In the context of PHP, what best practices should be followed when handling user input from $_GET variables to prevent errors and improve security?

When handling user input from $_GET variables in PHP, it's important to validate and sanitize the input to prevent errors and improve security. One common approach is to use filter_input() function with FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING or FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT filter to sanitize input data. Additionally, always validate and sanitize input before using it in your application to prevent SQL injection, XSS attacks, and other security vulnerabilities. 

$input = filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'user_input', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
if($input !== false){
    // Use the sanitized input in your application
} else {
    // Handle invalid input or show an error message
}

Keywords

validation sanitization htmlspecialchars filter_input XSS

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