The goal of this QuickStart guide is to cut out all the fat and teach you all the important facets of Omni Secure, the power behind it and how to apply it to your business. For these are truly the foundational elements that any web business needs to apply for success on the internet.
This is based on a compilation of nearly 10 years of hands on experience that has been accumulated since the creation of Omni Secure and several other web applications. Over the years people have asked for many different requests that pertain only to their specific business needs. So, we decided to condense the most frequently asked questions into an easy to understand guide. By the time you are done with this guide you will have a good understanding of not only how Omni Secure works, but also gaining an advantage over your competitors who may not understand these simple concepts that are crucial to your success online.
Omni Secure is an open-source PHP script driven by a MySQL database. This means that the source code is not encoded so you can modify any part of the software as you please. Usually software companies charge a much higher fee when selling the open-source version since most software companies do not like the idea of their customers being able to modify or “steal” their code. This also means you'll have to install encoding software, such as, Zend or ionCube in addition to their software even though you purchased it. This is not something we want our customers to go through.
The Basics (Overview)
Here are the basic ingredients I would like to cover initially. Just about every successful Internet business has these following components:
- Ability to capture leads
- Take orders by credit card
- Follow up with their leads and customers
- Have some form of membership access
- Be able to provide excellent customer service
All these things and much more can be done with Omni Secure. Missing any of these key elements can mean the difference between a failing business and a successful one. This is why we decided to finally build a guide that will immediately explain how everything works together in simple terms.
A fear most people have especially with any kind of web-based software whether it's PHP, ASP, JavaScript or Perl is that there can be a number of complex steps in completing the installation, which is not the same case when installing a local application, say on your Windows PC or Mac.
Nobody has really been able to take the time to explain in layman's terms how all this works together. So here we go.
The two main differences are permissions and databases. For these reasons web scripts that are database driven are a little more complex, but it’s also the reason why they are so powerful. I'm going to breakdown the entire process not only step-by-step but also layout a basic foundation so you can understand the full potential of not only omni-secure, but how web scripts work in general.
Omni-secure is not your standard membership and subscription management system. After nearly 10 years of revision and adapting to all different business situations Omni Secure has literally turned itself into an all-in-one website system.
User Management
Managing your customers has never been easier since all that is needed is a single user account. Let me explain that in more detail. Everything nowadays requires some form of user account - aside from business we use it in our daily lives without ever realizing it - from your bank account and paying electricity bill online to paying your taxes etc. now instead of having a bunch of separate user accounts for all the things I just mentioned, imagine being able to manage all those things with a single user account. This is what Omni Secure will do for your business, it basically consolidates all the web applications that you would have purchased separately under one roof. Combine this with sophisticated automation and you will have endless pOmni Secureibilities.
Folder Protection
Not too long ago the only way to protect files was by pasting protection code individually to each page, because of this people were not able to protect large amount of regular files, such as, zip, PDF, movies, music etc.
Now if all the protection of all you have to do is simply gather all the files that you want to protect and put them into a folder and then after a few clicks the entire folder is protected regardless of how many files are in it. This makes the process much easier and much faster for protecting files.
This method of security for folder protection is called mod_rewrite, formerly known as htaccess. Mod rewrite allows you to protect folders and also have a custom login form which you can easily modify however you please. Htaccess on the other hand is able to protect folders but is very limited because the login form is restricted by a pop-up windows box which cannot be customized.
You should always be using mod_rewrite as the protection method unless you are on an old server that only has htaccess available.
Groups (Permissions)
Groups are basically the permissions that you create for users. Each one of these groups can consist of either just being a basic free group or it could be a group the one-time fee of let's say $97 another group could be a monthly subscription for $97 and so on. They can range from anything from lead capturing two sales to follow up products you sell backends for example. Once you understand the power groups and how to use them you can structure a very sophisticated version of your business that you would not have originally simply because the tools aren't there.
Now let me explain how this relates to folders that you protect. You can assign one or many groups that must be required in order to access that folder. As you can see you can get pretty complex on how you want to structure group levels for your business or website.
Sign-up Registration Forms
There are many types of sign-up/registration forms that are used for multitude of purposes. Some are used for lead capturing, some are used to process to sell, some are used for surveys etc. when you combine the understanding of sign-up forms with the understanding of groups that we spoke about earlier you start to see the endless combinations of new ideas that you can test with your business. With Omni Secure you are able to create your own custom fields. Ranging from basic text fields to complex drop-down lists and checkboxes and many other options. At the same time you're also able to customize the look and feel of your sign-up forms or just simply integrate the form to your current web design.
The sign-up form is tied directly to your merchant account. This can sometimes cause an issue depending on what merchant gateway you're using. PayPal, authorize.net, CC bill, and Click Bank seem to be the most popular choices. We also provide a host of other merchant accounts that we have built throughout the years from the many requests from clients. All of the merchants I just mentioned provide recurring billing but they're also others that do not so you have to be careful in which merchant you choose.
Login forms
Omni Secure login forms are specially made to prevent brute force attacks from any unwanted visitors. Omni Secure login forms also have the ability to be multidirectional which means that depending on the user's group upon login the system will know where to redirect the user automatically. This makes your website login system dynamic.
Autoresponder
finding a good reliable autoresponder can be a challenging task if you’ve never used them before. The other problem is even if you do find a good autoresponder you still have to manage it separately. This is not the case with Omni Secure since the autoresponder is built-in to the actual user account.
How Plug-ins Work
Omni-secure also acts as a main hub, the front end to your website so to speak. We have a whole host of plug-ins ranging from merchant accounts like Paypal, to CMS systems like Joomla, to forum software like phpBB.
So let's break this down to make things a little more clear. To make sure you understand the full power of Omni Secure. Take the example above, if those four plug-ins are active within Omni Secure the following will happen.
The user will first register using the sign-up form which could be either a free membership or a paid membership using Paypal. Once payment and registration are complete the user is then given access. Simultaneously a user is created in phpBB and Joomla as well. This also means that now when the user logs in they will also be logged into phpBB and Joomla. The power that this demonstrates is seamless integration which automates the entire registration, login, purchase and follow up process.
Managing Multiple Domains
Now imagine you had one server and you also had a single installation of Omni Secure. MDR as we like to call it, which stands for multiple domain rights, is a form of managing multiple domains simultaneously without having to install separate licenses of Omni Secure. This literally means that you can have 10 domains which make up 10 separate businesses that have no relation to each other and manage them all from a single Omni Secure license. You can even take it a step further and create sub administrators that can only access one or more domains as well as having full control over what they can view, edit and delete. As you can see this is a very powerful feature that can save you a lot of time and money as you expand your business.
Lets Get Started!
At this point you should have absorbed enough information to get you started in exploring how Omni Secure can take your web business to new heights you never thought pOmni Secureible. Now you are ready to install our 10-day free trial. Here are the reasons why you will want to do this immediately:
- Installation should take no more than 15 to 30 minutes depending on your Internet connection.
- There is no need to re-install Omni Secure once your free trial period has ended. Immediately after you purchase, we will activate your free trial license to the full version.
- There is no need to have a website built before installing Omni Secure. Once your website is ready you will already have a software ready to go.
- If you decide to upgrade from Pro to Deluxe at a later date all you need to do is pay the difference and we will immediately perform he upgrade.
- Omni Secure has no hidden fees. The license is a one-time purchase which means you own the software for life and can transfer it to any server in the future.
- We’ve made importing and exporting your database simple. All you need to do is save your database in CSV Excel format which can then be later used to import your database if you decide to move to new server.
- If you decide to move to a new server in the future all you have to do is make a backup of your database, upload the Omni Secure files to the new server, then simply import your database in CSV format. We provide server transfer services for those who are not comfortable transferring to a new server on their own.
- Do I need SSL? You only need an SSL certificate if you need to have the order form on your server since customers will be entering credit card information that needs to be secure. An example of merchants that offer SSL pages are PayPal Pro and authorize.net. A benefit of having your own SSL order form is the ability to customize it however you like.
Server compatibility:
Omni Secure is a PHP web-based application that requires the following to be installed on your server.
- Apache
- PHP
- MySQL Database
The majority of Linux and UNIX based servers already have these components installed by default which means all you have to do at that point is to simply create a database and upload the software to your server.
If you happen to be on a Windows server or Yahoo hosting, for example, you will not be able to use Omni Secure to its fullest potential. Let me give you an example, let's say you tried to install Omni Secure on a Windows server, most of the features may work, but the crucial ones such as folder protection will not since this feature requires Apache to function properly.
Basically you have two options.
1) Move entire web site to Linux server
2) Keep current server and get a Linux shared server (Recommended)
If you absolutely must be on a Windows server or on a Yahoo server, you can keep everything you have intact on your current server and then simply get a shared hosting account with Go Daddy or any other host that offers Linux shared hosting and set up Omni Secure on that server.
Then all you have to do is move the content that you want to protect to the new Linux shared server. Finally just add your login and sign-up forms to your main site which makes everything appear to be on the same server.
Installation:
Click here to choose whether you would like us to install Omni Secure for you, or if you would like to install Omni Secure yourself. The Pro version is our basic model and our Deluxe version is our advanced model that includes all features and plug-ins. You can view the differences on our features page by clicking here. Assuming you would like to install Omni Secure yourself the next basic step will be to upload the Omni Secure files to your server. Once you have downloaded the zip file, uncompress the contents to your hard drive (Make sure you have Winrar or Winzip installed. If not, just Google either one and download it for free)
Once you unzip the files to your local hard disk you can now upload them to your server. If you are not familiar on what software to use you can download any freeware FTP software, such as, Filezilla (link).
Upload the Omni Secure6 folder to the root directory of your server. Once complete you can now run the installation wizard located at yourdomain.com/Omni Secure6/install/
On the first page click continue. You will be greeted with a small form requesting database information. For now leave this page open.
Folder Permissions
The permission settings used when installing a PHP script basically protects your server from unwanted intruders that can hack the password file to your database. This is your first-line of defense as far as your server goes and the most crucial.
Set the following folders to 777.
- /install (Change back to 755 after installation)
- /htaccess
- /htaccess/rewrite
- /lib/smarty/compiled
To set folder permissions via FTP right click on the first folder (/install) and then click either CHMOD or Attributes option (Depending on the FTP software you are using). You'll then see nine checkboxes. By default they should be set to 755. Check the remaining boxes which will set the folder permission to 777. This is done so Omni Secure can now write directly to that folder during the installation process.
Server Control Panel
Let's now open a new browser window or tab to access your website control panel. Control panels can vary in difference depending on the server. For example, GoDaddy simply requires you to visit their website and login to access your server control panel. Other hosts use a direct link such as your yourdomain.com/cpanel. If you're not sure simply contact your host and they can supply you with that information.
Tip: The username and password for your control panel in most cases is the same as your FTP username and password.
Once you've accessed your control panel find the section that manages the MySQL databases. Most hosts allow you to create many databases, but some only allow you to have one. Even in worst cases some hosts don't even allow you to create your own database. They have to create one for you. In any case you will know what to do if you follow these steps.
In the MySQL section there are three things you will need to do.
- Create a mySQL database
- Create a user for the database
- Grant full database permissions to user
(If you already have a database user created that you want to use skip this part)
Let's begin by creating a mySQL database. Simply click the create database button, name it and save. Once you have created the database now it’s time to create the user. Both the username and database name can be anything of your choice.
You will now need to apply full database permissions for the user. Do this by editing the privileges of the user account you just created. You should now see several boxes that are unchecked. Make sure all the boxes are checked so the user will have admin rights to database. Now just click save and you're done!
Installation Wizard
Now you should be able to easily fill in all the fields with the information that you used when creating your database and user account. After the installation is successful you should be able to login to the admin panel directly.
- The default administrator link is in this example format yourdomain.com/Omni Secure6
- The default username and password to login initially is admin (make sure you change your admin password)
Once you login as the administrator a dashboard screen should appear.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Omni-secure.
To get started configuring Omni Secure for your website visit our tutorial by clicking here.
