web hosting

Amaxus CMS Gets a Serious Upgrade

The Amaxus content management tool has been on the CMS market since 2001.  However, isn’t wasn’t until September, 2009 that the product was properly introduced to the web.  The platform has improved considerably with the release of Amaxus 4.0 and this version could be exactly what BoxUK needs to makes its web CMS a true competitor on the market.

Noteworthy Improvements and Features

Amaxus officially got its start about eight years ago and actually utilized an early version of the popular development technology now known as AJAX.  Since the initial release, the platform has undergone major changes through four version releases, each attempting to keep up with the rapidly evolving web technology and fast changing times.  Amaxus 4.0 currently focus on six main factors:

1. Streamlined User Interface – Amaxus has been designed from the ground up, focusing on usability to help the user get tasks done in a much easier way.

2. Universal Search Capabilities – Locating content and information on an Amaxus site is made simple by a built-in search system that performs much like a traditional web search engine.

3. Content Support – Axamus is capable of handling all types of content.   A content and classification module gives the CMS the ability to intelligently publish and manage content types that range from simple text and documents to rich media and databases.

4. Workflow and Versioning – Axamus offers all the administrative features you would expect from an enterprise CMS.  This includes content versioning and rollback, advanced workflow, a role-based permission system and more.

5. Control – With Axamus, you can manage far more than basic content.  You can also control functionality, site design and various other elements all through an intuitive graphical user interface.

6. Enhanced Search Engine Rankings – Amaxus offers a number of integrated features designed to help improve search engine rankings.  This includes an SEO checking tools customizable URLs and standards compliant page output.

Social Networking Capabilities

The Amaxus CMS puts a lot of emphasis on social networking and content distribution.  It also has several features to help you distribute your content to other sites.  Some of the most notable include the ability to publish an unlimited number of RSS feeds, automatically publish your content in the form of Tweets, and a REST API that allows you to publish content on popular social networking sites such as FaceBook and YouTube, as well as another tool that allows visitors to promote your content on social bookmarking sites like Delicious, Digg and StumbleUpon.

Conclusion

You can learn more about the Amaxus CMS by visiting the official website.  The site is easy to navigate and offers a tour on how the product can be used to power your own website.  It explains the features and benefits and also talks about the technology behind the platform and the advantages of its open-source nature.  In addition, the website offers a Showcase and Resources page that contains case studies and screen casts of the product for users who need a little more convincing.

The Vulnerability of AJAX Applications

When it comes to emerging web technologies, AJAX is leading the charge as one of the most dynamic tool sets on the development market.  Short for Asynchronous Javascript and XML, AJAX is attracting the attention of developers and businesses around the world.  Unknown to some, AJAX isn’t a programming technology like HTML or PHP, yet a collection of technologies that provide a robust facility for developing powerful web-based applications.  The power of AJAX is seen in many applications today including Google Maps and Yahoo!  mail.

What Makes AJAX So Different?

The purpose AJAX is to enhance speed, interactivity and usability.  The combination of technologies provide a more feature-rich, user-friendly experience.  Instead of loading the requested page at the start of the session, an AJAX engine scripted in Javascript is loaded.  This engine acts a middlemen between the user and the web page, enabling communication between the client and server.  The end result of this interaction is noticed almost instantly.  When making a request to an AJAX page, you may see individual elements of the page update before your eyes (asynchronously) rather than waiting for the page to load completely.

The AJAX Disadvantage

AJAX is a very powerful weapon but one must be aware of the security vulnerabilities that exist.  Some developers have the misconception that AJAX applications offer tighter security because it is believed that the server-side script can’t be accessed without the rendered user interface, which is simply the AJAX-based page.  Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth.  The mere factor of increased interactivity within the application results in increased text, XML and HMTL network traffic.  This in turn, could lead to the exposure of back-end applications that may have not vulnerable otherwise.  Without adequate server-side protection, it could also give unauthenticated users the ability to manipulate privilege configurations.

Another AJAX vulnerability is associated with the process it utilizes to formulate server requests.  Its engine uses Javascript to capture user commands and convert them into function calls.  These function calls are transmitted to the server in plaintext, making them visible to savvy eavesdroppers.  This could allow an intruder to easily access database fields that contain user login credentials and other critical variables that can be manipulated for malicious gain.  With this information, a hacker can victimize AJAX functions all without directly creating specific HTTP requests to the server.  Coupled with the known vulnerabilities of Javascript, AJAX applications are susceptible to attacks like cross site scripting and similar threats that plague scripts created by other development technologies.

While the evolution of web technologies has enabled applications to enjoy more responsive, interactive, efficient functionality, they also increase the vulnerabilities developers and businesses face on a daily basis.  The growing prevalence of AJAX applications has considerably broadened the threat window, essentially giving hackers a greater opportunity to compromise sensitive data and thieve invaluable assets.  For this reason, developers must stop living under a false sense of security and take every measure possible to ensure that their AJAX applications are completely secure.