Disabling Magic Quotes on Shared Hosting

Turning off magic quotes on shared hosting can be tricky, especially when you don't have access to php.ini.

Using .htaccess

Adding php_flag magic_quotes_gpc off to your .htaccess file may not always work. This directive is typically used for mod_php environments, but shared hosting providers often use suexec/FastCGI setups instead.

Custom php.ini

In such cases, you can install a custom php.ini file. Some shared hosting providers allow this for suexec/FastCGI setups.

ini_set()

Using ini_set('magic_quotes_gpc', 'O') will not turn off magic quotes. The correct value should be 0, false, or "off". However, it's important to note that magic_quotes_gpc is a PHP_INI_PERDIR setting, meaning you can't change it with ini_set().

.htaccess Alternative

Since ini_set() is not an option, you can use an .htaccess file instead. However, you must use the correct directive:

php_value magic_quotes_gpc 0

Script Workaround

If .htaccess is not allowed, you can implement a workaround script to reverse the effects of magic quotes:

if ( in_array( strtolower( ini_get( 'magic_quotes_gpc' ) ), array( '1', 'on' ) ) )
{
    $_POST = array_map( 'stripslashes', $_POST );
    $_GET = array_map( 'stripslashes', $_GET );
    $_COOKIE = array_map( 'stripslashes', $_COOKIE );
}