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internet explorer

WordPress 3.5.1 has been released – Time to upgrade WordPress

by Ken Dawes Leave a Comment

WordPress has announced the release of their Maintenance and Security update, WordPress 3.5.1 and its time, once again, to upgrade WordPress.

While WordPress 3.5 was released not too long ago, there were a number of issues that caused some people to have problems with their WordPress site. This release addresses those issues and also includes important security updates to the WordPress core. You can be assured that hackers will try to exploit WordPress sites that have not upgraded and have known vulnerabilities.

Remember that you should always backup your website (both files and database) before upgrading WordPress. While updating WordPress almost always works flawlessly, in the event something should go awry, having a backup will allow your site to be restored with a minimum of hassle.

Don’t forget to upgrade your WordPress themes and plugins as well. There have been some significant changes to the way WordPress does things and your old versions may not be compatible the new WordPress. Outdated WordPress themes and plugins can also pose a security risk.

In the case of themes, especially with older WordPress themes, you should do a little research before you update.  You want to be sure that your theme is compatible with the new versions when you upgrade WordPress. Also, remember that if your theme has had customizations made to it, updating can cause those customizations to be lost. Another good reason to backup before updating!

If you are worried about making the updates to your WordPress yourself, contact The Web Mechanic to take care of it for you!

From the wordpress.org website, here is what’s new in WordPress 3.5.1.

WordPress 3.5.1 is now available. Version 3.5.1 is the first maintenance release of 3.5, fixing 37 bugs. It is also a security release for all previous WordPress versions. For a full list of changes, consult the list of tickets and the changelog, which 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 are published.
  • Work around some misconfigurations that may have caused some JavaScript in the WordPress admin area to fail.
  • Suppress some warnings that could occur when a plugin misused the database or user APIs.

Additionally, a bug affecting Windows servers running IIS can prevent upgrading WordPress from 3.5 to 3.5.1. If you receive the error “Destination directory for file streaming does not exist or is not writable,” you will need to follow the steps outlined on the Codex.

WordPress 3.5.1 also addresses the following security issues:

  • A server-side request forgery vulnerability and remote port scanning using pingbacks. This vulnerability, which could potentially be used to expose information and compromise a site, affects all previous WordPress versions. This was fixed by the WordPress security team. We’d like to thank security researchers Gennady Kovshenin and Ryan Dewhurst for reviewing our work.
  • Two instances of cross-site scripting via shortcodes and post content. These issues were discovered by Jon Cave of the WordPress security team.
  • A cross-site scripting vulnerability in the external library Plupload. Thanks to the Moxiecode team for working with us on this, and for releasing Plupload 1.5.5 to address this issue.

Filed Under: WordPress Assistance Tagged With: internet explorer, WordPress Plugin, WordPress themes, WordPress upgrade

Help!! Something ate my WordPress blog!!!

by Ken Dawes 2 Comments

Recently someone I know had a problem with her new blog. She was happy with it and then a friend told her that the blog wasn’t working and that nothing could be seen.  The problem? Her WordPress blog worked fine… in her Firefox browser. But in Internet Explorer, it was broken… Text was missing, funny code-like stuff like "<!--[endif]-->" is displayed, etc.

[Read more…] about Help!! Something ate my WordPress blog!!!

Filed Under: WordPress Assistance Tagged With: endif, internet explorer, microsoft word, problem, Wordpress

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Ken Dawes of The Web Mechanic made complicated changes to my Wordpress site easy by finding the exact plugins, creating the code, and tutoring me on how to modify my page hierarchy in clear terms that even a novice such as myself could understand. He’s a life saver.

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The Poet's Tongue

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At a time when our chef recipe site traffic was doubling by the month, we had the unfortunate experience of malicious hacking defacements. We were unable to find the bad code inserted in the site and were at our wits end. We found Ken the Web Mechanic via Twitter, and hired him to fix the site. He did a wonderful job making our site secure and safe, was affordable, and easily reachable via email and phone. We highly recommend him for fixing and protecting your Wordpress site, and will use him again in the future without hesitation. Thank you so much Ken!

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I had been dreading creating a workable web site for more than a year, and then, thanks to a referral, I found Ken. He took my concept, improved it with my blessing and made it a reality. I love the layout and site design, but I also love the ease of administration. When Ken finished the site, he explained the “inner” workings to me in terms that I could understand, with no web guru jargon, providing simple instructions so that I can maintain my site. I am 100% satisfied and will definitely be on his repeat customer list. I encourage you to talk with Ken if you want a current, attractive website that matches your business model and that is easy to administer.

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Ming
Reiki Fur Babies, LLC

Ken Dawes successfully migrated our website to WordPress and made it much easier for the less initiated to maintain and made it look exactly the same as the old site. Well done!

Rev. Steve Ellis
St. John Episcopal Church

I have been working with Ken for over 10 years and his web support and attention to detail keeps my website organized, material accessible, and ready for all types of web, tablet and mobile device layouts. His skills also make sure my site is protected, ready for my usage spikes, and synced with my ISP to head off any potential issues.

I highly recommend Ken for taking care of your ISP, web material, and website issues.

Dave Beulke
Pragmatic Solutions

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