WordPress 2.5.1 has been released. As many of our clients know, WordPress is a great piece of software that we can install for you to give you the ability to run a blog on your website. It’s easy to use and includes plenty of support if you have questions.

Updating software such as WordPress is also a smart way to patch newly discovered security issues. A security vulnerability can leave holes for hackers to enter.

Blogs are an excellent way for you to add timely content to any website. Contact us now for an estimate on your custom WordPress install and become a blogger.

According to a recent post on Macworld.com, Google’s Blogger service is getting hacked by spammers sending coded instructions. The spammers are able to create new pages on the Blogger service to showcase their usual junk products. The surprise element for me is the fact that the spammers are able to overcome and break the CAPTCHA, the funky graphical mix of numbers and letters that must be entered to complete account registration. This was created to limit account registrations to humans. CAPTCHA may now be a thing of the past.

Those darn spammers are getting smarter by the minute!

Dogpaw Studio clients with sites running dynamic applications like WordPress for blogs, Joomla! for content management systems, or phpBB for forums must also be on the lookout for hackers with bad intentions. One of the best measures to take in the fight against spammers/hackers is to routinely make backups of server files and databases. If a malicious attack hit one of your accounts, we could merely restore your site from its backup version. This can make the difference between requiring 1-2 hours of work and many, many hours of work to restore a website.

For about $45, we perform routine backup procedures for many of our clients, which include file backup as well as archiving up to two backup versions on multiple hard drives. Fortunately, we’ve only had one site hacked in the eight years we’ve been in business. Security against hackers and spammers have come to be a reality of the internet, as shown in the unfortunate example above regarding Google’s Blogger service. The good news is that our clients can rest assured that if they experience a hack, we can easily and efficiently restore their website using one of our routine backups.

Another smart way to patch security vulnerabilities is to update software when developers release new versions. All of the blog, forum, and content management system software that we install can be updated by us.

Be smart! Contact us about our routine backup procedures or software updates today!

Passwords galore! It seems like I have to select a password for something every single day. With so many options and methods for creating passwords, how do you pick the right one?

Sometimes you can just pick a password that’s easy to remember like your favorite color or type of pizza. These might be OK for low-risk websites but high-risk and more sensitive areas or websites are best secured with a strong password.

A strong password typically includes:

• a random mix of numbers, upper and lowercase letters, and symbols
• at least 12 characters

Avoid:

• usernames
• dictionary words
• familiar names, dates, telephone numbers, and streets
• passwords you’ve used on another high-risk website (if that password is compromised, multiple accounts may be compromised)

Our clients typically require passwords for email accounts, hosting ftp servers, website statistics, ecommerce/shopping cart admins, content management system (CMS) admins, Google AdWords, and more. I recommend strong passwords for all of these sensitive areas such as: 6e9pzP2s84Ts, 3&W9&7B2JV3g, N873#L:88dWw. But don’t use these examples because anyone reading this blog will know them!

With all of these complex, hard-to-remember passwords, there’s a tendency to write them down on a Post-it note and stick it on your computer. That defeats the purpose of having a strong password since a thief can use that same note to access to your sensitive website accounts. A better option is to use a password management application. There are many out there for both Mac and Windows. Personally, I couldn’t live without 1Password, which is made for Macs. I use it to manage countless passwords and it even has a feature that helps you create strong ones. Just keep in mind that a good password manager should encrypt all of your stored passwords.

According to the web tracker StatCounter, the Apple iPhone (and Wi-Fi iPod Touch) is the most used mobile phone browser for internet access in the U.S. Almost 25% of all internet traffic from cell phone browsers is generated from the iPhone! This is truly amazing, because it’s only been on the market since last summer.

More and more people are leaving their laptops in their cases and opting to cruise the net on cell phones. I have to admit that I, too, caught the iPhone bug and left Verizon Wireless for AT&T. Already a web junkie, I can now surf practically anywhere using the fully HTML-supported iPhone Safari browser.

So what does my totally cool iPhone have to do with work, you ask? Well, I’ve added the iPhone Safari browser to our list of browsers we use to test our clients’ websites. If a quarter of mobile surfers are riding the iPhone Safari browser, we’d better be prepared! By default, we test the sites we develop to make sure they display properly on the following common browsers:

• IE Windows
• Firefox Windows
• Firefox Mac
• Safari Mac
• and now, Safari iPhone

Are you one of those 9-to-5 cubicle people itching to launch an online shopping cart to sell widgets and someday quit your day job? Well, hold your horses and slow down a bit. Don’t write that resignation letter just yet, or so says Tony Wright on BusinessWeek.com. A cautious, well-planned route may be a better option on your map of internet adventures. Read his column on BusinessWeek.com titled, “You Don’t Have to Ditch the Day Job: Here are seven tips on how to launch a successful Internet outfit without leaving your desk.”

Once you’re all excited about launching an online shop, contact us to get started. We can install, configure, and launch your custom online shopping cart. Our services include assistance with design, SSL certificates, secure payment gateways, and accepting credit cards.