Are you able to download the database directly from AdminCP?
 

Is this possible?

Sorry, that is not possible. In my opinion it would be a security nightmare.

Actually, in vB3, yes you can. Admin CP ? Maintenance ? Database Backup. You can save an .sql file to your computer or backup one to a location on your server (which you should promptly move to someplace not publically accessible.)

However, it's generally not recommended to use, as timeouts can corrupt your download. Something like Telnet/PuTTy is preferable.

I did not see that it was a VB3 question. Thanks @digital_jedi. :)

I knew you could back it, but never used the option. I thought it would be saved within your site folder only, not allow you to download it.
I set it in config so no one could use this option. I considered it a security flaw.

After thinking about it a little. I am sure that vBulletin designed it to be safe, if
carefully deployed. The problem is beginners do not carefully deploy anything. So I do think it is an expert option that should be used carefully or not at all -- granted, I have not looked at the code. :)

I dont think you can. Better use your cpanel as everyone does

It just seems to be one of those functions that was hardly ever used. (Kinda like Upload Smilies.) I guess it was removed from vB4? It was never really recommended. The couple of times I tried it on our small board, and I never got a uncorrupted download.

In v3 you can even choose what tables you want to download, making it very convenient for a rouge admin or a script kiddie who just happened to get into a admin account, to just choose the users table and scrape your member base. Not much chance of that relatively small download being corrupted.

I guess it was useful for downloading individual tables, in addition to the CSV backup. But I don't think I've ever heard of anyone's site being compromised through that specific feature. I mean, once you have admin access, there's better ways into the server.