What is the logic behind a url string such as this:
Nameofwebsite.com/index.php?pd=msz_applicationsz_actionqz_memberspz_msz_applicationsz_modeqz_registerpz_&cw=f6a406dd275e4d8a47fbb5f8097e7cb3
Why all the Zs? Is this masking the directory structure of the web site? |
Request for Question Clarification by
googleexpert-ga
on
07 Apr 2004 12:20 PDT
Hi dantemm,
I think the Zs might be a result of "Leet Speak"
From "http://jamesthornton.com/jargon/html/Leet-speak.html"
Always substitute `z's for `s's. (i.e. "codes" -> "codez"). The
substitution of 'z' for 's' has evolved so that a 'z' is now
systematically put at the end of words to denote an illegal or
cracking connection. Examples : Appz, passwordz, passez, utilz, MP3z,
distroz, pornz, sitez, gamez, crackz, serialz, downloadz, FTPz, etc.
anyway, can you please tell me what kind of Answer you are looking for?
Thank you.
-googleexpert
|
Clarification of Question by
dantemm-ga
on
07 Apr 2004 14:14 PDT
I guess I may have overcomplicated my question by asking about the Zs.
Basically I?d like to know what function such long and cryptic URLs
like this provide on PHP sites.
Is it related to my session on the website? The website I got the
example off of is singlesinseattle.com.
I?m looking for an answer along the line of: ?The URL is that way
because______________ its purpose is to ________________ This is
common/uncommon for______________________.
Sorry for not being clear enough the first time. I hope this helps.
|
Hello dantemm,
Great questions. After a little digging, I've think I've found your answer.
These are PHP functions/variables within the script, unique to the
company that built/scripted the website, and are used by their
respective clients. I'll go out on a limb and suggest this is the
company that constructed this site :
ActiveUnit Design
http://www.activeunit.com/
How did I find out?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did a few Google searches and ended up finding this site :
http://www.quickbeforeitsgone.co.uk/
If you fiddle with the links on that site - you can see they are the
same. There is also a link to the ActiveUnit homepage on this website.
After exploring the ActiveUnit website, I stumbled upon some of the
same functions/variable names in use :
http://www.activeunit.com/index.php?pd=msz_applicationsz_actionqz_docspz_msz_applicationsz_docqz_25pz_
Why all the Zs? Is this masking the directory structure of the web site?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any number if things, to include:
- Possible note for Zend encoded work (Php acceleration etc..)
- PHP coded to mark a variable
- They don't like W's or T's - Z's are far more mystic ;-)
These variables in particular are not sessions, but mostly
navigational in nature. I would assume the "Z_" and other search
engine readable variables were constructed like this on purpose, to
allow easier navigation and indexing of website pages. (Using the
ampersand with multiple variables was at one time, a hindrance to
getting into search engines) I don't think they have anything to do
with masking the directory structure as most of the website is
probably pulled from a database. (MySql for example)
To assist with this answer, I searched the web using Google for :
msz_application
://www.google.com/search?q=msz_application
I hope this helps clear up some confusion. Should you need further
clarification or more details, please do not hesitate to ask. I will
do all I can to assist. Thanks for the great questions!
SgtCory |
Request for Answer Clarification by
dantemm-ga
on
08 Apr 2004 01:09 PDT
Is there any way to tell whether my example is Zend encoded work or
merely the representation of variables?
|
Clarification of Answer by
sgtcory-ga
on
08 Apr 2004 07:58 PDT
Hello,
Thanks for the clarification request.
Q.Is there any way to tell whether my example is Zend encoded work or
merely the representation of variables?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is no doubt to the fact that they are variables. We can see this
as some of the variable values change as the URL's change. The fact
that the code may be Zend encoded would have nothing to do with the
variables themselves. I simply offered this as a possible insight to
the coders thought process when creating the code.
For example - I want to write two (2) versions of a program. One of
them I want to make freely available under the GPL, and the other is a
full version for clients to purchase. In the GPL version, I may make a
variable called 'action', and it is not Zend Encoded. I want to be
able to distinguish the difference between a full, Zend Encoded
version and the free version without having to ask the user, or look
at the scripting itself. I then decide it may be a good idea to make a
distinction between the two versions by making the encoded version
with variables that start or end with any number of letters or
numbers. How about a Z? So it is just my opinion that this may be a
possibility.
On the surface - it's not easy to tell if the scripts are Zend
Encoded. Calling the HTTP headers will simply tell us which version of
PHP they are using. However, if we look at the ActiveUnit news
releases, we find this :
"This month's hallmark is our new partnership agreement with a leading
Web infrastructure software company Zend Technologies Ltd. The company
is the internationally recognized authority in PHP. The company
provides a complete platform that enables the rapidly growing market
of PHP-enabled enterprises to develop, protect and scale their PHP
applications (for more details see www.zend.com)....."
This seems to indicate that they do Zend Encode their applications. If
we were able to see the absolute requirements for their software, it
may help too. If one of the requirements were that you had to have the
Zend Optimizer to run the scripts, then there is a strong possibility
that the scripts are Encoded, as you must have the Optimizer in order
to decode it.
I hope this is enough insight to answer your clarification request. If
you still have further questions, I would love to help in anyway
possible. Thanks for the great follow up!
SgtCory
|
Clarification of Answer by
sgtcory-ga
on
08 Apr 2004 08:01 PDT
"In the GPL version, I may make a variable called 'action', and it is
not Zend Encoded."
The 'it' - is referring to the whole script, not just the variable. We
would not Zend Encode a single variable, rather the whole script. I
apologize for any confusion.
SgtCory
|
