samrc
Posts: 2266
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Florida, USA
Status: offline
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GlobalSCAPE made that promise in the notice about CSB discontinuation. I just report it on my samisite.
The original discontinuation notice is here. GlobalSCAPE may choose to keep it up and running longer or may close it on date stated.
As to the forms, yes, you should consider moving your forms to other options BEFORE the form server goes away.
Right now, your forms are being PROCESSED by GlobalSCAPE. Their server is used to push that form to YOUR email address. It offers us very basic form services that meet the MAJORITY of needs for basic users. Even offers minimal security from spammers. From an earlier post I made about spam protections:
"The Trellix and CSB forms are very basic and have no such protections. HOWEVER, the server that processes the forms does have a few protections like limiting the size (no more than 20 fields) and limiting the number of times the form can be submitted (no more than 10 per hour). This protects your site from being pulled down by your host for spamming, but does not prevent a spammer from getting 10 emails out before being stopped." But the standard CSB form does NOT protect your email address! Spambots can grab it ANY TIME they find your site!
You have 2 other options that offer more features:
1) Use another off-site server to process your forms. Lots of them. Some paid, some free. These sites would act like the GlobalSCAPE server does, sending your form information through thier server on to your email addy. One of these services, cutandpastescripts.com is demonstrated here.
cutandpastescripts.com is not taking new customers, yet the demo of the form is shown and linked to on samisite.com because as I said in the other posts, that site is one of MANY 3rd party solutions. I keep the sample up to show it can be done.
A Google search came up immediately with another service that is online and functional, and has a privacy statement that says they will not use your or your visitors information for spam: responders.com I have not used the service but it is essentially the same as the other one mentioned. Sign up, design a form, grab the code THEY give YOU, and put it into your web page using INSERT HTML feature in CSB and you have an active form.
2) Run a form script on your OWN website to process forms. Bright side...more control, more options. Down side...You must install the script and you must maintain control or risk your site being pulled down by the host for spamming! You must make sure the script you use is SECURE. If it can be broken and used to send several thousand emails by a spambot, you are responsible for the scripts you run. You must update and stay on guard.
- Use a CGI/Perl type form script. Lots are free...and very insecure! Some are paid with more security.
- Use a PHP type form script. In my opinion, this is the BEST option. So far this offers the best protection from spambots. MANY MANY MANY scripts offered. You might consider UltimateFormMail.com script because of the good reputation over several years now for security and safety. Plus the cost is reasonable for the features the script offers.
Basically the FORM code is the same...Same input fields for your visitor and they would not see a difference that way. But the code you would purchase (if your host allows a PHP form code) does MANY things for you:
- would pull the data from the form and verify it
- check for inserted extra coding (spammers try to force thier code into your form to send to 10-200-500 people at one time using YOUR form),
- check for changes to the form/content (try to send it to other address instead of yours)
- keeps your email address private
- allows you to require certain fields
- allows you to send automated responses and/or copy to customer that is sending the form.
- and more....etc.
There are 3 parts to a form (made with CSB)
- The header (defines which order the fields are sent to you, email address, etc) that tells the server what to do with the form when it is sent by the visitor. This is put at the beginning of the form.
- The fields this is the name, address, etc part of the form itself seen by your visitor.
- The send/submit buttons. This part activates the form & data when the visitor invokes the send button.
PHP forms are almost the same concept. But they require SCRIPTING to work.
Main difference: The header.
The CSB form is fully readable in your source code. Your email address is exposed and the form has NO built in protections. The header tells the server to send your forms to the GlobalSCAPE server for processing. Your website server is NOT used to forward that email. The GlobalSCAPE server has some limited protections (max # forms per hour, max # fields) but can not protect you further.
The PHP form header points to a file that is stored BEYOND access of the casual visitor to your website. The email address, the definitions, the routing information, etc that is in the CSB form is now moved OUT of the form code and put into other files that can't be read by spammers. The files are FAR more complicated than CSB forms because they do so much more than CSB could ever do. Setup takes a while for the first one. You put files where you are told, fill in a few blanks the way YOU want them to be (name of fields, address, etc), answer some questions, etc then tweak the CSB built form header to point to the PHP code or use the sample forms they provide to begin (the best choice!). The PHP script will send you the email like CSB form does now, or can produce HTML style forms in your email! All choices you make within the script. The script will run from your website space and draw against your bandwidth usage. BUT be far more secure.
Some people have asked why CSB can not do more with its built-in form...
quote:
cannot understand why cutesite isnt offering this as an option. It would be very logical and avoid this frustration
Easy answer here too!
1) The CSB program is DEAD. Discontinued. No further development or sales!
2) The web has changed since Trellix/CSB was originally designed. At that time having built-in basic form processing was amazing! And actually still is! Forms (email) processing is far more complicated than you understand it to be. It is VERY difficult, maybe impossible, to produce a form that is tight, limiting access to spammers, yet runs on ALL types of servers without installation of any type of script! GlobalSCAPE DOES have some limits in place on the server they use and they are very useful! Unfortunately they are not enough in TODAY's web.
Even if CSB were still in development/production, still being sold, BETTER forms processing is something that requires effort OUTSIDE the CSB program. THAT is actually VERY LOGICAL!
The BEST solution is to get a well written script, preferably PHP that rebuffs attacks. Until you are comfortable with installing a script your best bet is 3rd party form processing by another site.
< Message edited by samrc -- 4/22/2007 3:26:57 PM >
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-Samantha
Visit Samisite.com for CSB Tutorials & WYSIWYG webmaster support.
Try to live your life so that you wouldn't be afraid to sell the family parrot to the town gossip." Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
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All Forums >> [CuteSITE Builder] >> CSB General Product Questions >> Migrating to a new form server 
Migrating to a new form server - 
Greets all, Thanks for your efforts everyone in the Trellix past, present, and future community. Don't ya wish that Dan Bricklin would plow into the Software Garden and make us all another Trellix? That would be awesome. Even if it never happens, though, I am so grateful to have had this wondeful software tool for so many years. There is very little from the days of Windows 3 that is still functional, yet Trellix still works and still has amazing ease of use authoring features radical even today. 
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