WP Active Support Plugin Announcement
-
As a developer, I am repeatedly asked to solve problems with other people’s websites. Often the theme has been altered to include malicious code or to add links to pharmaceutical web content. This has on occasion included the creation of thousands of web pages on the website. Sometimes the damage or infection is a couple of lines of Base64 code which alters the title and meta tags or install malicious code on a web visitors machine. All concerning issues if you want your website to be identifiable in search.
The intention of those who cause this damage varies between criminal intent to defraud, criminal damage, the creation of a network of computers to be able to instigate a distributed denial of service attack and commercial sabotage of search listings to further the sale of black market products.
The risks to your website are automated, not targeted, so do not take the fact that you could fall prey to a hack as personal. Your website is a number, a potential asset for someone else’s intention. You can mitigate the risk by carrying out a number of simple tasks (most using this forum will know this!). Firstly, keep your website up to date, that includes core files (depending on hosting and installation), plugins and themes. Delete any themes you do not use or that are not associated with any child theme you may be using, remove the admin username account and finally take regular back-ups. Then all you need to do is keep on top of housekeeping, hopefully plugins like mine can help with that so you know when you need to look after your website? It would be great if update malaise fell only at the feet of website owners, however often web development agencies and marketing companies overlook these simple but important tasks.
Regardless of the intention of the perpetrators of the unauthorised alteration of websites, the potential threat to your business and future viability of your website is high. Search engines have tailored the way they work to look for infected websites and negate those websites from the results they offer their users. Some search engines even went as far as identifying WordPress installations (and other CMS risks) that require an update and emailing the registered webmaster and informing them to update the website. I wanted to help with this issue and my solution was to invest time into a free plugin for the WordPress community, that hopefully helps.
WP Active Support Plugin
WP Active Support is a simple plugin designed to keep you informed with your website update requirements. Once installed the plugin will email you when you need to upgrade your core and plugin files, it is that simple but necessary.
Installation and Activation
Simple to install, same as any other plugin and then all you need to do is select the preferences you need. Which email address you want your alert emails to come to, whether or not you want to contribute to data being sent to my server (helps with nerdy stat stuff and knowing who’s using it) and then click on Activate!If you do keep your website updated then happy days, likewise if this post keeps updating your website at the forefront of your website even happier days. Find the plugin here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-active-support/ | My website is here: http://www.marketing-optimiser.co.uk/contact/ for support etc.
Hope you find the WP Active Support useful!
DK
- The topic ‘WP Active Support Plugin Announcement’ is closed to new replies.