Spyware: Spyware is software that gathers information about a computer user, often without that person’s knowledge or consent. Spyware watches what users do with their computers (such as what websites they visit), and sends that information back to a central location (usually the company that produced the spyware). This information is often given to other companies, who then target the user for their advertisements. Especially bad spyware can gather information about email addresses, passwords, and even credit card information and transmit it to other companies. Spyware is often installed as bundled software. Under StopBadware.org’s guidelines, spyware is considered badware if it does not tell the user about the data that it will collect and how it will use that data. I started using WordPress back around version 2.2 in 2007. Shortly after, WordPress 2.3 was released. This version of WordPress introduced the pre-cursor to automatic plugin upgrades in the form […]
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Author Archive
The code editor. One for plugins and one for themes. If I were using tracking software, it would register me as rarely venturing into that part of the WordPress administration. I’ve used WordPress for two years and I’ve burned myself enough times by using these code editors that I neglect to use them anymore side from looking but not touching code. The biggest problem I have is that it doesn’t contain any revisions. Also, when you click the save button, it reloads the page and causes the scroll bar in the code window to go back to the top meaning I have to remember which line of code I was editing and also remember the change I implemented so I can remove it if I don’t like the desired effects. I’ve really come to appreciate using Control Z on my keyboard to undo changes I don’t like. You can’t do […]
[Continue Reading...]In the past few weeks, I’ve come across more and more websites which are in clear violation of the WordPress trademark, namely the domain requirements as outlined here. The simple thing to do when creating a website centered around WordPress is not to have the full name as part of the domain name. For example, fanofwordpress.com. Instead, it should be fanofwp.com. That’s not all that’s trademarked though as the WordPress logo is also registered. The description of the visual trademark according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office is as follows: 26.01.17 – Circles, two concentric; Concentric circles, two; Two concentric circles 26.01.21 – Circles that are totally or partially shaded. 26.17.13 – Letters or words underlined and/or overlined by one or more strokes or lines; Overlined words or letters; Underlined words or letters If you need an official logo to use, this page on the WordPress.org website has […]
[Continue Reading...]Bojan Zdrnja has published a post on the SANS Internet Storm Center blog today highlighting a distributed WordPress admin account cracking script. The script was discovered by one of the sites readers on a virtual private server (VPS). The acquired script is written in PHP and performs brute force cracking attempts to WordPress admin accounts. While this particular version is relatively simple, the power behind the script and the MySQL database allows the attacker to distribute the attacks not only by sites, but also by passwords tried as well. The article goes into detail explaining how the script works and suggests the typical security precautions such as using strong passwords, changing the admin username and limiting the admin login page to only your IP address. Brute force attacks on WordPress are nothing new but it’s interesting to see this approach using a distributed technique. Hat tip to WPVibe.
[Continue Reading...]If you are a Dreamhost or MediaTemple customer and I know that many WordPress users are, it’s probably been a rough week for you. Just before Thanksgiving, an exploit was used on a subset of MediaTemple grid servers to redirect websites to a 3rd-party advertising website. Also, some customers passwords were compromised as they were stored in the database via clear text. MediaTemple has since switched to an encryption method of storing passwords in databases. Over the holidays, Dreamhost encountered a fairly large network failure. This happened just before they conducted their largest data center move to date. The network failure caused a number of sites to go offline, including a number of Dreamhost official sites. However, as mentioned in a recent ZDNet article, the nightmare is still ongoing for a few customers, especially those running WordPress who are running into 500 errors. ZDNet published a list of directions from […]
[Continue Reading...]If you’re a developer and need to know some of the geekier bits coming down the pipe in WordPress 2.9, Joost De Valks article should fit the bill. In it, he lists a number of things that developers should pay attention to such as enhancements to wp_query, upgraded TinyMCE editor, performance updates to the options table and much more. WordPress 2.9 is currently at beta 1 stage. If you are one of the beta testers for 2.9, let me know how it’s gone for you so far.
[Continue Reading...]In somewhat of a tradition, I’d like to take an opportunity to spread my thanks considering Thanksgiving is only a day away here in the U.S. There is plenty to go around but this year, I’d like to especially thank those who translate WordPress, Plugins, and Themes into different languages. While I don’t know the technicalities involved with the translation process, I know the importance these translations have for the WordPress Project. These translations enable WordPress to be used all across the world in their native tongue which is awesome and really expands the reach of the software. The last time I checked, WordPress was available in about 66 different languages. All of these translations are possible thanks to volunteers. These translators are the primary reason why WordPress has an international following. However, there are more than 66 different languages in use across the world today and if you’re interested […]
[Continue Reading...]Here comes yet another way to be notified of new upgrades for WordPress in case you need one. Google has announced that they will be using their processing power to scan the source code of websites to look for the version number of the publishing software they are using and send them a notification through Google Webmaster Tools letting them know that an upgrade is available. In the case of WordPress, the meta tag was moved to the core of WordPress in 2.5. Therefor, anyone running a version of WordPress from 2.5 and above should have it displayed in their source code unless it was either removed or edited out through an action in the functions.php file such as remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_generator’); Also, some plugins have been created that removes the version info as well, typically security related plugins. Speaking of security, the security through obscurity argument regarding the public display […]
[Continue Reading...]During WordCamp New York, I and many others had the chance to view a demo of the new P2 theme that will be released to WordPress.org users in due time. It’s already live for WordPress.com users in case you use that system. The New P2 improves on the first version by adding support for custom post types. For example, the theme has built in content types for a blog post, status updates, quotes, or links. These specific content types can be designed to give each an individual style. The first thing that comes to my mind when I saw this in action was Tumblr which does a great job styling the various types of content you have to choose from. Custom post types will be available in WordPress 2.9. The new P2 has also been reworked from the ground up so that it can be used as a parent theme […]
[Continue Reading...]About the Author
- Jeff Chandler
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