security « Lorelle on WordPress

Vulnerability in phpMyAdmin Requires Immediate Patch

January 6, 2018 – 9:55 am

A critical CSRF Vulnerability in phpMyAdmin Database administration tool has been found and a patch is available for all computers and servers running the MySQL database. Does this include you? If you are using WordPress, yes it does. Contact your web host to ensure phpMyAdmin is updated immediately. If you are self-hosted and manage your […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in WordPress, WordPress News | Tags: mysql, php, phpmyadmin, phpmyadmin security, security, security vulnerability, server vulnerability, servers, vulnerability, web hosts, wordpress install, WordPress News | Comments (29)

What Does WordPress, iThemes, Goodwill, Home Depot, and Target Have in Common? Your Identity and Security.

September 25, 2014 – 2:57 pm

We received a new credit card in the mail today to replace our old one AGAIN. An “unsuccessful attempt” to access our secure security data happened and this is a precaution the bank is taking to protect us. I have no other information so I’m left wondering. Yesterday I received an email supposedly from Home […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in WordPress, WordPress News, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, WordPress Tips | Tags: credit card security, data security, hacked, hacking, identity theft, malware, personal security, privacy, risk, security, security vulnerability, vulnerabilities, wordpress, WordPress News, wordpress security, WordPress Themes, WordPress Tips | Comments (9)

Blog Exercises: If You Wouldn’t Do It In Public, Would You Do It Online?

December 3, 2013 – 4:01 pm

If you wouldn’t do it in public, would you do it online? Unfortunately for many, the answer is a resounding YES! However, most of us have some…whatever you call it…oh, yeah, class, ethics, moral fiber, manners – etiquette. I’m not the Dear Abby of social norms, but I’m first in line to tell you that […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: blog exercises, blogging tips, code of ethics, comment spam, comments, content, cussing, dumb ideas, ethics, interactions, interactivity, language, moral value, privacy, security, sharing, social media, social web, spam, swearing, web writing | Comments (2)

Update to WordPress 3.6.1 Now

September 11, 2013 – 9:59 pm

It is upgrade time again. Time to upgrade your WordPress. WordPress 3.6.1 Maintenance and Security Release was announced today. It includes fixes to WordPress 3.6 and some security issues, so this is a mandatory update. WordPress.com users are automatically updated, as are all those on managed WordPress hosting like WP Engine. This update applies to […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in WordPress, WordPress News | Tags: mandatory update, security, security update, update wordpress, wordpress, WordPress News, wordpress releases, wordpress security, wordpress updates, wordpress versions | Comments (9)

Blog Exercises: Protect Your Privacy

July 9, 2013 – 4:25 am

The web world thinks my birthday is January 1. Does the web know your birthday? Among the many Blog Exercises so far this year, I’ve mostly focused on your blog. Today, I want to talk about something related to your blog but mostly to your exposure and presence on the web: your private and personal […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: blog exercises, blogging tips, contact forms, crime, criminals, cybercrime, email address, family, hacked, hacking, hide email, hide email address, identity theft, obfuscate, obfuscation, passwords, personal, personal information, personal safety, personal security, privacy, private data, protection, security, security vulnerability, theft, trust, vulnerability, Writing | Comments (12)

WordPress Anniversary: Comment Spam Lessons

May 11, 2013 – 10:57 pm

It’s hard to believe that I’ve learned much from comment spammers over the years. I’ve learned that they are among the most hated folks in the world, yet you have to respect them as well. As I look back on ten years of blogging with WordPress on this 10th Anniversary year, I realized that comment […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blogging, blogging tips, WordPress, WordPress News, WordPress Tips | Tags: akismet, blogging tips, comment spam, comment spam prevention, comments, endurance, evil, hacked, hacking, how to blog, persistence, security, security vulnerability, spam, spammers, vulnerability | Comments (19)

The Brute-Force Password Attack on WordPress Sites

April 22, 2013 – 9:47 pm

My mother emailed me and asked if WordPress was under attack. With all the news of last week’s attack of the Boston Marathon, the attacks on WordPress and other PHP-based web publishing sites was low on the priority list for myself and others, but this is something to take seriously. As we get back to […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in blogging tips, WordPress, WordPress News, WordPress Tips, WordPressDotCom | Tags: admin, bad behavior, brute force, brute force attack, evil, hacked, hacking, how to use wordpress, login, passwords, protect your site, registration, security, security vulnerability, servers, site security, spam, vulnerability, web hosting services, web hosts, wordpress, wordpress brute force attack, wordpress help, WordPress News, wordpress passwords, wordpress security, WordPress Tips, wordpress tutorials, wordpress.com | Comments (16)

Blog Exercises: Site Policies and Bloggers Code of Ethics

April 18, 2013 – 4:36 am

It’s time to start working on all of your site policies, one by one. So far, we’ve touched on some of these in Blog Exercises: The Don’ts of Blogging, Blog Exercise: Taking a Risk With What You Blog About, Blog Exercises: Comments and The Blog Bullies, and Blog Exercises: Quoting and Blockquotes. The basic policies […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: blog exercises, blogger guidelines, blogger safety, bloggers code, bloggers code of ethics, bloggers ethics, bloggers rights, blogging ethics, blogging guidelines, blogging tips, code of ethics, comment policies, comments, copyright, copyright policies, disclosure, disclosure policies, ethical issues, ethics, freedom of speech, guidelines, legal, legal issues, legal policies, legal rights, liability, liability policies, opinion, personal, personal information, policies, privacy, privacy policies, protection, safety, security, self-protection, web publishing, Writing, writing for the web, writing tips | Comments (9)

WordPress Anniversary: WordPress and Evil

March 11, 2013 – 1:29 pm

As I look back on the ten years of WordPress, there is a dark side to blogging. While many blamed WordPress for the evil, like guns, WordPress doesn’t cause evil, people cause evil. In fact, WordPress, Automattic, and the WordPress Community has fought longer and harder against the evil doers in the world than most […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in WordPress, WordPress News, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, WordPress Tips, WordPressDotCom | Tags: akismet, anniversary, autoblog, autobloggers, bitacle, comment spam, content theft, copyright, copyright violation, copyright violations, evil, hacked, hackers, hacking, history of wordpress, how to use wordpress, jonathan bailey, malware, plagiarism today, plugins, prevent comment spam, scrapers, security, security vulnerability, spam, splogs, vulnerability, wordpress, wordpress anniversary, wordpress help, wordpress history, WordPress News, WordPress Themes, WordPress Tips, wordpress tutorials, wordpress.com | Comments (8)

Happy Holidays and Onward!

January 8, 2013 – 9:16 pm

We survived the Mayan Calendar. We’ve survived planets lining up. We’ve survived attacks on our person, our community, our faith, and our country. Just another year. As we charge forward this coming year, here are some things to look forward to here on Lorelle on WordPress and on my other sites, and many things to […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Babble, Blogging, WordPress, WordPress News | Tags: activities, announcements, annual, events, hacked, hacking, happy holidays, Lorelle-on-WordPress, new year, news, plans, security, security vulnerability, vulnerability, wordpress, WordPress News | Leave a Comment

DuckDuckGo: The Search Engine You Need to Meet

September 19, 2012 – 11:18 am

Recently, DuckDuckGo has been turning up in my referrers list. Curious about the name, and thinking it was a spam site, DuckDuckGo needed investigation. Seems I’ve been missing out on what could be the major competition to Google as a search engine. Here is a quick summary of what I learned about DuckDuckGo. It is […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blogging, Blogging News, Web Browsers, Web Wise | Tags: analytics, anonymous, browser add-on, browser plugin, browsers, dnt, do not track, duckduckgo, filter bubble, google, google search, legal, mobile apps, pagerank, policies, privacy, privacy statement, privacy violation, search directory, search engine, security, seo, serp, tracking, web analytics, web browsers | Comments (13)

Update WordPress Now: WordPress 3.4.2 Released

September 6, 2012 – 2:23 pm

WordPress 3.4.2 Maintenance and Security Release arrived today, and it’s time to update. This is both a maintenance and security release, therefore it is mandatory, not optional. Recently, I wrote about keeping WordPress updated for security reasons, and I’m singing the same song again. Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate. Use the automatic, one-click update feature. In […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in WordPress, WordPress News, WordPress Tips | Tags: hacked, hacking, maintenance, security, security vulnerability, update, upgrade, vulnerability, wordpress, WordPress News, wordpress release, wordpress security, wordpress update, wordpress upgrade, wordpress version | Comments (44)

Update WordPress Now: Reuters Hacked

August 26, 2012 – 10:04 pm

It is an old song. I’ve sung it for years. UPDATE WORDPRESS NOW! Reuters was hacked recently and many blame WordPress, though most honest reporters are quick to state that it is the webmaster/site owners fault for not updating. Seems they were running a version from over a year ago. According to PC Magazine’s Security […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in WordPress, WordPress News, WordPress Tips | Tags: hacked, hacking, malware, security, security vulnerability, update wordpress, upgrade wordpress, viruses, vulnerability, wordpress, wordpress hacks, WordPress News, wordpress security, WordPress Tips, wordpress update, wordpress upgrade | Comments (12)

What You Most Need to Know About WordPress

August 24, 2012 – 6:48 pm

At the recent WordCamp Portland 2012, I was asked by several attendees to cover the basics of WordPress and we came up with What You Most Need to Know About WordPress. Here are the “notes” from that unconference presentation. The Difference Between Categories and Tags I hear this question at WordCamps, from readers, students, and […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in blogging tips, WordCamps, WordPress, WordPress Events, WordPress News, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, WordPress Tips, Writing | Tags: blog writing, blogging tips, hacked, hacking, headings, how to blog, how to blog with WordPress, how to use wordpress, images, links, multimedia, post content, security, security vulnerability, seo, vulnerability, what you most need to know in wordpress, wordpress, wordpress and seo, wordpress essentials, wordpress help, WordPress News, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, WordPress Tips, wordpress tutorials, Writing, writing tips | Comments (18)

Defying Brute Force Attacks on WordPress Logins

March 16, 2012 – 1:29 pm

Sucuri, the web security specialists, published “Brute force attacks against WordPress sites,” an in depth look at not just the importance of a strong password but the brute force nature and anatomy of login and registration access attacks. There is a technique known as brute-force attack. Like the name implies, access is gained to your […]