Alerts and Warnings
Digging deep to find an SQL error in a WordPress site migration
We were approached to help a remote client recover their website after their in-house servers crashed. They had all the files and a recent database backup, which is great! We routinely reload websites from files and databases, so we didn’t see any problem walking the client through the steps over Zoom. But what could have…
Read MoreMore reasons to use real hosting for websites
Bottom Top line: Never, ever host a public website on your personal or business network. Pardon the mild profanity in the screenshot but this video by network engineer Serena from @serenashenetworks explains why very well. The explanation might be a little more technical than you’re used to, but basically she’s describing the computer equivalent of…
Read MorePaying $289 to “US Domain Authority” won’t renew your domain name
I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries from clients asking “do I need to pay this bill?” This morning in a business meeting four members said they’d received one of these notifications from a company called “US Domain Authority” in Hendersonville, North Carolina. In a nutshell: You don’t have to pay “Domain Authority” a penny…
Read MoreShould you get your website ready for a return to “offline” sales?
The short answer is “you probably should.” A number of larger industries like lumber and car-rental agencies are said to have been caught off guard by a resumption of demand as the COVID-19 pandemic is finally beginning to wind down. The problem seems to be more that they weren’t prepared than that there isn’t enough…
Read MoreNever leave a File Manager plugin on your WordPress website in the first place!
A File Manager plugin can be a very useful tool when you need it, but you can say the same thing about a stick of dynamite! It’s not something you want to leave in the kitchen junk drawer in case you need it later! David Innes, owner of RealBasics.com The ultra-tech website Ars Technica reported…
Read MoreIf you get email from GSuite saying remove links (you’re probably ok)
First things first: if you got a confusing email from GSuite that says something like “[Action Required] Remove internal links to the G Suite Domain Contact page for your organization” don’t panic! Bottom line up top: They’re just recommending that you clean up any old links to an out-of-date service that you probably weren’t aware…
Read MoreScam: threatening email or contact-form spam from “Melissa”
Our standard maintenance plan includes one hour of consulting a month. In the last couple of days several maintenance clients have contacted me after receiving scary, threatening “copyright infringement” messages coming from their contact forms or other sources. Here’s one example. Note the suspicious elements. And here’s another, note the similar email address? Others I’ve…
Read MoreBelts and suspenders, eggs in one basket, backup plans, and A2Hosting ransomware!
The popular A2Hosting company is struggling with a ransomware attack that’s knocked quite a few of their Windows-server clients offline. While we’ve recommended A2Hosting to some of our WordPress clients we direct them to Linux hosting so they’re unlikely to have been affected by this attack. Ugh! Ransomware is a serious problem for smaller ISPs…
Read MoreIs the California Consumer Privacy Act the next GDPR? Yes, so don’t worry
A friend in the local WordPress Slack channel cited a recent post on the tech site Ad Age and added “in case you haven’t heard – California’s new “Consumer Privacy Act” (‘GDPR’) law goes into effect January 2020. Clients should start taking their Privacy Policies more seriously. Fines of $750/privacy violation + AG can sue…
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