How do i protect...

[runescapetrades]

How can i protect settings.php and stuff?
Ill be able to think of a way but i need to know all the hackers and whatever do it.. then i can be creative and ill think of something and share it with the rest of you..
Any suggestions or how hackers do it please reply here so we can start to fight back against the hacker scum

[H]

If the server itself (SSH, FTP and other account on the server) are secured correctly then hackers will not be able to hack your site.

Also make sure you have the latest (stable/beta) version of SMF to protect yourself from any holes