demand feature is supposed to work with the "web sharing"? It doesn't seem to be working for me. The iMac does wake fine, however, with SSH, file sharing, screen sharing, and printer sharing.

Hi mcewen. The Wake on Demand feature works with any service being advertised with Bonjour. The caveat with Web Sharing is that it only advertises itself with Bonjour if you've modified one of the default web pages. So all you have to do is go into the Sites folder in your Home directory, and make a change to the index.html file, and then turn off Web Sharing and turn it back on. That should get it to be advertised with Bonjour (you can verify this by going to the Bonjour bookmarks section in Safari to make sure your web page shows up). After that it will support Wake on Demand using Web Sharing.

Personal Web Sharing in System Prefs

Hi Everyone,
Just a little frustration going on here when trying to turn on web sharing; after enabling php in conf file, Apache seems to want to turn on, and then back off. I'm getting this error log in Terminal:
[notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down
name-name-powerbook59:~ name$
Thanks in advance for your help.
Mark

Wow. It's like a desert over here.... : )
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=516043&tstart=0

Turning on Web Sharing - a bad idea?

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