WebChat – Anonymous Chat Module System

Lightweight • Fast • Secure • PHP + MySQL
Created by devgagan

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📌 Introduction

WebChat is a simple and efficient anonymous chat system built using plain PHP, MySQL, and AJAX.
The goal is to offer a fast, lightweight chat experience without requiring heavy frameworks or complex server setups.

This project is ideal for:

• Anonymous chat rooms
• Temporary or private group chats
• Learning PHP-based real-time communication
• Embedding chat inside existing websites
• Lightweight hosting (works perfectly even on shared hosting)

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🔐 Default Admin Credentials

After installation, login to the admin panel using:

Username: admin
Password: password

⚠ Important: Change the admin password immediately for security.

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⭐ Features

• ✔ Anonymous chatting
• ✔ Admin panel included
• ✔ Simple, clean UI
• ✔ Secure file upload system
• ✔ Realtime messaging via AJAX polling
• ✔ Auto-cleanup system (via cron)
• ✔ Works on shared hosting & VPS
• ✔ Minimal setup — no frameworks required

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📂 File & Folder Structure

Path	Description
assets/	JavaScript, CSS, images
index.php	Home / login redirect
chat.php	Main chat interface
auth.php	Authentication logic
api.php	Backend for sending/receiving messages
config.php	Database configuration
register.php	New user registration
login.php	User login
logout.php	Logout controller
files.php	Secure file upload logic
serve.php	Serve uploaded files safely
cron_cleanup.php	Cleans old chats & unused uploads
spychat.sql	SQL schema required for installation

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🧰 Installation Guide (Local / Any Server)

1. Clone the Project

git clone https://github.com/devgaganin/WebChat.git
cd WebChat

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2. Create Your Database

Login to MySQL:

mysql -u root -p

Create database:

CREATE DATABASE webchat_db CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

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3. Import the Chat Tables

mysql -u root -p webchat_db < spychat.sql

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4. Configure Database Login

Open config.php:

define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('DB_NAME', 'webchat_db');
define('DB_USER', 'your_user');
define('DB_PASS', 'your_password');

Save the file.

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5. Run the Application

Open your browser:

http://localhost/WebChat/

Login using:

admin / password

🎉 WebChat is now ready!

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🌐 Deployment on Shared Hosting (Hostinger)

This project is fully compatible with shared hosting like Hostinger, Bluehost, GoDaddy, etc.

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✔ Step 1: Upload Files

1. Open hPanel → Files → File Manager
2. Enter the public_html folder
3. Upload the entire WebChat project
4. Extract the ZIP (if uploaded as one)

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✔ Step 2: Create a MySQL Database

Navigate:

hPanel → Databases → MySQL Databases

Create:

• Database
• Username
• Password

Hostinger will give you info like:

DB Host: mysql.hostinger.com  
DB Name: u00000000_chat  
DB User: u00000000_user  
DB Pass: ******

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✔ Step 3: Import spychat.sql

1. Open phpMyAdmin
2. Select your new database
3. Click Import
4. Upload spychat.sql
5. Click Go

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✔ Step 4: Update config.php

Modify:

define('DB_HOST', 'mysql.hostinger.com');
define('DB_NAME', 'u00000000_chat');
define('DB_USER', 'u00000000_user');
define('DB_PASS', 'yourpassword');

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✔ Step 5: Visit Your Domain

https://your-domain.com/

Login → admin / password Start chatting! 🎉

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💎 VPS Deployment Guide (Ubuntu 20/22)

Works on:

• Hostinger VPS
• DigitalOcean Droplet
• Linode
• Contabo
• AWS EC2

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🖥 Step 1: Update System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

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🖥 Step 2: Install Apache, PHP & MySQL

sudo apt install apache2 php php-mysqli php-json php-gd php-curl php-zip unzip mysql-server -y

Enable Apache:

sudo systemctl enable apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2

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🛢 Step 3: Create Database

sudo mysql

Inside:

CREATE DATABASE webchat_db;
CREATE USER 'webchat_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPassword123!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON webchat_db.* TO 'webchat_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

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📂 Step 4: Upload Project to Server

Option 1: Upload via SFTP Option 2: Upload via SSH:

cd /var/www/html/
sudo rm -rf *
sudo wget https://your-download-link/WebChat.zip
sudo unzip WebChat.zip
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/

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🗄 Step 5: Import SQL

mysql -u webchat_user -p webchat_db < spychat.sql

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🔧 Step 6: Configure config.php

define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('DB_NAME', 'webchat_db');
define('DB_USER', 'webchat_user');
define('DB_PASS', 'StrongPassword123!');

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⏱ Step 7: Setup Cron Job (Recommended)

crontab -e

Add:

0 * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/html/cron_cleanup.php

This removes old chat logs automatically.

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🔒 Security Recommendations

• Change default admin password immediately
• Use HTTPS (SSL)
• Disable directory listing
• Limit file upload types (configured in files.php)
• Keep database credentials private
• Run cleanup cron frequently
• Avoid using weak MySQL passwords

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🧩 Customization Ideas

You can extend WebChat with:

• Multi-room chat
• Private messaging
• WebSocket real-time chat
• Admin analytics dashboard
• User avatars / profiles
• Emotes, GIFs, stickers
• Add dark mode
• Add device-based login restrictions

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🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! If you'd like to improve UI/UX, performance, or add features — feel free to contribute.

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📝 License

MIT

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Thank you for using WebChat – Anonymous Chat Module System. Built with ❤️ by Gagan.

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