The .htaccess is actually an Apache and litespeed web server thing. Plenty of windows server use Apache or litespeed. Most top web hosting companies will use a system where you can use the .htaccess file. Who is your hosting provider?
It’s a company here in the UK called eHosting, they do offer a LAMP server setup but I’m currently running IIS 7.5.
Windows IIS is designed more for large corporate in-house Intranets/Internets for active directory integration. Public single site owners/users should always choose Linux based hosting unless they have a specific need/usage for an ASP application. In my opinion web hosts should clearly state the differences and advise new customers on the whats and whys of choosing a hosting plan (would you want to piss off Microsoft – probably not). Most average folks will have no idea which to choose – Windows or Linux. Luckily it is quick and simple to switch from Windows to Linux hosting.
As far as security goes and htaccess comparability vs web.config I believe that they are pretty much equal. So it just comes down to numbers – the vast majority of public single users have Linux based hosting & the minority of public single users have Windows hosting. Most likely that vast majority of users that have Windows hosting picked it because they have a Windows OS. 😉
Thanks for the info. I’ve had my hosting plan with the same company for nearly 15 years and it’s always been IIS. Also as it’s a reseller plan I would have to do quite a bit of research into how changing to a LAMP server at this stage would effect my clients.
So food for thought, but I’ll just have to see how I get on with regard to security and if the situation become untenable then I’ll have to start considering a change.
