Whether you are running WordPress or Joomla software to power your website, it’s extremely important to be on the most current version to avoid hacker attacks and other malware issues.
So how do I know what version I’m running?
Good question, glad you asked! Well, there are a few methods you can try to get this information depending on which software you are running. It’s possible these methods will not work under your specific configuration, but it won’t hurt to give them a try.
Security Release This release addresses six important security issues, so you should ensure your site gets updated ASAP. Here’s the official blog post from WordPress.org with details of what is contained in the release.
If you have automatic background updates enabled, that’s the default setting for minor and security releases, then you should receive an email from your site when it has been updated. The email is sent to whomever is designated to receive admin emails in your General Settings. I received several of these notifications yesterday covering the sites I manage.
So to ensure your site’s security, please check that your site is updated. Also, keep your eye out for the next major release, WordPress 4.3, slated for release on August 18.
If you’re a website owner running WordPress, Joomla or other popular CMS, this is a serious issue that shouldn’t be ignored. We’re not just talking about Joe Schmo, amateur hacker here. We’re talking about large-scale, sophisticated attacks using sophisticated software on sophisticated networks. Did I mention they’re a sophisticated lot? And don’t be fooled into thinking hackers wouldn’t be interested in your small or obscure site. Hackers will attack any website regardless of size or purpose.
The Joomla Project has made available two security releases (i.e. they address security issues in the Joomla core software). If you have a Joomla website, then you should keep the Joomla core software up to date – particularly if it addresses security issues. This helps protect your website against security issues like malware, viruses and hackers.
According to the Joomla Roadmap, version 3.5, the next long term support (LTS) release, will be available in November, 2014. Support for version 2.5 is scheduled to stop at the end of 2014. So, ideally you will want to be on Joomla 3 by the end of 2014 to avoid the unnecessary risks of being on an unsupported version. What risks you ask? Hackers and malware causing problems on your website due to security holes that will never be fixed. Keeping your Joomla software and extensions current is the best defense against this.
Do you need a form on your website? Well, I would say the answer is almost always “Yes”. At least some type of form is appropriate for most sites simply because there are so many uses and gathering and analyzing potential customer data is so important to just about any business. Let’s go through some examples of common uses of forms. Later, I’ll discuss some useful tips I’ve learned from creating forms over the years. This discussion will focus on using forms with a content management system, or CMS, like WordPress or Joomla. This is accomplished by using a forms plugin.
I’m always a little wary about upgrading any software to a major new release. It needs to be tested very thoroughly to try and account for every conceivable configuration and platform. And with an ever expanding number of devices and platforms, that’s a pretty tough task.
But I upgraded a few sites to WordPress 3.9 this past week and to my delight, all went well! It seems that the people at WordPress.org, and really the whole open source community working on WordPress, have it together and are doing something right. Since I’ve started using WordPress close to a year ago, I’ve never had an issue with any upgrades. Thanks WP developers!
Security Release This release addresses some important security issues, so you should update your site ASAP. Here’s the official blog post from WordPress.org with details of what is contained in the release.
This is the first security release to come out since automatic background updates were implemented so you may already be on this release – assuming you have not explicitly turned off automatic updates. If you have not turned off automatic updates, then you should receive an email from your site when it has been updated. The email is sent to whomever is designated to receive admin emails.
Whether you are running WordPress or Joomla software to power your website, it’s extremely important to be on the most current version to avoid hacker attacks and other malware issues.
WordPress 4.3 was released Aug. 18 and, once again, focuses on easier content creation and site customization.
According to the