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My website goes off-line when I upgrade to PHP5.4 and my host 1&1 says they are doing away with 5.2 compatibility. I don't have the money to hire a professional to fix my website (one place quoted me at least 25 hours = $500), but I am just capable enough to insert a few lines of code in one of the files.

Is there a simple fix (workaround) to keep my website up and running that may not be technically correct or secure, but at least have it function until I can gather the money to have it done professionally?

For example, I saw this "MacGuyver-like" "fix" PHP 5.4 hasn't register_globals anymore - That's my workaround for this. --- which looks highly insecure to me.

hakre
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mark
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  • What errors does your application generate under 5.4? Does it _depend_ on register_globals? – Michael Berkowski Feb 18 '13 at 18:52
  • not recommended, but you could find a host that still supports 5.2 and move –  Feb 18 '13 at 18:54
  • 25 hours = $500 isn't expensive - sounds like a Student did that job – Philipp Feb 18 '13 at 18:55
  • @Philipp Nope, it's dirt cheap for web development. But you get what you pay for. – Colin M Feb 18 '13 at 18:56
  • I just get a blank white screen when I enter my website address in browser. Someone told me there is an error log somewhere. Should I call my host company for it? I will go search on filezilla right now and see if it has register_globals – mark Feb 18 '13 at 18:57
  • SynapseIndia gave me that quote, but that's just deposit. They said it could be more when they actually start working. – mark Feb 18 '13 at 18:57
  • in common you have a ftp Directory called log, which contains a file error.log - inside this file should be a detailed error log. – Philipp Feb 18 '13 at 18:59
  • what's the site? is it custom build? or some open source script? –  Feb 18 '13 at 18:59
  • It would probably be better to find another host that still supports 5.2 and then take your time (or someone else's) refactoring code that still uses php4 functions. – Amelia Feb 18 '13 at 18:59
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    "may not be technically correct or secure" is scary, as security should always be a huge concern with web applications. I hope you're not storing any personal information about your users. – nickb Feb 18 '13 at 19:01
  • To migrate from 5.2 to 5.4 - take a look at http://www.php.net/manual/de/migration53.incompatible.php and after that http://www.php.net/manual/de/migration54.incompatible.php – Philipp Feb 18 '13 at 19:03
  • I have a file called php.ini (configuration settings file type) in my main directory and it says "register_globals = 'off'" so I guess not if it is actually working. – mark Feb 18 '13 at 19:04
  • Thanks so much everyone helping me alot!!! this was open-source software called Osdate http://www.tufat.com/s_free_dating_system.htm the developer told me to: Basically, you will require to change all definitions of &= or =& to =. e.g. $abc =& $xyz will need to be changed to $abc = $xyz. This will increase memory usage. This is specially required when there are data being returned by functions which are referenced. continued on next comment -> – mark Feb 18 '13 at 19:08
  • YOu may need to check all errors and rectify some of the deprecated code and replace with new definitions in PHP for same deprecated code.You will require to see all programs one by one. Ensure you have updated all PEAR libraries to newer ones." <-but this fix is out of my league. – mark Feb 18 '13 at 19:09
  • yes, the world needs another poorly coded dating site ;). Funny that the code site says "PHP 4.3.0 or higher" –  Feb 18 '13 at 19:14
  • I did find a "logs" directory in my ftp, but it did not contain error.log – mark Feb 18 '13 at 19:15
  • It's free to use at least - i figure I'm doing a community service for high school students. – mark Feb 18 '13 at 19:18
  • trying the time zone fix right now! – mark Feb 18 '13 at 19:27
  • time zone fix did not work - still crashed – mark Feb 18 '13 at 19:29
  • Please see as well: [Why is REGISTER_GLOBALS so bad?](http://stackoverflow.com/q/1417373/367456) and other related material. – hakre May 11 '13 at 08:21

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