CGI::Auth version 2.4.3
=======================

CGI::Auth provides password authentication for web-based applications.  
It uses server-based session files that are referred to by a parameter 
in all links and forms inside the scripts guarded by CGI::Auth.

CGI::Auth is written in pure Perl, so it should be portable across 
operating systems.  It was originally designed on Windows NT, and has 
also been used extensively (and successfully) on Linux.

Upon installation, the documentation can be viewed by issuing the 
command 'perldoc CGI::Auth', or by running perldoc directly on the 
Auth.pm file.

INSTALLATION

To install this module type the following:

   perl Makefile.PL
   make
   make test
   make install

Also, take a look in the extra directory for sample files to help you
get started.

NOTE: If the make doesn't work for you for some reason, all you really 
need to do is copy Auth.pm to a folder named 'CGI' in one of your Perl 
include directories.

DEPENDENCIES

CGI.pm version 2.0.  

    It will probably work with any version, since I don't use a lot of 
    CGI.pm's functionality, but I developed it with 2.7 and didn't want 
    to go too far back.  It's probably best to use the latest version 
    of CGI.pm anyway.

 * OR * 

CGI::Simple

    This is a simpler alternative to CGI.pm.  It is smaller and faster, 
    but includes all the basic CGI functionality.  What it doesn't 
    include is the HTML shortcuts, and these are not needed by 
    CGI::Auth.

    However, CGI::Simple is newer than CGI.pm and hasn't been tested 
    as thoroughly.  It will probably work just fine, but you might find 
    a bug or two.

NOTE ON SECURITY

Any hidden fields such as passwords are sent over the network in clear 
text, so anyone with low-level access to the network (such as an ISP 
owner or a lucky/skilled hacker) could read the passwords and gain 
access to your application.  CGI::Auth has no control over this since 
it is currently a server-side-only solution.

If your application must be fully secured, an encryption layer such as 
HTTPS should be used to encrypt the session so that passwords cannot be 
snooped by unauthorized individuals.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE

Copyright (c) 2001, 2002, 2003 C. Chad Wallace.
All rights reserved.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the same terms as Perl itself. 

THIS PACKAGE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED 
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF 
MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
