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Unit 1: My SQL

To shut down the My SQL server and/or the WinMy SQLadmin tool, right-click again on the Notes
stoplight icon in your taskbar and select the appropriate option (stop or start). As long as the
My SQL server is running, you can run additional applications through a console window,
such as the My SQL.
If you have any problems during the installation of My SQL, the first place you should look
is the “Problems and Common Errors” unit of the My SQL manual, which is located at
http://www.My SQL.com/doc/P/r/Problems.html.
The following are some common problems:

On Linux/Unix and Mac OS X, incorrect permissions do not allow you to start the My SQL
daemon. If this is the case, be sure you have changed owners and groups to match those indicated
in the installation instructions.
If you see the message Access denied when connecting to My SQL, be sure you are using the
correct username and password.
If you see the message Can’t connect to server, make sure the My SQL daemon is running.
When defining tables, if you specify a length for a field whose type does not require a length,
the table will not be created. For example, you should not specify a length when defining a field
as TEXT (as opposed to CHAR or VARCHAR).
If you still have trouble after reading the manual, sending email to the My SQL mailing list
(see http://lists.My SQL.com/ for more information) will likely produce results. You can also
purchase support contracts from My SQL AB for a very low fee.

1.3 Basic Security Guidelines

Regardless of whether you are running My SQL on Windows, Linux/Unix, or Mac OS X, and
no matter whether you administer your own server or use a system provided to you by your
Internet service provider, you must understand basic security guidelines. If you are accessing
My SQL through your Internet service provider, there are several aspects of server security
that you, as a non-root user, should not be able to modify or circumvent. Unfortunately, many
Internet service providers pay no mind to security guidelines, leaving their clients exposedand
for the most part, unaware of the risk.
1.3.1 Starting My SQL

Securing My SQL begins with the server startup procedure. If you are not the administrator
of the server, you won’t be able to change this, but you can certainly check it out and report
vulnerabilities to your Internet service provider.
If your My SQL installation is on Linux/Unix or Mac OS X, your primary concern should be
the owner of the My SQL daemonit should not be root. Running the daemon as a non-root user
such as My SQL or database will limit the ability of malicious individuals to gain access to the
server and overwrite files.
Running the daemon as a non-root user such as My SQL or database will
limit the ability of malicious individuals to gain access to the server and
overwrite files.
You can verify the owner of the process using the ps (process status) command on your Linux/
Unix or Mac OS X system. The following output shows My SQL running as a non-root user
(see the first entry on the second line):

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