>I have just played around with using ODBC and the cursor adapter to connect to a backend server (right now i'm using mysql). as mentioned earlier, my main concern is security of the information stored in the database.
>
>my question is: why is a backend server more secure than the foxpro tables if, when accessing using odbc, you have to input the userid and password to gain access and this information is either stored in a configured dsn or in a foxpro program which is easy to read? now, i did try to access using a dsn under a different operating system account, and i didn't have access to it, so i'm assuming that once you log into your client system, you automatically can have access to the server simply by using a previously configured dsn?
>
>hope this makes sense. still learning the terminology here.
>
>thanks.
>
>paul

At least two reasons:
1. anyone can open you DBFs and to scan without problem your data. If you encrypt them decryption take a time and make apps slowly. You can try to read any file of the DB servers
2. In the servers are implemented self-recovery and backup features,which keep data in good shape and only hardware problem can create problem. While you know haw many problems and recovery toolsthere are for DBFs.