Should I Worry About Security On A Test Server?

[Guest Deleted]

I'm using my computer as a test server. It has a clone of my site files and a clone of my database. They do not interact with the real thing. Do I need to worry at all about security? I gave MySQL a root password, did I need to do this? Also, I'm letting my test site access my test database with the root account, should I have it use an account with less power?

[HartleySan]

Just be aware that anyone on your network can use your local IP address to access your site.

As long as you're not worried about that, you're fine.

[Larry]

Very good question! First, we have to acknowledge that pretty much the only argument for not worrying about security (or worrying about it less) is laziness/convenience. That's not insignificant, but we should call a spade a spade. That being said, generally speaking, I don't worry about the security (such as the database users) much on my own computer. If someone gets onto my computer, there are many, many problems ahead, not just my sites. 

 

On the other hand, one could argue that your development environment ought to exactly replicate your production environment. When you're starting out, that's not going to be the case normally, but it's a factor. 

 

And the biggest caveat I would have is that you have to make sure you never upload less secure code (or whatever) to your production server.