Newest KB Articles in ASP.NET

How to encrypt configuration sections of your web.config using a custom RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:35:19 GMT

Web.config encryption works with ASP.NET 2.0 or higher.

The RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider allows you to encrypt certain sections of the web.config using RSA keys. You must implement a custom RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider if you are encrypting with your own RSA keys.

To generate your own custom RSA keys and install it on the DiscountASP.NET server, see the related Knowledge Base article, How to install your RSA keys for web.config encryption on DiscountASP.NET servers.

Then add the custom configProtectedData provider in your application's web.config. Replace the keyContainerName value with the same container name of your RSA key.

<configuration>
  <configProtectedData defaultProvider="MyRsaProtectedConfigurationProvider">
    <providers>
      <add name="MyRsaProtectedConfigurationProvider"
      type="System.Configuration.RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider, System.Configuration, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a, processorArchitecture=MSIL"
      keyContainerName="NetFrameworkConfigurationKey_username"
      useMachineContainer="true" />
    </providers>
  </configProtectedData>
</configuration>

You can then run the aspnet_regiis.exe tool to encrypt. For example, if you want to encrypt the connectionStrings of the WebSite1 application in the "Default Web Site" on your local computer, run the following command on your computer:

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\[.NET Framework version]\aspnet_regiis.exe -pe "connectionStrings" -site "Default Web Site" -app "/WebSite1"

Upload your application to your DiscountASP.NET website. The server should be able to decrypt your web.config since the same RSA key is installed on the server.

If you run into problems when using this code, please post in our community forum. Technical support is unable to assist with specific coding issues.

Error accessing a WCF service: "IIS specified authentication schemes 'Basic, Anonymous', but the binding only supports specification of exactly one authentication scheme..."

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:49:22 GMT

To resolve this problem, add the following to the web.config file to disable basic authentication:

<system.webServer>
  <security>
    <authentication>
      <basicAuthentication enabled="false" />
    </authentication>
  </security>
</system.webServer>

Anonymous authentication can also be disabled using:

<anonymousAuthentication enabled="false" />

Error accessing a WCF service: "This collection already contains an address with scheme http. There can be at most one address per scheme in this collection."

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:43:54 GMT

You can resolve this error by changing the web.config file.

If you're using ASP.NET 4.X, add the following lines to your web.config:

<system.serviceModel> 
     <serviceHostingEnvironment multipleSiteBindingsEnabled="true" /> 
</system.serviceModel>

If you're using ASP.NET 2.0/3.0/3.5, add the following lines to your web.config:

<system.serviceModel> 
     <serviceHostingEnvironment> 
          <baseAddressPrefixFilters> 
               <add prefix="http://www.YourHostedDomainName.com"/> 
          </baseAddressPrefixFilters> 
     </serviceHostingEnvironment> 
</system.serviceModel>

Changing the default ASP.NET Trust Level

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:30:55 GMT

Most applications should run using Medium Trust. If your application requires Full Trust, you can override the trust level at the application level by adding the following to your web.config file:

<configuration>
  <system.web>
    <trust level="Full" />
  </system.web>
</configuration>

How to set up custom errors for an ASP.NET application

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:05:01 GMT

ASP.NET has its own built-in error handling. To set up custom error handling for your ASP.NET application, you will need to modify your web.config file.

For example, if you want to redirect all 404 errors to error404.aspx, 500 errors to error500.aspx, and all other errors to error.htm, you would update the customErrors element in your web.config as follows:

<customErrors mode="On" defaultRedirect="error.htm">
  <error statusCode="500" redirect="error500.aspx"/>
  <error statusCode="404" redirect="error404.aspx"/>
</customErrors>

CustomErrors are off by default. If you do not customize the custom error element in the web.config file, the default ASP.NET error (with debug information) will be displayed.

How to connect an ASP.NET application to a MySQL database

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:46:47 GMT

Two different methods can be used to connect an ASP.NET application to MySQL database:

- Using ODBC .net data provider
- Using a MySQL native .NET data provider

Both MySQL data connectors are installed on all servers.

How to install RSA keys for web.config encryption on DiscountASP.NET servers

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:52:59 GMT

Web.config encryption only works with ASP.NET 2.0 or later.

ASP.NET 2.0 or later allows you to encrypt certain sections of the web.config; for example, the connectionStrings section. One encryption method is to use RSA keys. You can use the global machine-generated RSA key, but this is relatively insecure since everyone on the server has access to this key. The only secure solution is to use your own RSA keys that only your website has permissions to.

You can generate RSA keys using the aspnet_regiis.exe tool that comes with the .NET framework. Run these commands on your local computer:

1. Create the RSA keys. Replace the "username" part of the NetFrameworkConfigurationKey_username with your hosting account username.

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\[.NET Framework version]\aspnet_regiis.exe -pc "NetFrameworkConfigurationKey_username" -exp

2. Export RSA keys. Replace the "username" part of NetFrameworkConfigurationKey_username with your hosting account username. This will export the public/private keypair to an XML file on your C drive.

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\[.NET Framework version]\aspnet_regiis.exe -px "NetFrameworkConfigurationKey_username" "C:\NetFrameworkConfigurationKey_username.xml" -pri

Upload your RSA .xml file to your root directory then contact the DiscountASP.NET support team to get the RSA keypair installed on your webserver. We will install it in the webserver's LOCAL_MACHINE\My keystore with the appropriate access permissions for your site's ASPNET user. Make note of the NetFrameworkConfigurationKey_username container name, which you will have to use in your application for encryption/decryption.

For more information, see this Knowledge Base article.

How to enable ASP.NET SQL Server Session on your web application

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:45:27 GMT

In ASP.NET, there are 3 different modes for storing session information:

    InProc
    StateServer
    SQLServer

We support both InProc and SQLServer session. By default, ASP.NET session is stored in-process (InProc). There are benefits and drawbacks for each method.

InProc mode offers the fastest performance because session is stored in the IIS Worker Process. The downside of InProc session is that sessions can be lost if the worker process is recycled for any reason.

SQL Server session on the other hands is slower than InProc, about 15-20% slower, but the session information remains persistent even after the worker process is recycled.

You should choose a state management mode that is appropriate for your application. For example, if losing session is not acceptable, you should consider using SQL Session rather than InProc.

To enable SQL Server Session:

- You will need to already have a SQL database.

- Create a support ticket to request an installation.

- You will receive an email as soon as the Session State database schema is created.

- Update your web.config file as follows:

< sessionState
  mode="SQLServer"
  allowCustomSqlDatabase = "true"
  sqlConnectionString="data Source=<SQLSERVERNAME>;database=<SQLDATABASENAME>;user id=<SQLUSER>;password=<SQLPASSWORD>"
    cookieless="false"
  timeout="15"
/>

Session information should be stored in your SQL database now.

If you run into problems when using this code, please post in our DiscountASP community forum or our Everleap community forums. Technical support is unable to assist with specific coding issues.

Configuration error when executing an application in a subdirectory

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:38:03 GMT

If you get the following error when attempting to execute an application in a subdirectory:

Parser Error Message: It is an error to use a section registered as allowDefinition='MachineToApplication' beyond application level. This error can be caused by a virtual directory not being configured as an application in IIS.

Your application is likely being run out of a subdirectory and the subdirectory is not configured in IIS to run as an application. To resolve this error, you can create an IIS application using the Web Application Tool in Control Panel.