How to Set Up SSH Keys

About SSH Keys

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SSH keys provide a more secure way of logging into a virtual private server with SSH than using a password alone. While a password can eventually be cracked with a brute force attack, SSH keys are nearly impossible to decipher by brute force alone. Generating a key pair provides you with two long string of characters: a public and a private key. You can place the public key on any server, and then unlock it by connecting to it with a client that already has the private key. When the two match up, the system unlocks without the need for a password. You can increase security even more by protecting the private key with a passphrase.

Step One—Create the RSA Key Pair

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The first step is to create the key pair on the client machine (there is a good chance that this will just be your computer):

ssh-keygen -t rsa

Step Two—Store the Keys and Passphrase

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Once you have entered the Gen Key command, you will get a few more questions:

Enter file in which to save the key (/demo/.ssh/id_rsa):

You can press enter here, saving the file to the user home (in this case, my example user is called demo).

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):

It's up to you whether you want to use a passphrase.

Entering a passphrase does have its benefits: the security of a key, no matter how encrypted, still depends on the fact that it is not visible to anyone else. Should a passphrase-protected private key fall into an unauthorized users possession, they will be unable to log in to its associated accounts until they figure out the passphrase, buying the hacked user some extra time. The only downside, of course, to having a passphrase, is then having to type it in each time you use the Key Pair.

The entire key generation process looks like this:

ssh-keygen -t rsa
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/demo/.ssh/id_rsa): 
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
Enter same passphrase again: 
Your identification has been saved in /demo/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /demo/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
4a:dd:0a:c6:35:4e:3f:ed:27:38:8c:74:44:4d:93:67 demo@a
The key's randomart image is:
+--[ RSA 2048]----+
|          .oo.   |
|         .  o.E  |
|        + .  o   |
|     . = = .     |
|      = S = .    |
|     o + = +     |
|      . o + o .  |
|           . o   |
|                 |
+-----------------+

The public key is now located in /demo/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

The private key (identification) is now located in /demo/.ssh/id_rsa

Step Three—Copy the Public Key

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Once the key pair is generated, it's time to place the public key on the virtual server that we want to use.

You can copy the public key into the new machine's authorized_keys file with the ssh-copy-id command. Make sure to replace the example username and IP address below.

ssh-copy-id user@123.45.56.78

Alternatively, you can paste in the keys using SSH:

cat .ssh/id_rsa.pub | ssh user@123.45.56.78 "cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"

No matter which command you chose, you should see something like:

The authenticity of host '12.34.56.78 (12.34.56.78)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is b1:2d:33:67:ce:35:4d:5f:f3:a8:cd:c0:c4:48:86:12.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added '12.34.56.78' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
user@12.34.56.78's password: 
Now try logging into the machine, with "ssh 'user@12.34.56.78'", and check in:

  ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

to make sure we haven't added extra keys that you weren't expecting.

Now you can go ahead and log into user@12.34.56.78 and you will not be prompted for a password. However, if you set a passphrase, you will be asked to enter the passphrase at that time (and whenever else you log in in the future).

Optional Step Four—Disable the Password for Root Login

Once you have copied your SSH keys unto your server and ensured that you can log in with the SSH keys alone, you can go ahead and restrict the root login to only be permitted via SSH keys.

In order to do this, open up the SSH config file:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Within that file, find the line that includes PermitRootLogin and modify it to ensure that users can only connect with their SSH key:

PermitRootLogin without-password

Put the changes into effect:

reload ssh

Source: 

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/how-to-set-up-ssh-keys--2 

Copying a Joomla website

This tutorial is for Joomla! CMS Version(s)  

Copying a Joomla! website is a two-part process: you must copy the files and you must copy the database (which is where the content is stored). Copying the files and copying the database are separate operations. Which you carry out first will depend on your particular circumstances but in most cases it does not really matter. If your website is being updated frequently and you need to take your website offline while the copy takes place then you will probably want to perform the database copy last so as to minimize downtime.

Copying a website (common method)

Copying the files with FTP

One method of copying the files from one Joomla! installation to another is to use standard desktop FTP software to first download all of the files comprising your Web site from their location on your Web server, then upload these files to the location of the new Joomla! installation. Depending on where you're placing the copy of your Joomla! site, the new location could be a different directory on the same Web server, or it could be a new location on a completely different Web server.
It is important to maintain the same directory structure for all of your folders and files as you move them from one location to another. Fortunately, desktop FTP software will handle this automatically as you upload and download sets of files and folders. (Your FTP software should contain Help documentation which explains FTP and how to use the FTP software interface.)
Note that after you move the files from one location to another, you may still need to edit Joomla! configuration files to get your copy of Joomla! working at the new location; you may also need to change settings for aspects of your Web server to get the copy of your Joomla! site working.
In rare instances, a file may become corrupted during an FTP transfer, where only part of the file is successfully transmitted. If you encounter strange or unexpected errors with your new Joomla! installation after you copy over the files, you may want to try re-uploading your files in case of corruption during transfer.

Download files from server to your computer

1. Use FTP software (e.g. FileZilla) to connect to the server
2. Select the directory you want to download (mostly /public_html/ or /htdocs/)
3. Right click + select files/folder to download, or drag + drop the folder from the "Remote site" view to the "Local site" view
4. The downloading of the remote files will start
5. After you've downloaded the files, check the "Failed transfers" to see if there weren't any errors

Upload files from your computer to a server

1. Make sure that configuration.php has the right settings for the server (especially: localhost, database, database user, database password, log_path, tmp_path)
2. Use FTP software (e.g. FileZilla) to connect to the server
3. Select the directory you want to upload, and to where (mostly to /public_html/ or /htdocs/)
4. Right click + select files/folder to upload, or drag + drop the folder from the "Local site" view to the "Remote site" view
5. The uploading of the local files to the remote server will start
6. After you've uploaded the files, check the "Failed transfers" to see if there weren't any errors

Copying the database with phpMyAdmin

The phpMyAdmin tool can be used to export and import a database, providing a simple way to duplicate a copy of a database using a different name on our servers.

Exporting a copy of the database to your computer

1. Login to the database that you want to duplicate using phpMyAdmin
2. Click the database name on the left-hand side of the page.
3. Select the Export tab
4. Select the Save as file option
5. Click Go

You'll then be prompted to save the database file on your personal computer.

Importing the copy into a new database

You'll first need to create the new, empty database on your server using the account control panel. It needs to be UTF8 (utf8_generic_ci). After the new database has been created:

1. Login to the new database using phpMyAdmin
2. Click the database name on the left-hand side of the page
3. Select the Import tab
4. Click the Browse button under "File to import", then select the database file from your computer
5. Click Go to import the database

Hint: If you see a "No database selected" error, it's probably because you forgot to first click on the database name in the left-hand column.

Changing configuration.php

In order to get Joomla to work on the new server, you should make the necessary changes in configuration.php to reflect the new server settings. You should check/edit the following to

        var $host = 'localhost'; // usually "localhost". If it's different for your server then your hosting provider should be able to tell you that.
        var $user = 'the_db_username';
        var $db = 'the_databasename';
        var $password = 'the_db_password';
        var $live_site = ''; // is usually empty.

Joomla will work, even if $log_path and $tmp_path are wrong, though you won't be able to install extensions. Login into the back-end of your new Joomla site.
In Joomla 1.5 goto: Help > System Info > Directory Permissions. Look at the bottom 4 rows:

Cache Directory /var/www/example.com/cache/ Writable
Cache Directory /var/www/example.com/administrator/cache/ Writable
Log Directory ($log_path) /var/www/some/other/folder/example.com/logs/ Unwritable
Temp Directory ($tmp_path) /var/www/some/other/folder/example.com/ Unwritable

If the $log_path and $tmp_path are "Unwritable", you'll need to change the values in configuration.php.
Use the values of the "Cache Directory" without the "/cache/" part and change $log_path and $tmp_path to

   var $log_path = '/var/www/example.com/logs';
   var $tmp_path = '/var/www/example.com/tmp';

If the Directory Permissions show that $log_path and $tmp_path are "Writable", then you should be able to install extensions.

Copying a website using SSH command line (method for experienced users)

Copying the files using a compressed archive file method

Copying a large number of individual files using FTP can sometimes be unreliable. If you have command-line access to the both source and destination systems then you can create a compressed archive file containing all the files on the source system, then transfer that single file to the destination system where it can be decompressed.

Creating an archive file

On Unix-style systems (eg. Linux) you can use the gzip program to create .zip files, or the tar program to create .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 files. For detailed instructions type man gzip or man tar at the command line. For example,

tar cvfz joomlabackup.tar.gz /path-to-joomla

will create a gzip-compressed archive file, called joomlabackup.tar.gz, containing all of the files in your Joomla! installation.
Important note! You need to make sure you are NOT in the folder you are trying to backup when you run the tar command or you will create an endless loop.

Extracting an archive file

Having copied the archive file to the destination system, you now need to unpack it. Use the equivalent command that you used to create the archive file. For example, to unpack the archive file created in the example above, enter

cd /path-to-joomla
tar xvfz joomlabackup.tar.gz

If the user or group IDs are not the same between the source and destination systems, then you will need to amend the ownership of the files you just extracted. For example, on an Apache system, you might need to enter the command

cd /path-to-joomla
chown -R www-group.www-user *

so that Apache has ownership of the Joomla! files.

Please ask your hosting provider for the correct group and user names, www-group and www-user, on your system.

Copying the database with MySQL command line method

Usually you run mysqldump to create a database copy:

$ mysqldump -u user -p db-name > db-name.out

Copy db-name.out file using sftp/ssh to remote MySQL server:

$ scp db-name.out user@remote.box.com:/backup

Restore database at remote server (login over ssh):

$ mysql -u user -p db-name < db-name.out

Special Notes

• Possible error with moving a local Joomla 1.7 to server: Infinite loop detected in JError in Joomla 1.7

Tools

Akeeba

• Akeeba Backup produces a .jpa file

• The .jpa file contains all the folders/files and database files.

• The .jpa file also contains an installer

• Kickstart.php (from Akeeba) unpacks the .jpa file

• You then run the installer and install your site like a Joomla install.

• The installer changes the configuration for restoring to a different location and prompts for the new database details.

After you create the Database for your Joomla download and install Akeeba, it can be download from Joomla extension directory. There is a link to full instructions there as well.

GoDaddy.com Migrations

If using GoDaddy.com, different steps are required for import to be successful. In the Database section of the hosting control panel, find the database you wish to export and click the "edit details" icon (the little pencil). From there you will see a toolbar menu at the top with the option to Backup the database. Select that option and backup the SQL database to a _db_backups folder.
To import, go to the new hosting panel (if still using Go Daddy)and navigate to the new database you are importing to, following the same steps for export. This time, click on Restore in the menu and select the previously backed up database. After a few minutes, your database will be as good as before.


Source:
http://docs.joomla.org/Copying_a_Joomla_website

How do you put a module inside an article? Jump to: navigation, search

You will usually want to associate modules with articles in some way. The modules are allocated to module positions and the module positions appear somewhere on the Web page as determined by the template. However, it is sometimes useful to have a module actually embedded within the article.
To insert a module inside an article, use the {loadposition xx} command, as follows:

1. Create a module and set its position to any value that doesn't conflict with an existing template position. You can type in the position value instead of selecting it from the drop-down list. For example, use the position myposition.
2. Assign the module to the Menu Items that contain the articles that you want the module to show in. You can also just assign the module to all Menu Items. The module will not show unless you put the command to load the module in an article.
3. Edit the articles where you want this module to appear and insert the text {loadposition myposition} in the article at the place where you want the module.

*Note that this only works when the Content - Load Module plugin is enabled. If this plugin is disabled, the text {loadposition myposition} shows unchanged in the article.

loadmodule

An alternative to "{loadposition xx}" is the "{loadmodule yyy}" variation which is handled by the same plugin.
In this case the plugin looks for the first module that who's type matches the string 'yyy'. So, you could load a "mod_login" module by placing {loadmodule login} in your text.

Modules within Modules

It is possible in Joomla! 2.5+ to include a module within a "Custom HTML" module as they are processed by content plugins in the same way as articles.
You should remember when doing this that you may experience formatting issues as the "chrome" of the "Custom HTML" module will surround the "chrome" of the included module potential having undesirable effects of the formatting or layout.


Sources:
http://docs.joomla.org/How_do_you_put_a_module_inside_an_article%3F

Location of Error logs in a CPanel/WHM install

I was receiving a 500 internal server error on one of my CPanel sites earlier tonight but the apache error logs in CPanel admin for that user showed nothing. Instead, I had to locate the global apache error logs. This information may help others so I’ve listed some of the most useful CPanel/WHM log file locations below:

Apache Logs

General Error and Auditing Logs:
Location : /usr/local/apache/logs/error_log
Description : All exceptions caught by httpd along with standard error output from CGI applications are logged here..
The first place you should look when httpd crashes or you incur errors when accessing website.
Domain Access Logs:
Location : /usr/local/apache/domlogs/domain.com
Description : General access log file for each domain configured with cPanel.
Apache Access Logs:
Location : /usr/local/apache/logs/access_log
Description : Complete web server access log records all requests processed by the server.

MySQL Logs

MySQL General Information and Errors:
Location : /var/lib/mysql/$(hostname).err
Description : This path could vary, but is generally located in /var/lib/mysql. Could also be located at /var/log/mysqld.log

Joomla Blank (White) Frontend Page

So, a couple of days ago, I got myself into this project where the previous developer have used Joomla as the platform for the whole website which had a store as well.
Everything was working just fine on the old server, however, the client wasn’t happy and wanted to move it to another hosting provider, and the trouble just began here.
Well, to make it shorter, the transfer went smoothly (or so we thought). We could login to the admin backend and everything was just fine, we could publish articles and delete old ones. All was perfect, BUT, the front end did not want to appear! That was it, just a blank Joomla home page, a blank white page, that’s it. We could login to the admin panel, but the Joomla frontend was always blank!
So, reading about this on the internet, we found many solutions, and after lots of trials and errors, we managed to solve this.
So, read on to see what was the cause of the problem.
1. (.htaccess) File
Though we have checked the file and it was completely fine, nothing could make sense of why this joomla blank white frontend was there. So, a simple solution, DELETE the .htaccess file. But, it might be wise to make a local copy of it first. Usually the file would be created by itself if it’s needed. Problem solved
2. Corrupted File(s)
Sometimes, joomla’s core files get corrupted or overwritten or deleted for whatever reason. If one of the core files is missing, chances are, you will have the blank page issue. To solve this, try to login to your joomla root folder through an FTP client. Find out what is your joomla version. (usually, this is located at /libraries/joomla/version.php). Look for the “Release” and take note of the version number. Once you have done this, head to joomla’s official website and download a fresh copy of the same version you have. All versions will be available in joomla’s archive. Now, unzip the downloaded files and transfer them through FTP to your joomla root folder and accept all replacements.
Note: it’s always a good idea to keep a backup before you do this. Note that this will not affect your existing content. However, it will affect your themes if you have modified any of the original themes that come with the fresh joomla pack.
3. Directory Structures
If you have migrated your joomla website from one server to another, chances are, there might be something extra you need to do in order to get it running aside from transferring the files and importing the database. Different servers use different files structures. While this will not be an issue for joomla’s core components, it might be an issue for third part components and plugins. So, to solve this, make sure your plugins and components point to the correct directories after a hosting transfer and that might actually solve your issue.
4. PHP Related Errors
Another error could be caused by wrong or deprecated PHP codes in joomla’s modules, plugins, or components (third party ones). To debug these errors, enable the debugging mode under the Global Configuration in joomla’s administration backend. Now, visit your website and see what errors does it display and act accordingly to fix those errors.
5. Error Logs (Contributed by Afroz)
This solution was suggested by Afroz in the comments section. Try to check the Error logs under your website control panel and see if that will give you any heads up.
I guess that is it for now!
Have a great time, and if you found this useful, perhaps you could share it with your friends.
If you yourself have had any experience with a blank screen with Joomla and you managed to solve it, maybe you could just drop us a line in here and share with us how did you manage to solve it.


Source:
http://itscoding.com/joomla-blank-white-frontend-page

A Guided Tour of Joomla's configuration.php File

In our forum we are often asked to help with problems with paths, passwords, data base connections and other basic configuration issues. This is especially true after a migration or move of a site.
Most of the fixes for these problems can be made in your configuration.php file. We're going to help you get to know it this very important file.

In this lesson, were going to tell you:

• Where you can locate your configuration.php file.
• What each line affects and common settings.

This is not a comprehensive coding guide, but is a general reference to help you understand this file.

Location of the configuration.php file

Here's a picture of the location using Filezilla. This installation is in a sub directory called "joomla" .
Your configuration.php file is located in the root of your joomla installation. If it's in the main directory the path to it would look something like this:

• /home/username/public_html/configuration.php

In a sub directory or sub domain:

• /home/username/public_html/subdirectory/configuration.php

On your computer (using XAMPP as an example)

• C:\Documents and Settings\Ed\My Documents\xampp\htdocs\J17\configuration.php

I shouldn't have to say this, but I will. Make a backup of your current file before you do anything to it. Use a test site or play with it in a text editor offline for practice. Don't make changes without a backup. Make a backup before you move a file to a different server or directory.
We'll go through the file line-by-line and create a quick reference for each line, with some notes where further explanation might be needed.

Site Settings

• $offline : When set to "0" the site is online. Set to "1" the site is offline
• $offline_message : You can write any text message on this line.
• $sitename : The name of the site as it appears in headings
• $editor : The editor that is chosen as default in global configuration
• $list_limit :The length of lists in the Control Panel for all Users. By default, this is set to 20.
• $access : The default access level to the site. "1" is public access; "2" is registered; "3" is special

Debug Settings

• $debug : "0" is off. "1" is on.
• $debug_lang : "0" is off. "1" is on.

Notes:
$debug : This will turn on the debugging system of Joomla!. When set to Yes, this tool will provide diagnostic information, language translations, and SQL errors. If any such issues or errors occur, they will be displayed at the bottom of each page, in both the front-end and back-end.
$debug_lang : This will turn on the debugging indicators (*...*) or (?...?) for the Joomla! Language files. Debug Language will work without the Debug System tool set to on. But it will not provide additional detailed references which would help in correcting any errors.

Database Settings

• $dbtype : "mysqli" or "mysql"
• $host : "localhost" on many servers, not all.
• $user : The name of the data base user that has access to the data base.
• $password : The password associated with the data base user. Not your admin password or FTP password.
• $db : The data base name created when you created the data base.
• $dbprefix : At least three characters ending in an underscore. (Set when you installed joomla)

Notes
You need this information when you install the site. Forgetting to change this is often the cause of problems when moving a site. Before moving any site, make a backup copy of configuration.php so you can refer to the original settings if you need them.
$dbtype : only change this if you have changed servers and using a different type.
$host : most servers this is localhost. Godaddy and a some others have different names. Check with your hosting company if you're not sure.
$user : On shared cPanel servers it is often prefixed with the user name - for example edandrea_ed. On your local machine there will not be a prefix unless you created one. It shouldn't be root in any case. If you create a site on your local server and don't specify password when you create a data base, you will be able to access the data without a password. This is not secure when you move to web server online.
$db : On shared cPanel servers this is usually prefixed with a username - for example edandrea_jml1. On your local machine there will not be a prefix unless you created one. On Godaddy servers this name is generated by their service and you will not be able to create your own, see their documentation if you need it.
$dbprefix : You cannot create a new one here. This must be the one that was used when the data base was created, or that is actually used by the database. If you have more than one data base prefix, you can change this, but you can't create a new one.

Assorted extra features

$live_site : The actual URL of the site for example - http://yourdomain.com (unless your site is in a subdirectory)
$secret: : DO NOT CHANGE
$gzip : "0" is off; "1" is on.
$error_reporting : "-1" is the appropriate level.
$helpurl : default is joomla help. Can be set to your own help pages.

Notes
$live_site : In the newest versions this should not have a value. There may be times you do need to fill in a value. If you are redirecting a url you need to put the actual url to the live site on this line. Or if you are creating a copy of a site for testing and modification. For example, I have a test site at http://dashhelp.com/joomla17 which is a copy of my main site. had to change this to line in the configuratiion.php file on the copy. You will get a page not found error if this is not set to 'http://yourdomain.com/directory" or in the case of a subdomain "http://subdomain.yourdomain.com" Joomla uses this url to create relative paths. Essential to check this on test sites.
$secret : This is generated when Joomla! is first installed and is not changeable. It is used internally by Joomla! for security purposes.
$error_reporting : This sets the appropriate level of reporting. The default setting is System Default. Errors can occur that don't have any effect on the site. You don't need to log all errors unless you're doing some detailed debugging work. Your logs will just eat up your disk space otherwise.
$helpurl : The place Joomla! looks for help information when you click the Help button (visible in many screens and options of the administration panel). By default, it uses Joomla!'s main help site, but you could create your own help site, or link people to your ticket system for help.

$ftp_host: : "127.0.0.1" is the default IP for localhost. Your server may be different.
$ftp_port : "21" is normal default. Check with your host if you are having problems. Not all servers are the same.
$ftp_user : your FTP user name
$ftp_pass : your FTP password
$ftp_root: : usually a path like /home/username/public_html (no trailing slash)
$ftp_enable : This setting tells Joomla! to use it's built-in FTP function instead of the process used by PHP.

Time Zone Settings

$offset : default is UTC
$offset_user : default is UTC
Notes
$offset. This tool sets the current date and time. The set time should be where the site's server is located. The default setting is (UTC 00:00) Western Europe Time, London, Lisbon, Casablanca.Here's an example of the offset if the server is in California - US Pacific time $offset = 'America/Los_Angeles';

Email Settings

$mailer : "mail" uses the PHP mail function; "sendmail" uses SMTP mail on the server.
$mailfrom : From E-mail. The email address used by Joomla! to send site email.
$sendmail : The path where the Sendmail program is located. This path is only used if Mailer is set to Sendmail.
$smtpauth : If the SMTP server requires authentication to send mail, set this to Yes. Otherwise leave it at No. This is only used if Mailer is set to Sendmail.
$smtpuser : The username to use for access to the SMTP host. This is only used if Mailer is set to Sendmail.
$smtppass: The password to use for access to the SMTP host. This is only used if Mailer is set to Sendmail.
$smtphost : SMTP Host. The SMTP address to use when sending mail. This is only used if Mailer is set to Sendmail.
$smtpsecure : Select the security model your SMTP server uses - Default is None. Options are SSL and TTL.
$smtpport : SMTP Port. Most unsecured servers use port 25 and most secure servers use port 465. Check with your host.

Log Settings

$log_path : '//home/username/public_html/j/logs';
$tmp_path : :'//home/username\public_html/tmp';
Notes

$log_path : The path where the logs should be stored. The Joomla! installer should automatically fill in this folder. It's not critical to the operation of the site, so if it's wrong you will only know it if you try to check the logs.
$tmp_path : This is an important setting and should be filled in properly. Many problems found when moving sites are caused because joomla is looking for the old tmp folder. If you get any errors regarding the tmp folder check this path and make sure it's correct..

Cache Settings

$caching : "0" is off; "1" Conservative setting; "2" Progressive Setting
$cache_handler : "file" full cacheing ; "cachelite" lite cacheing
Notes
$caching : This setting sets the maximum length of time (in minutes) for a cache file to be stored before it is refreshed. The default setting is 15 minutes.
$cache_handler : This setting sets how the cache operates. There is only one caching mechanism which is file-based.
Cachelite is an alternative to full caching.

Metadata Settings

$MetaDesc : Create a text description for SEO.
$MetaKeys : Insert keywords separated by a comma.
$MetaAuthor : "0" is no; "1" is yes.
Notes
$MetaDesc : This is the Site Meta Description. This is the description of the site which is indexed by search engine spiders.
$MetaKeys : These are Site Meta Keywords. These keywords describe the site and are the basis for improving the ability of search engine spiders ability to index the site.
$MetaAuthor : This shows Author Meta Tag. It shows the Author Meta information for articles and is used by search engine spiders when indexing the site.

SEO Settings (Search Engine Optimization)

$sef : "0: is no; "1" is yes
$sef_rewrite : "0" is no; "1" is yes
$sef_suffix : "0" is no; "1" is yes
$unicodeslugs : "0" is no; "1" is yes
$feed_limit : default is 10 - any integer can be used
Notes

$sef : This controls Search Engine Friendly URLs. When set to Yes, URLs are rewritten to be more friendly for search engine spiders. For example, the URL: www.example.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=etc..., would turn into: www.example.com/alias. Most of the items created in Joomla! have an Alias box where a search engine friendly URL can be inserted. The default setting is No.
$sef_rewrite : When set to Yes, Joomla! will use the mod_rewrite settings of Apache when creating search engine friendly URLs. Please note: it is advised that you do not modify any .htaccess file without an understanding of how it works. You must use the .htaccess file provided with Joomla! in order to use this setting. To use this file, rename the htaccess.txt file (found in the root directory) to .htaccess. By default, this setting is set to No.
$sef_suffix : When set to Yes, Joomla! will add .html to the end of the URLs. The default setting is No.
$unicodeslugs : Choose between transliteration and unicode aliases. Transliteration is default. This is an advanced setting and you probably will not need to change this unless you are and SEO expert.

Session Settings

$lifetime : a whole number indicating minutes.
$session_handler : "database" or "none"
Notes

$lifetime : This setting sets how long a session should last and how long a user can remain signed in for (before logging them off for being inactive). The default setting is 15 minutes.
$session_handler : This setting sets how the session should be handled once a user connects and logs into the site. The default setting is set to Database.


source:
http://www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/guided-tour-your-joomla-configurationphp-file/

How to remove branding into joomla template.

How to remove branding into joomla template.
--------------------------------------------
1..Install quickstart joomla template
2..Remove template from Extension/manager.

you will also find a standalone template in package now we shall use it.

just follow the following steps.

1. extract the stand alone template folder
2. open stand alone template in dreamweaver
3. Rename template folder as you like
4. Rename template name in templateDetails.xml
5. search and replace the template name in sourecode with your new template name.
6. also search the old template name into database with supper text search.
7. Install this as new template (standard installation).
8. make this template as default.

all module associated with it should work.

Best way to making new Custom HTML module in Joomla

In any standard joomla template you should see typography section where you can find many
css examples i.e buttons style, table style, heading style and code for useing these styles.

you can use these css style and make your work fast that will also match your current template theme.

1..configure your site with dreamweaver
2..make new HTML document
3..attached template.css or typography.css into this document.
4..use code that describe in typography section of template.

make desirable changes and you can flow with current theme of template.

Now just copy this code and paste into new custom HTML module of joomla.