This is just a cautionary note for others who may be installing or upgrading to the latest version (v5.5.9) of MySQL, either on a HostGator dedi or on their own development platform. I'm not sure where it belongs, if it really belongs anywhere in these forums. So admins feel free to move or delete if it's out of place.
My own MySQL updating experience resulted in the TOTAL REPLACEMENT of all tables in the DATA/mysql database so that all existing usernames, passwords and login privileges were eradicated. Most troubling from a security standpoint was the replacement of the existing 'root' login by an ALL PRIVILEGES root access without any password at all.
Whether this was just a quirk in my own case, or whether it may have been related to the fact that my own installation and its data is not located where the MySQL installer expects it to be, I'm really not sure. No previous update has produced any similar result. But I thought it might be worth passing along in case others encounter anything similar in circumstancers where it could actually lead to serious security issues.
My own MySQL updating experience resulted in the TOTAL REPLACEMENT of all tables in the DATA/mysql database so that all existing usernames, passwords and login privileges were eradicated. Most troubling from a security standpoint was the replacement of the existing 'root' login by an ALL PRIVILEGES root access without any password at all.
Whether this was just a quirk in my own case, or whether it may have been related to the fact that my own installation and its data is not located where the MySQL installer expects it to be, I'm really not sure. No previous update has produced any similar result. But I thought it might be worth passing along in case others encounter anything similar in circumstancers where it could actually lead to serious security issues.