I love GitHub, but just realized a potential mistake that put me into a panic until I’d verified that I hadn’t fallen pray to it yet.

Does your source code include passwords, keys, or other information in plain-text that you wouldn’t like anyone to see?

Does your application include a web.config type file containing such information that is secure when loaded onto a web server, but might be included in your git repository?

Remember, kids! Anything you include in a public GitHub repo is just that – public.

You’ve got a few tools to mitigate this issue:

• Use your .gitignore file
• Add a hook to your git repos to remove sensitive data
• Use your framework’s best practices to mitigate these issues (and improve application security).

Thankfully, I realized this before I’d made any mis-steps, but still. GitHub is a fantastic community and a fantastic tool; just be aware that when you’re sharing source code, make sure it doesn’t contain anything that you wouldn’t want others to see.