Putting a customer database online

[Syneryder]

The time has come to automate more of my business, and my next step is to move my business database online... has anyone else here done that, any advice? Uploading it will be easy because it's already in MySQL format, but what about:
Security concerns - did you do anything special to ensure the database security? Any extra concerns with putting the database on the shared servers?
Privacy Concerns - besides abiding by privacy laws (and updating privacy policies as necessary), is there anything else you needed to do?
Backups - I've seen the threads about automating mysqldump and compressing the files. What about automatically FTP'ng the backup to another online server, can that be done from FQ?
Updating / Maintenance - I've been using a Windows client tool called MySQLFront to manage my local database... I assume I can't use that to connect to the database at FQ?
I'll probably have more questions later, but this is all I can think of right now. It's enough to start with :)

[dank]

If you're allowing customers to interact with the database, then security/privacy is a likely concern. If it's just a hidden administrative tool, then probably not much of a worry.

Dan

[Syneryder]

Well, I'd like customers to be able to complete a survey (eg to become a beta tester) and have those details inserted into a database table. It would also be good if customers could type in their email address and be resent unlocking codes for software they purchased from me.

But beyond that, the database will be completely hidden. It will be updated automatically whenever I get an order (eg via Kagi), perhaps I'll need extra security there. I think Kagi uses HTTP POST to submit data, but you can lock the POST page down with htaccess password restrictions.

[hobbes]

Security concerns - did you do anything special to ensure the database security? Encrypted some of the data so that to unencrypt a passcode is required
Any extra concerns with putting the database on the shared servers? Let's hope not at FQ
Privacy Concerns - besides abiding by privacy laws (and updating privacy policies as necessary), is there anything else you needed to do? Really depends on your privacy policy and where you're conducting business; eg., Europe has much more stringent privacy laws
What about automatically FTP'ng the backup to another online server, can that be done from FQ? rsync is your friend. There should be some posts around on the topic.
Updating / Maintenance - I've been using a Windows client tool called MySQLFront to manage my local database... I assume I can't use that to connect to the database at FQ? You can always order up a MySQL connector for your home IP address which will allow you to use local MySQL apps.

[Syneryder]

Encrypted some of the data so that to unencrypt a passcode is requiredI like that idea, but doesn't that prevent most useful kinds of database query? The data that would be a candidate for encryption would be customer names, addresses & email addresses... but at the very least I'll need to do lookups on email addresses, so I don't think I can encrypt them?

You can always order up a MySQL connector for your home IP address which will allow you to use local MySQL apps.Ahh, I plan to do some overseas travel next year so I couldn't make use of it then. I guess I'll get used to working on the server, or just downloading the database when I need to.

[Syneryder]

I also forgot to ask - is PHPMyAdmin still everyone's preferred tool for managing a database online?