BleepingComputer.com: Firebird SQL - MAGIX Edition

My supervisor here at the office found this on our program list when she was cleaning up one of the computers and wants to delete it. She made some calls and heard that it was a database for something and that it was a potential security issue.

I realize that this is something that is for our MAGIX Photostory software, but will the program work without it? Why is it a security issue? I can't get anyone to answer me at support for the company, so I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this. My supervisor really really wants to get rid of it, but it seems necessary.

Anyone familiar with this? Any help appreciated!

A more in-depth description
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebird_(database_server)
http://www.firebirdsql.org/
I don't think it has anything to do with MAGIX Photostory
Not really sure about any security issues

Wow, those sites definitely have a ton of information about it on them! Unfortunately, I have to admit that I really don't understand most of it! So it seems that if it actually is a database associated with our software then deleting it would not be a good idea. It doesn't cause any problems that I know of, I just wish the websites had some sort of FAQ about security.

Thank you very much for the sites, though. Any information at all is helpful.

Firebird prior to version 2.1 is vulnerable to several issues, including
connecting to the database as "SYSDBA" user with no password required.
If the server is on the internal network with no access from the 'net it is
reasonably secure. Update to the latest version if possible.

Oh okay, well it has Internet access and so does every computer that it is networked with, so I better try again to get in touch with the MAGIX people and find out which version this is. We don't have any more info on it other than what I listed in the subject, so I need to find out what's possible there.

Thank you! Now I have a direction!

I want to clarify "internet access". I understand that the office computers
can access the web. Specifically what i meant was, does Firebird allow connections
from outside the office. Example: if you had another office across town and they
used the same database. If you are a small business/single office Firebird should
have been configured to only accept connections from the local network.
It looks like Firebird can not be "updated". You must purchase a new version.
Hope this helps.

P.S. Looking at the Magix site, it appears that only mp3maker (Music Manager) uses Firebird.
For a simple test, temporarily shut down Firebird. Open PhotoStory, do some stuff and save.
If you don't get any "database" errors it "should" be safe to remove Firebird.

Oh, I see what you're saying - we are a single office small business. I did find that the version of Firebird we have is 2.0.0.1. We don't use the mp3maker at all, so hopefully we will be able to work without it. I will try what you suggested.

How would I go about temporarily shutting down the database?

Thanks for the help!

Windows XP - Firebird running as an app:
Should be a yellow/black tray icon. (near the clock)
Windows XP - Firebird as a service:
Press Ctrl-Alt-Del, find fbserver or fb_inet_server and End Task.
Hope that helps.

I tried to do the 2nd option, because there is no icon near the clock for that, and there is not a listing for fbserver or fb_inet_server or anything at all with "server" in it? Is it a bad idea to uninstall Firebird and then doing something in Photostory and checking for database errors? I could always just uninstall everything MAGIX and reinstall from our disk.

Not a bad idea, just not the most elegant. Since you have the disk you can always reinstall.
As I pointed out before, I could not find any documentation that links PhotoStory to Firebird.
Only Music Manager. I am not familiar with these programs and can not find any info beyond
Firebird just cataloging the MP3 info in the database.
Firebird might only start when Music Manager (mp3maker) is started. It could be installed,
but not running at all.
Try this before uninstalling FB. Start the Music Manager and then check Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del)
for fbserver or fb_inet_server.
If it's not running at boot or when MM is running I would say it's safe to uninstall.

Great. I will try that. I appreciate your help. I have no idea what I'm doing with these computers here, but as the youngest I'm the supposed "tech" person by default, so the good thing is that I'm only interested in getting a resolution however ungraceful!!

Thanks again!

I see this is an older topic but I'll add a brief reply in case it is helpful to to others. To the best of my knowledge, all or most newer Magix products silently install the Magix edition of firebird server alongside the primary application. I believe it is used to link user-specific on-line content and possibly to facilitate the Magix screenshare feature. As long as your use of any Magix programs installed on your machine are not used for on-line screen sharing and are not dependent upon additional web based content you might have purchased through Magix, it should be safe to uninstall the Magix edition of firebird server. After uninstalling you will notice that the running process FABS.exe no longer appears in task manager. If you determine that the removal of firebird server has effected the functionality of a Magix program, reinstalling the program will reinstate the firebird server and all should be well.

This post has been edited by Mister T: 19 September 2010 - 08:01 PM