A few clients have come to me recently to let me know that their site has been hacked. They all run Wordpress on their site but were unaware of the critical update that stopped users from injecting code into your pages. I’ve found a site that explains this all very well, so check out the article at Unmask Parasites.
If you were a victim, or haven’t upgraded your Wordpress yet, you may be interested in taking a step to secure your blog by joining the newsletter. You will also want to subscribe to the blog RSS.
The first step to securing your website is you. Don’t blame your host because your outdated and insecure scripts infected your site. Everyone on a server has different needs and to run the scripts you want to use, and the other clients to run the scripts they want, there has to be flexibility in security. You cannot expect to run any script with any insecurities and for your hosting company to be able to block off all attacks. If you’re looking for a host tailored to your specific security needs and no one elses, it may be time to go dedicated. If you’re cheap and need to keep paying $20 a year, it’s time to learn to keep regular backups of your own and expect problems now and again.
In the current economic situation, everyone’s cutting back on spending as much as they can. I’ve noticed in my own business that clients are trying to cut back and as a result, I’ve had to cut back on my own spending by getting rid of DirecTV and lowering my internet speed. But some things are still very necessary, like school supplies, clothes, computers, etc. I had to buy some new pans recently (mine were terrible) and I spent about 4 hours looking around and deciding where to buy from to get the best deal. I didn’t want to pay $150 one place, then find I could’ve saved $40 by going somewhere else.
Just the other day I stumbled across a link to ShopWiki, which is a site that will list the price of a product at stores online and offline so you can pick the best deal. It’s almost kind of like Froogle, but it lists a lot more stores and it’s much more accurate. It lists the pan set I bought ranging from $114 to $149 and includes the store where I bought it for $119. I was so relieved to find that I had gotten a good deal, I tried again for my computer. Turns out the computer I kinda got shafted on, this site could’ve saved me $300. Next time I have a purchase, I’m checking ShopWiki first.
They also have a directory that will help you pick a product when you’re not exactly sure what you’re looking for. If you click Desktop Computers it brings you to a list of the types of desktop computers with information about them and their Pros and Cons. Personally, I suggest the HP Touchsmart All In One. They have a site for those of you in the UK and Australia as well.
I like the fact that the site’s design doesn’t distract from the content and that it’s not covered in graphics or banners. Not everyone thinks a site’s design is as important as its content, but I do. If a site is too busy, has too many graphics ads, or has an unattractive design I’m not likely to stay and much less likely to come back. The simplicity of the site makes it incredibly efficient. What will you do with all that extra time you’re not comparing prices?
I recently restored my laptop to its original settings to clear out any unwanted files I may have picked up over the past few months and I decided to set it up so I can work from my laptop, too. I had heard from another site about Windows Live Writer, which is a program you can install to your computer and blog to any Wordpress blogs. I set it up a few days ago and set up all my blogs, but this is my first time using it to post. I must say, it’s pretty convenient.
You can use it with a lot of different blogging platforms including Wordpress (hosted), Wordpress.com, Blogger, Livejournal, TypePad, etc. Imagine having all your blogs accessible in one spot. The only thing you need to do to switch between them is pull down a drop menu and choose the blog name. It definitely makes keeping up with multiple blogs much easier. When your blog is your income, like mine, you need every advantage you can get to update quickly.
I’ve actually signed up with the whole suite of Windows Live programs, so I’ll be trying them all out this week. If you have Windows Live, come find me.
Okay, so I was a little excited and decided to make a pink one, too. Not my best work, but very cute nonetheless. I hope you enjoy it. And remember, you must tweet a thank-you for the theme and include my link if you use the background.
These colors are just suggested, I think they look amazing together.
Background: #FF98A1 (lighter pink)
Text: #404040 (dark grey)
Links: #E84C5B4 (pink)
Sidebar: #FFFFFF (white)
Sidebar Border: #FEE6E8
Background Image: Click Here To View/Download
I’ve been thinking about making Twitter themes a lot lately, but they’re a little difficult because you have to be very specific with them. It’s impossible to put your site name on it, because I don’t know your site name. But I think I’ve made one that looks pretty decent without any words at all. I have it up on Lala Land’s twitter right now, so you can see it here. It won’t be up long, though, because I plan to make a custom one very soon.
All you need to use this theme is the background image and colors. Of course, you can use whatever colors you want, but these are mine:
Background: #FFFFFF (white)
Text: #808080 (grey)
Links: #458CA4 (blue)
Sidebar: #FFFFFF (white)
Sidebar Border: #D2D2D1
Background Image: Click Here to View and Download
The only thing I require for the use of my theme is a quick plug on your twitter to Radkitten.net when you let everyone know you’ve put it up. If you’d like, also add @radkittennet to the beginning of the message so I can see it, too.
My name is Amy, and I've been creating and designing websites for 10 years. I live
in the lowcountry of South Carolina where there is plenty of natural inspiration. 
