allowing access to XML only from flash/script?

[donjao]

Hi there,

I have a question regarding accessing the XML database.

I have a collection of XML files somewhere like www.domain.com/xmldb/
and a flash, that access them when needed. so here's my question, is there a way, to prevent visitor viewing the XML files? So if visitor types www.domain.com/xmldb/some.xml he wouldn't get any data from it, he just sees somewhat like 403 error or else. But allowing the flash, on the same domain accessing those xml easily.

So, the question is if this is possible? And how?

Thanks in advance.

[sneakyimp]

I'm not certain, but I don't think there's any kind of Apache or IIS configuration that could require Flash only. Furthermore, the server depends on any visiting browser or flash application or whatever to identify itself--a smart hacker can fake this information.

You could serve the XML up using PHP or ASP or Java or something. If you want to use PHP I can help you figure something out. You'll need to check and see if your web server supports PHP.