Found this php file on my site

philip10

Hi everybody, I am a total newbie when it comes to php. I found a file called pfv.php on my server. I am not sure where it comes from but if I try to go to it via mysite.com/pfv.php I get a 404.

The code inside the file is :-

<?php

$fd= fread(fopen($HTTP_REFERER, "r"), 100000);

if ($fd)

{

$start= strpos($fd, "");

$finish= strpos($fd, "");

$length= $finish-$start;

$code=Substr($fd, $start, $length);

}

echo '<html>
<head>
<title>/www.yourpower2be.com/</title>
</head>
<body leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" rightmargin="0" bottommargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0">
'.$code.'
<br clear="all"><em>'.$HTTP_REFERER.'</em>
</body>
</html>';

?>

Can any body tell me what this does please?

Philip10

Ashley_Sheridan

As far as I can tell, it's not going to do too much on its own. It's trying to use a variable $HTTP_REFERER, which isn't actually anything, although it looks similar to a couple of actual global variables.

It expects this variable to contain some sort of template code and output it. It could be that this is used by other scripts in your site. The fact that it is in the root but not accessible through the browser suggests it has read permissions turned off for 'others' (I'm assuming a Linux server here; PHP on Windows? Yuck) allowing only the internal PHP scripts to use it. Have you just installed anything recently on your server that could have dropped this file in? A Google search reveals it is something to do with creating printer friendly versions of pages (have they not heard of CSS?!)

Hope that helps.

philip10

Hi Ashley,

Thank you for you swift reply. I am thankful that it is ok. Now I know it is a printer friendly thing, my partner has remembered doing something to make the pages printable.

Regards

Philip10

NogDog

$HTTP_REFERER will only be set if (a) the web server sets the $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] variable, which is normally done; (b) the register_globals setting is turned on, which is deprecated but still active on many hosts; and (c) the user's browser actually sent a referer header.

philip10

Hi Nogdog, Thanks for the reply. I am sorry but I didn't attend the Unseen University and what you have written has gone so far over my head it could look down and see the turtles. My knowledge of php and what it does is limited to 'a script that helps MySql (another of lifes mysteries) do its work. If I need php I ask Granny Weatherwax to put some spells together.

Regards Phil