Archive for Blogging

What to do When Your Blog Gets Hacked

My blog was recently hacked – not the most fun experience to say the least. Still not 100% sure how it happened, all I know is that here were the steps I took to secure everything.

1. I immediately changed all of my passwords. FTP, login, database user passwords, hosting password, the works. Sure, it could have been any of these, but there’s no reason to immediately change all of them. Of course, you should also be updating them regularly, like any password you use.
2. Remove all files on/reformat your server. This should be ok, because it’s all source-controlled. Right? Right! You have no idea what additional files have been added or which files have been changed, so be heavy-handed.
3. Replace the files that you removed with all clean copies checked straight from whichever version control client you use.

All in all, it’s relatively simple, though stressful when it happens. I am not a full-on security expert, so full security and preventing an attack is another matter all to itself. My version is, by far, the simpler one, though highly effective in my case. After the initial issue, I have no experienced or seen another problem on the site (and I’m happier about that than I can really explain!).

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Yes, I Think Everyone Should Have a Blog (or Something)

Hey, maybe I’m just a supernerd, but I think everyone should have a blog. I guess that might be because I think everyone has something interesting to say. Sure, some people have more interesting things to say than other people, but that doesn’t mean not everyone has something interesting to bring to the table. That’s why I think that everyone should have a blog, or a website or something.

Maybe it’s just my profession as a web developer, but really, there are a lot of interesting things in this world. And a lot of interesting people. Facebook’s big thing is sharing, and I think that that is a great thing in this world.

We’re all so busy all the time, so a lot of the time, people just aren’t going to ask you things, whether it’s what you think or ideas you have or how you feel. Sure, it’s unfortunate, but true. There are too many distractions to ask everyone all those questions. That’s why it’s your responsibility to put yourself out there if you want to be heard. You can’t let it come to you.

Maybe no one will listen, but getting it out alone is a relieving experience for anyone.

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