[prog] php, cgi-scripts, passwords and more

[tiera]

Hi

I'm setting up a webshop written in php on a shared webhost and I can't come 
up with a way to protect the mysql passwords. The webhost has got apache 
installed with suexec so I tried to make everything into cgi-scripts so that 
the other people on the webhost can't read the files. The problem with that 
is that it's way to slow. 
The passwords are stored in a php file along with the database access 
functions. Is there some way that I can protect that file so that noone 
except my user can read it? Or some other way to protect the passwords?

All suggestions are welcome.

/tiera