Successful Blog

Can Logging In Be Fun? Clef Says Yes.

by

It was all fun and games until my purse got stolen.

We were on a great vacation, and visiting the Arizona Memorial on Oahu. In the parking lot, there was a sign that warned “High theft area, do not leave valuables in car.” So what did I do? Put my purse in the trunk of the rental car and went in to see the museum. A couple of hours later, you can guess what happened. Vacation ruined, checkbook and credit cards gone. Prescription glasses gone. Plane tickets home, gone.

It was a supremely painful lesson, but I took heed. Being smart about my personal security moved up several notches in my priority list.

Do you see the daily warnings about changing your online passwords frequently, not using your pet’s name, remembering to change the default? Are you taking heed?

The proliferation of sites that require a login has forced us all to find ways of remembering a tornado of passwords.

And it’s not fun.

Yes, there are good services like LastPass and 1Password that will help you generate random passwords and retain newly created logins. But still, not fun.

Enter a new service called Clef.

For now, it’s primarily a free WordPress add-on. Once you download the app to your smartphone, it allows you to log in to your WordPress site by waving your phone in front of your computer screen.

Clef password app

When you click “sync” on your normal login page, Clef generates a cool animated signal wave. Open Clef on your phone (there’s a PIN) and it generates a similar animated wave. Hold it up for a second, and it syncs, giving a haptic buzz when it succeeds. You can choose to stay logged in permanently, or set a time frame. Clef will log you out automatically when the time runs out.

What if you lose your phone? Clef has a remote “lockdown” key. Just let them know the phone isn’t in your possession, and they will disable Clef on the phone.

Looks like the team at Clef is expanding into payment systems and additional platforms (it works with Hootsuite and a few others right now).

The only drawback I see is that you currently have to manually open the Clef app on your phone. It would be super cool if the mobile app automatically launched when you clicked login on the desktop screen.

Give it a spin and tell me what you think! What are you currently using to help you deal with your tornado of passwords?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Disclosure: I have no affiliation with Clef, and received no consideration for this post. It represents my unvarnished opinion.

Guidelines for WordPress Security

by

By Charles Mburugu

With the increase of hacking incidences, security has become a major concern for most website owners. Fortunately, there are several precautions one can take to lower the risk of attack. Here are some tips which will help enhance the security of your WordPress site.

1. Avoid free themes

WordPress offers numerous free themes that you can choose from. However, using such themes is generally not advisable since many have been found to contain malicious code which would make your site vulnerable to all kinds of attacks. If you must use a free theme, make sure you select one which has been developed by a well-established company. This also applies to WordPress plugins.

2. Choose a secure host

Web hosting plays a major role when it comes to security matters. Therefore, when selecting a web host, don’t make the mistake of settling for the cheapest option available. Instead, take time to do your research and identify a provider that is well known for secure hosting. Though it might cost you a little extra, you won’t have to worry about your website’s security.

3. Update regularly

In an effort to enhance security, WordPress releases regular updates which are aimed at dealing with potential or real threats. Therefore, it is very important to keep your site updated with the latest WordPress version. Failing to do so will leave your site vulnerable to hackers who target outdated WordPress versions. Always be on the look-out for ‘Update now’ messages on your dashboard. Plug-ins and themes should also be updated immediately a new version is released.

4. Use a strong password

Using a weak and predictable password such as ‘123abc’, ‘wordpress’ or ‘password’ will make your WordPress site more vulnerable to attack. Therefore, you need to find a more complex password, but one which is easy to remember. Combine symbols, numbers and letters to make it harder to crack. However, avoid using the same password across different accounts.

5. Don’t use the default ‘admin’ username

Many people have ‘admin’ as the default username on their WordPress sites. Having such a username, combined with a weak password, will expose your site to all kinds of security risks. It is therefore very important to alter your username to something which is more unique. In addition, you need to ensure that the username is hidden from author archive URL.

6. Limit login attempts

Hackers and bots try to access your site by making repeated login attempts using different variations of usernames and passwords. WordPress offers great plugins which can help you limit the number of login attempts on your site. In addition, you can choose how long the specific IP address will be locked out before they can make another attempt.

7. Use security plugins

WordPress offers a wide range of plugins which can help enhance the security of your site. Some of the most popular include Bulletproof Security, Better WP Security, Wordfence, Sucuri Scanner and Website Defender. Most of these plugins are free and can easily be downloaded and installed on a site.

8. Backup frequently

Backing up frequently is something that should not be overlooked. Even when you have taken all the above security measures, your site might still fall victim to a malicious attack. If your content is backed up properly, it will be easy to recover your files and restore your site. There are several WordPress plugins which can help you schedule frequent automatic backups.

Author’s Bio: Charles Mburugu is a HubSpot-certified content writer/marketer for B2B, B2C and SaaS companies. He has worked with brands such as GetResponse, Neil Patel, Shopify, 99 Designs, Oberlo, Salesforce and Condor. Check out his portfolio and connect on LinkedIn.

After Your Blog is Hacked: To-Do List

by

By Ann Smarty

From the time my blog became a regular part of my life and started to gain popularity, I have had a reoccurring nightmare. One of the regular contributors to the site calls me in the middle of the night, waking me up.

They are noticeably upset as they tell me that the blog has been hacked, and the posts have disappeared. In their place is a very not-safe-for-work animation that is causing all my readers to flood my Facebook and Twitter profiles in shock and anger.
what to do after your blog is hacked
I usually wake up in a cold sweat and can’t get back to sleep until I have fired up the laptop and checked that everything is alright. Can you blame me for my fear? After all, this isn’t some random paranoia. Hacks happen all the time, and some are much worse than others. While I could take a DDoS attack in stride, having my blog actually taken over is terrifying enough to make me jittery just thinking about it.

The sad truth is that we will all have to deal with a hack of some description (or at least an attempt) at some point. When you become a more popular site your chances increase significantly. Prevention is good, but it isn’t enough. Here is a checklist of what to do when you have been hacked.

Before the Hack

First, make sure your hosting is secure. WP Beginner has an awesome resource of best WordPress hosting services. There’s also a good guide into choosing secure web hosting. Also, avoid free hosting unless you are using for personal branding.

Then, you should from this moment on make sure you are backing up your posts, files and data. Each platform will have its own way of doing this, so just check with the FAQ’s to find out how to do a proper backup.

You should also do regular system checks on your desktop. Viruses and malware can be introduced through your local files, then accidentally uploaded through things like photos onto your blog. Just run regular scans using your chosen protective software. I use a combinations of Microsoft Security Essentials and AVG.

Of course, there’s much more to talk about pro-active tactics for WordPress Security but if you landed here to find the answer to the main question (which is in the topic), the hack may have happened already, so let’s quickly list what to do.

After The Hack

Don’t Panic

The first thing you should do is change your password. That way you know that there won’t be anyone working against your fix while you take care of the problems on the blog. Be sure it is a strong password that has nothing in common with the last one you were using (Tool: strong password generator).
dont panic if your wordpress site is hacked
If you are using WordPress, you also have to change your secret keys so they cannot remain logged into the account. Once you have all that done, log out, clear cache and cookies and log back in.

Next, put the site in maintenance mode. That way you won’t have visitors facing the problems you have encountered while you fix them. This is especially important if you are experiencing a redirect that takes readers to a third party site. Or if you have ads showing up that contain malware and users might accidentally click on.

Identify the backdoor. Backdoor is a method of bypassing normal WordPress authentication. Here’s an awesome guide on fixing a backdoor in a hacked WordPress site, again, courtesy of WP Beginner.

Finally, it is time to take care of the blog itself. Your best bet is to delete everything. Including the core files if you are using WordPress. Yes, this is a major hassle. But it is the only way to be absolutely certain that you get every bit of malicious code. Just going through all files manually will probably not take care of the problem. You may miss a bit of coding, fail to see a file that has been compromised, or a backdoor could still exist to allow the hacker (or hacking software) to slip back in.

If you don’t have a backup of your site, you are facing a dilemma. You could try to save as much as possible before deleting, but this could still run the risk of reinfection by malicious coding, or even infect your desktop. Not to mention the risk that exists to your readers if something goes wrong. I would recommend copy/pasting as many posts as you can into .doc files, then deleting everything on the actual blog and reposting the text fresh. Of course, you will have no choice but to find or reupload all photos.

Conclusion

Yes, this is all a huge hassle. But if you want to keep your site running, and it has experienced a hack, you have no choice. That is why it is so important to backup all files regularly, at the very least once a week. If you update often, then several times a week. This will allow you some peace of mind, as you know that you will only have to delete and then reinstate the data if a problem occurs.

Have you ever had a blog hack? Tell us about it in the comments.

Author’s Bio: Ann Smarty is the (guest) blogger who founded My Blog Guest, the free guest blogging and content sharing platform.

Image Credits: 1, 2.

WordPress Plug-Ins to Make Your Website More User Friendly

by

By Danny DeMichele

If you have built your website on WordPress you are lucky. There are so many plugins available to make your website more productive and fun for the users you are attracting. What’s more is these plugins change the way you can interact with your customer base in a way that grows loyalty. You will quickly find that certain plugins will draw people back as well as attract new users.

Here are some plug-in ideas for you to sample:

Slider Revolution

This WordPress plugin helps bring your website to life. You are no longer stuck with the same intro sliders that everyone else has. Instead you can build a slider that makes sense for presenting your content. It is also easy to change so you can make your website new and dynamic daily.

Breadcrumbs

You want to use SEO and drive traffic to your site. Often the search engine then takes the user to the exact page showing no relationship to your home page or anything else you have to offer. Breadcrumbs helps the visitor navigate your page and clearly shows the relationship.

Subscribe to Comments

When users surf the web, they might leave behind a comment, but depending on their involvement may never return to the discussion. Subscribe to comments allows the person to know when the discussion continues and gets them more involved with your page. It also encourages them to leave comments because they can easily follow up.

WP Super Cache

No one comes to pages that take forever to load. While they might be patient the first time, it is frustrating when someone returns and it takes a long time again. Super Cache allows for lightning fast loading for your returning users and improves your return numbers.

CloudFlare

Everyone hates comment spam. CloudFlare allows you to see exact IP addresses of comments and you can then block the user at the source. No more tricking the system; instead you have ultimate control over your WordPress site.

Akismet

Another spam filter, this one does not require you do anything. It filters all sorts of spam on an autopilot mode 24 hours a day. You can go through the items that have been filtered if you like. It is not quite as good at shutting down things at the IP level, but it can get spam removed more quickly.

Facebook Comments for WordPress

The world is username- and password-inundated and most people don’t have the patience to create new logins. This plugin allows them to use their Facebook account to leave comments. It gives them a way to follow through and it helps you navigate back to the person.

ShareThis

Using 50 different social networking sites, people can share your page via their preferred outlet. This helps you make the forum more open for all users and keeps you from having to run a million plugins. This is probably the most universal of all the ways to share content.

AJAX Contact Forms

The right contact form can help you build the best mailing list. People want a form that is easy to use and AJAX has provided just that. You can choose what data is required and it will utilize the auto-fill-in options for people who have saved their data. This saves them time and makes it more likely they will fill out your form. You can even use the direct Twitter messaging system to instantly confirm their note, making you timely, helping to stick in the user’s memory.

Whatever plugins you put on your WordPress page, you will want to follow how they affect traffic. A great analytics app will not only help you do this, but help you decide which plugins are the very best for your website. It is all about being flexible and WordPress plugins can help you make the right impression.

Author’s Bio: Danny DeMichele has been building and managing online businesses for the past 14 years. He recently sold his search engine marketing agency, eVisibility.com, to LSF Network, Inc., a top 20 private digital agency in the U.S. Danny is currently the CEO of Incubate.com, a digital marketing agency specializing in all things web.

Top Rated Content Management Systems to Run Your Site

by

by
Franklyn Stephen

cooltext443809602_strategy

Whether you’re planning to build a corporate website, a creative blog or just want to make your presence on the web, hand-coding HTML pages and CSS are becoming obsolete. Nowadays all it takes is to buy a hosting and install a content management system (CMS), add a theme and within minutes you can have a website that looks extremely stylish and displaying the very content that you like to share with the world.

Of course, there are lots of ways in which you may use your website, from displaying a gallery of images to advertising your business, running a technical support page or even an online magazine website. This is why; there are many content management systems available, each with their own strength.

The following are the Top 5 Content Management Systems that are rated by downloads and user experience.

WordPress

Without doubt the most accessible and commonly used is WordPress. The power of WordPress is in its fast installation, huge user, vast array of plugins and enhancement for the platform.

Throw in the extra bonus of a vast template library and easy to edit PHP and CSS file from admin screen, it becomes clear that why WordPress is used for the whole thing from personal blogs to business websites.

For setting up or customize your WordPress blog or Website, check out WordPress Customization service providers.

Joomla

A quick view on Joomla website will make sure that plenty of websites are running on the software and the reason behind is easy to use, customizable and appropriate for pretty much any use.

This is why Joomla is frequently used by SME’s, big organizations, non-profits and individual organization. Joomla’s admin section is user friendly and with the vast collection of features from templates to adding pages and menus; at last you will come to know why Joomla is an accurate choice.

You can download latest version of Joomla and try it now it’s free.

Drupal

A famous free open source content management system is Drupal, It is one of the best choices while developing a new website. Like various tools listed here, Drupal can be used for personal blogs or huge websites and like WordPress there are millions of modules that can be added to enlarge functionality.

By Clicking on the image, it will redirect you to the home page where you will be able to take a look at the showcase of websites made with Drupal. It is significance noting that questions from the user group of people about apparent failings in latest versions are yet to be entirely addressed by developers; but Drupal remains as well-liked solution.

Concrete5

Plan to make it feasible for anybody to build and manage a website without investing a lot of time and cost then you need to go with Concrete5.It has been appears to be doing excellent job.

This content management system is eventual time saving solution to designers, developers and website owners alike, which almost certainly accounts for its reputation. User-friendly, with a well-built focus on the end user, web designer and developer, Finally Concrete5 is definitely worth a look.

You can find more details by visiting Concrete5 website. Check with experts to customize your Concrete5.

CMS Made Simple

CMS Made Simple has an attractive smart name. Its initials are represents CMS, which makes it recursive. CMS Made Simple was launched in 2009. Though, it is already downloaded by millions of people and become popular for many reasons.

CMS Made Simple aims to offer its users to easy to develop and customize a website without any technical knowledge. If you don’t be set to hack around with the essential code that powers your website, CMS Made Simple is best solution for you.

Conclusion

If you’re wondering to choose best CMS platform for your website or blog, then your best bet is to hit each of the links above and download the software and install it. There are different things you should consider while choosing a CMS and these are all knowledgeable only through your own potential, your objective and the purpose of the website or a blog. Just choosing one among them and using it without being aware of that particular CMS how you will use it, these things makes waste a lot of time for us. Be sure while choosing your best fit content management system. If you’re still wondering about the exact solution for your website always check with CMS customization experts.

Author’s Bio:
Franklyn Stephen Issac.J is a webmaster having substantial four years of experience in analytics, Search engine optimization, social media marketing, SEM and PPC. His company Actmedia.net customizes Content Management Systems and shares his great passion for analytics and ecommerce solutions. More than 50 keywords ranked prove his strong insight knowledge on keyword research and analysis.