One hosting company I use lets me create multiple databases (which I need - some are live sites and some development sites, all living under the same account). Unfortunately each database is entirely discrete, with its own user ID (system-assigned), password (changeable) and in some cases, host ip (some of the dbs happen to reside on the same host server, others are on different servers).
I started out using phpMyAdmin, but discovered I had to install a discrete copy for each db I want to administer, since there are more differences in the config file than a simple http authentication can accommodate - namely, the different host ip addresses. Of course I could just use "config" authentication, but then all my passwords are find-able in the config file.
But I found what appears to be a neat solution. I can set the databases to allow local AND remote connection, and then run a single copy of phpMyAdmin on my home/office computer's Apache server, with authentications for all the databases set to config authentication. My home server isn't publicly accessible, so no risk of anyone reading my config file.
Question is - is this a good idea? When phpMyAdmin connects to a remote database, are the user and password sent in the clear? We're not talking connecting TO phpMyAdmin - we're talking phpMyAdmin's connection to mysql databases.
Also, is setting my databases to allow remote connection dangerous? (I would think not, unless someone had the user & password, but I don't really know).
Any advice greatly appreciated - thanks!
