The WordPress "virus" and how to stop it
As you’re reading this, there’s almost a hundred thousand computers across the globe in an automated “botnet” attack against any WordPress installations they come across, trying to repeatedly guess the password of “admin” usernames, and a few variations of admin usernames, over and over hundreds of times per minute, until they gain access. Once they gain access, the code infects the installation with back door access and that site joins in the attack. It’s this behavior that causes me to label this attack the WordPress…
Tighten Your WordPress Site's Security With These Tools
Recently there’s been more and more sites getting infected with malware via automated scripts because of weak passwords or insecure non-updated WordPress sites. Here’s a few tools and tips we recommend to secure your WordPress web site better. First, start using a strong but memorable (so you’ll actually use it) passphrase for each site login. See this kxcd comic first to understand the point: http://xkcd.com/936/ Then go here to help you choose a nice, easy to remember, yet very strong passphrase: http://passphra.se/ I add the site name to…
Update to WordPress v3.5.1 Highly Recommended
WordPress version 3.5.1 is the first maintenance release of 3.5, and it fixes 37 bugs! It also includes three security updates that affect all previous WordPress versions. The major fixes include: Editor: Prevent certain HTML elements from being unexpectedly removed or modified in rare cases. Media: Fix a collection of minor workflow and compatibility issues in the new media manager. Networks: Suggest proper rewrite rules when creating a new network. Prevent scheduled posts from being stripped of certain HTML, such as video embeds, when they…
WordPress 3.5 Released: New Media Manager, Retina Support, Polished UI
The latest version of WordPress was just released, after a slight delay due to some bugs in the editor and such, but those have been all hammered out now. The new Media Manager got a major overhaul, so enjoy that. It also got some user interface polish, now supports Retina and HD displays, and some performance improvements as well. We’ve installed it and haven’t seen any issues, it’s looking amazing. Go update those web sites! New Media Manager (Here’s an interesting link to the wireframe…
What's coming soon in WordPress 3.5
WordPress.org has released details on the next version of WordPress, v.35, now in Beta 2 release. There are more than 200 contributors, and a few hundred changes and improvements to version 3.5. They are planning a December 5th release for WordPress 3.5, but here’s what’s coming… Beta 1 includes: In just three short months, we’ve already made a few hundred changes to improve your WordPress experience. The biggest thing we’ve been working on is overhauling the media experience from the ground up. We’ve made it all fair game:…
WordPress 3.4 Is Available
Yes, we’ve already updated our site! 😉 The release of WordPress v3.4, dubbed “Green”, includes a few fun new features, and more importantly, some great performance improvements. View the short highlight video from WordPress.org, and read through the list of features and improvements shown after the upgrade, below. Live Theme Previews Try on New Themes Gone are the days of rushing to update your header, background, and the like as soon as you activate a new theme. You can now customize these options before activating a new…
WordPress jumped 32%, powering 48% of top 100 blogs
There’s no doubt that WordPress is the dominating content management system, powering well over 73 million web sites, per WordPress’ Stats, with about half of those being self-hosted. Royal Pingdom released their 2012 update earlier this month, reporting that WordPress powers 48% of the Top 100 blogs, an increase of 32% from their findings just three years ago. Self-hosted WordPress sites make up 39% of the share, with hosted (both the free wordpress.com and WordPress’ SaaS VIP services counting as hosted). Other platforms have therefore shrunk,…
3 Surprising WordPress Uses Beyond Blogging for Business
WordPress Guest Blog Series I am guest blogging for sister company Fandom Marketing on Blogging For Business, covering some unique WordPress topics. Here’s a summary of a recent post, with the link to the full article: WordPress powers lots of web sites and blogs such as CNN’s blogs, and can be extended with plugins to power more common advanced needs like e-commerce or portfolios, but here are 3 surprising uses of WordPress that aren’t typically thought of together with the WordPress platform. I hope this…
How to Optimize RSS to Display Featured Blog Images
WordPress Guest Blog Series I am guest blogging for sister company Fandom Marketing on Blogging For Business, covering some unique WordPress topics. Here’s a summary of a recent post, with the link to the full article: Images are playing a bigger part of blogging, with themes that highlight the posts’ featured images becoming more popular, creating great visually appealing layouts. Even more so with the popularity of Pinterest and Facebook sharing, which uses an image from the page or post. Even with various methods for…
How to Set Up 301 Redirects to Maintain WordPress SEO
WordPress Guest Blog Series I am guest blogging for sister company Fandom Marketing on Blogging For Business, covering some unique WordPress topics. Here’s a summary of a recent post, with the link to the full article: “WordPress SEO can be maintained when moving domains or redesigning your blog using 301 redirects. It’s a vital step to keep existing search engine links working. Follow these instructions to maintain your search engine optimization on your website or WordPress blog.” Read the full post at: How to Set…