Regarding Register_Globals

These settings can typically be set at the server level (for all php scripts running on the server) with the php.ini configuration file or at a directory level (using .htaccess files). Sometimes the latter is not possible, as there is a setting to disable such overriding of the core php settings.

To do it in .htaccess just add this line to the .htaccess file:

php_flag register_globals off

To change it in php.ini look for "register_globals" and change the value between 0 and 1.

Recommended practice is to leave / turn Register_Globals off. If your host has Register_Globals on I would recommend switching. If you are thinking about trying to enable it I would strongly recommend against it. Register_Globals disappears in PHP 6. If you are programming to use them you are going to have issues with forward compatibility.

Hear hear.