Apache 1.3.18 Released
                                       
   The Apache Software Foundation and The Apache Server Project are
   pleased to announce the release of version 1.3.18 of the Apache HTTP
   server.
   
   This version of Apache is primarily a bug fix release, addressing
   some broken functionality present in the 1.3.17 release and
   various Win32 issues. There are, however, a few new features and
   improvements. A summary of the new features is given at the end of
   this document.
   
   We consider Apache 1.3.18 to be the best version of Apache available
   and we strongly recommend that users of older versions, especially of
   the 1.1.x and 1.2.x family, upgrade as soon as possible. No further
   releases will be made in the 1.2.x family.
   
   Apache 1.3.18 is available for download from
   
     http://httpd.apache.org/dist/
     
   Please see the CHANGES_1.3 file in the same directory for a full list
   of changes.
   
   Binary distributions are available from
   
     http://httpd.apache.org/dist/binaries/
     
   The source and binary distributions are also available via any of the
   mirrors listed at
   
     http://www.apache.org/mirrors/
     
   As of Apache 1.3.12 binary distributions contain all standard Apache
   modules as shared objects (if supported by the platform) and include
   full source code. Installation is easily done by executing the
   included install script. See the README.bindist and INSTALL.bindist
   files for a complete explanation. Please note that the binary
   distributions are only provided for your convenience and current
   distributions for specific platforms are not always available.
   
   As of Apache 1.3.17 the Win32 binary distribution is now based on the
   Microsoft Installer (.MSI) technology.  This change occured in order
   to resolve the many problems WinME and Win2K users experienced with
   the older InstallShield-based installer .exe file.  Development
   continues to make this new installation method more robust, questions
   should be directed at the news:comp.infosystems.www.servers.ms-windows
   news group.  Apache 1.3.17 for Win32 also marked the first 'initial 
   release quality' version available for Win32, and users are strongly
   discouraged from using the older 'beta quality releases'.
   
   For an overview of new features introduced after 1.2 please see
   
     http://httpd.apache.org/docs/new_features_1_3.html
     
   In general, Apache 1.3 offers several substantial improvements over
   version 1.2, including better performance, reliability and a wider
   range of supported platforms, including Windows 95/98 and NT (which
   fall under the "Win32" label).
   
   Apache is the most popular web server in the known universe; over half
   of the servers on the Internet are running Apache or one of its
   variants.
   
   IMPORTANT NOTE FOR WIN32 USERS: Over the years, many users have come
   to trust Apache as a secure and stable server. It must be realized
   that the current Win32 code has not yet reached the levels of the Unix
   version, but is of acceptable quality. Any Win32 stability or security
   problems do not impact, in any way, Apache on other platforms.
   
                          Apache 1.3.18 Major changes

   The primary security fix is:
     * The default installation could lead mod_negotiation and mod_dir or
       mod_autoindex to display a directory listing instead of the 
       multiview'ed index.html.* files, if a very long path was created 
       artificially by using many slashes.  Now 403 FORBIDDEN is returned.
                                            
   The bug fixes are:
     * The ServerRoot directive now removes trailing slashes.
     * Restore functionality broken by the mod_rewrite security fix:
       The mod_rewrite string arithmetic is corrected for rewrite map.
     * Some possible segfault conditions have been fixed.
       
   The main new features include:
     * New configuration error reporting if the UserDir argument is set
       to a relative path on Win32 or Netware [which do not support home
       directories], or a relative path on any platform if that path
       includes the '*' username substitution.

   Selected new features that relate to Windows platforms:
     * Apache on Win9x now ensures the service is stopped before removal.
     * Test httpd.conf (-t) now holds the console open on "SYNTAX OK".
     * Apache/Win32 no longer holds open the console on error unless
       it was invoked from a shortcut with the -w option.
     * mod_user was significantly refactored to assure that the UserDir
       directive is parsed effectively the same across platforms, fixing
       a UserDir bug introduced in 1.3.17 on the Win32 platform.
            
   Selected new features relating to other platforms:
     * Netware problems with file extension truncatation are resolved.
     * Netware recognizes the SERVER/VOLUME:/PATH/FILE filename pattern.
     * Netware mod_tls properly disables nagle for SSL connections,
       and properly negotiates SSL based on the port.
     * Startup and Shutdown issues were addressed on TPF.