Long video today talking about Security:
We start off talking about CNN article on Shodan a search engine focused on finding security vulnerabilities in routers, phones, power plants, hvac, and more. The article is a bit of a fear mongering post about how dangerous Shodan is but the reality is that Shodan are the good guys. They are simply giving you the ability to see the security problems that real criminals either already know about or can easily find with their own tools. Shodan limits usage and if you want to do a lot they require an explination and charge a fee.
http://www.shodanhq.com/
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/08/technology/security/shodan/index.html
This is then tied into my experience with WordPress and some current hacking attempts on some client websites hosted at LiquidWeb. While none of the sites have been hacked they are getting beat up and there are actions I have taken to reduce access. Naturally I use strong passwords so there is less concern about access and more about slowing down my servers.
http://wordpress.org
http://www.liquidweb.com/
Advertisement: Our current sponsor for this episode is Accutemp Refrigeration. If you live in the Phoenix Metro area you will need Air Conditioning in the next few weeks in a big way. Accutemp has been doing this for over 30 years and more importantly their technicians are not commission based. This is important because when you are getting a tune up you want the technician to be focused on making sure your existing equipement is working well. If they are commission based then they are going to be focused on how to sell you a new unit or charge you as much as possible. Accutemp pays their techs a fair wage to be techs. You should feel confident that they know what they are doing and are being paid to do what you have asked for: a tune up. Give them a call at 602-957-3745 and mention Roger Williams Media Minute.
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An interesting topic on security that ties back into our sponsor, Accutemp, is business and home automation. Accutemp installs and maintains a number of automation systems that connect to the internet so remote management can be done. Specifically they recommend EcoBee but are careful to explain the installation and security concerns namely changing the password to something strong.
http://www.ecobee.com/
Personally I use and recommend 1Password to all of my clients. 1Password allows you to easily create and store unique and strong passwords for all of your website accounts and anything that needs a password. Its really awesome.
https://agilebits.com/onepassword
When it comes to WordPress security there are a number of things your can do. I recommend reading the codex article here:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress
There are two plugins that seem to help fix things quickly:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/better-wp-security/
http://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bulletproof-security
You can also do a number of things to harden your server and should contact your host about that.
Happy Wednesday!
Website – http://rogerwilliamsmedia.com
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