The Caveena Solutions Blog
I’ve been using BlockBadQueries on all my WordPress websites for quite some time now. And I just realized BlockBadQueries Pro was released in June. The Pro version offers more minute customization options than the free version though if you just want to set-and-forget I suggest sticking with the free version.
BlockBadQueries is based on the 5G Blacklist 2013 and the 6G Beta. So you could certainly copy the rules into your .htaccess file if (assuming you’re comfortable with Apache commands & regular expressions) you want to customize the rules for free.
They say “Don’t re-invent the wheel.” It’s pretty sound advice but you should probably know the different kinds of wheels you can choose from. And because it had been a while since I’d experimented with third-party libraries, I decided to mess around with Google’s Material Design Lite framework.
Now that Google has released it’s Material Design Lite (MDL) Framework, how does it stack up against the incumbent behemoth that is Bootstrap? Tutorialzine has a quick run-down comparing the two including their grid systems, navigation bars and other components. The article includes live, side-by-side comparisons of various components.
Want to get started with Google’s Material Design? Well now you can with the newly-released Material Design Lite Framework.
According to iThemes, version 4.8.0 of iThemes Security WordPress plugin removed the malware scanning feature that relied on VirusTotal. It’s not iThemes fault; VirusTotal discontinued the service to all WordPress plugins. Well, darn.
iThemes suggests using VirusTotal’s URL scanner or Sucuri’s SiteCheck, both of which require you to scan each website manually. Sucuri also offers automated server-side scanning as part of their paid plans.
One other option that wasn’t mentioned by iThemes is the Sucuri Security WordPress Plugin which allows you to initiate a scan from your WordPress admin. The scan needs to be initiated manually though.
As a service to our clients, and for the protection of their privacy, Caveena Solutions ensures that all domain names purchased through us have Domain Privacy. This simply means that our client’s personal details are not available to the public eye. Domain Privacy is currently under threat.
When you purchase a domain name, you are required to use your real name & contact details in case, for example, someone wants to purchase the domain from you. This means that your name and contact details are publicly available to everyone on the Internet and can be found by anyone including would-be scammers. Caveena Solutions uses Domain Privacy on all domains purchased through us as a way to protect our clients.
The big body in charge of domain names is ICANN – The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – and they are entertaining the thought of doing away with all Domain Privacy services. But you can send them your comments. Go to respectourprivacy.com and follow the instructions to call or email ICANN.
It’s your Internet. It’s your choice.
A while back I made a post stressing the importance of providing users with all available options when offering a choice. A few days ago I was filling out an online form and was presented with these options:
That’s when it hit me that society (for the most part) has started to recognize gender identity beyond the usual Male or Female. It just blew my mind to think that such grand debates have finally come down to the everyday level of implementation. Trippy.
Over the past few months I’ve been using a lot of what I call Page Builders, WordPress plugins that come with a set of modules which you drag-and-drop into a grid-based layout. I haven’t used, nor could I possibly use, all the available Page Builder plugins but here is what I have played around with:
- Themify Builder (as part of one of their themes.)
- Elegant Themes Page Builder plugin.
- Elegant Themes Divi Theme (note that the page builder included in Divi is different from their Page Builder plugin. Elegant Themes is investing development into the Divi builder.)
Of course, there are a lot more Page Builders than these. You also have Visual Composer., Startup Framework, Qards… the list goes on.
I am not going to be reviewing the Page Builders I have used. Rather I want to share my thoughts on them after having gained some experience using them.
After the recent security hole in Yoast SEO we now find an SQL Injection vulnerability in the popular WooCommerce plugin. Update now.
It goes without saying but if you are using the ever popular WordPress SEO by Yoast (and why wouldn’t you be? It’s an amazing SEO plugin for WordPress) then you need to update to version 1.7.4 immediately. A security vulnerability was discovered in the plugin which would allow bad things to happen.
Source: iThemes.
Social Media Links