Many WordPress users recently received a fake email claiming to be from the WordPress Security Team about a supposed vulnerability called “Remote Code Execution (RCE)” on their website. The users are asked to download, install and activate a CVE-2024-46188 Patch plugin. Here is what the email looks like: This is not a solicited email and you should not click on the download button, which will actually take you to a site that has cloned the WordPress.org site in a very sophisticated way. If you get tricked into installing the plugin, it will create a hidden user account with administrator priv ..read more

URL redirects play a crucial role in website management, ensuring seamless user experience and preserving SEO rankings. When it comes to implementing redirects, domain registrars often offer limited options, and some even charge additional fees for this service. However, Cloudflare, a leading web performance and security company, provides a powerful solution for bulk redirects, completely free of charge. Here’s how Cloudflare’s bulk redirect feature offers superior control and flexibility compared to other options in the market. Bulk Redirect interface (2023)The Power of Cloudflare’s Bulk Redi ..read more

There are many services today that will sell you a business card that has a QR code and or a NFC chip so you can present it to a new business contact and they can easily scan it and add to their contacts. Who needs paper anyway? But many of these services (like linqapp.com or popl.co or mobilocard.com) will want to sell you a monthly fee to host your data online and give other features. One simpler solution is to build your own QR code. Once you generate it you can share it a bunch of ways: print it out on paper print it as a sticker and put it on the back of your phone save it in your phone ..read more

After 16 years of free email at your domain, Google announced users would have to start paying. Now they reversed that stance and say you can keep your free account if it is for personal use. It was 2012 when they no longer offered a free version of what was also called “G Suite”. it is like a free Gmail account but at your own domain instead of at gmail.com. The paid version gets you get more storage, support — and many other features. Good news: 501c3 nonprofits can still get Google Workspace and all the pro features free by request. I host most of the sites I build but I have not ..read more

HelloAri is proud to announce the launch of a new education website. USF approached us in September of 2021 with their project to publish these detailed historical studies of San Francisco Jewish communities. We worked closely with the researchers to refine the content and find simple ways to present the data in a clear and compelling format — on a very tight budget. As always, we leveraged the power of WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system. We assembled many pre-built pieces of code to streamline the process. These include plugins and themes as well as security and per ..read more

2022 updated list: Free CCommons “stock” images wordpress.org/photos https://pexels.com https://unsplash.com https://pixabay.com https://barnimages.com https://flickr.com Great photos (public domain) can be found from U.S. government agency websites: USA.gov is a government-operated website that was founded to give access to government agencies and resources. And a bigger list: NASA Images: Space U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Digital Library: animals, plants, nature, and wildlife. NOAA Photo Library: nature, weather, oceans, and wildlife. U.S. Department of Defense DefenseL ..read more

If you get a message like this when you log in, it’s referring to how you had an account already registered with Google using that email. Now you have a new kind of Google account with that same email address. Part of the confusion is that you can register any email as a “Personal Google account” – it doesn’t have to be a Gmail or a Google Workspace email account. In other words, if you see this message it means you have a “personal Google Account” and a “Google Apps account” (now called a “Google Workspace account”) linked to the same email address. Choose an account: There are two existing G ..read more

Here’s a quick tip on something very simple that I could not figure out for the longest time. One of those bugs that was somehow thought to be a feature at some point in the development process over at Google. Too busy not doing evil, I guess… The graphic above is very straightforward and familiar to anyone who uses more than one Google account.  Easy to add or remove accounts, right? The tricky part is that if you are logged into any of these accounts then you will not see the “remove” button. Instead, it will look like this (with just “add an account”): Add and Login to Remove? In oth ..read more

You may have heard that you do not need to send a 1099-NEC (formerly called 1099-MISC) to a contractor if you paid them through PayPal, even if they made more than $600. It’s pretty confusing and you should confirm with your CPA first (this blog doesn’t offer legal or tax advice) but I hope my recent research will give you a few new perspectives on how to manage small business tax reporting. NEW RULES As of 2022 the trigger for PayPal (or any 3rd party payer) to send a 1099k is reduced to $600. It used to be $20,000 (or 200 transactions). WHO’S A REAL FRIEND? If you pay with PayPal’s “friends ..read more

DNS ISSUE CHECKS What’sMyDNS is a useful tool that helps you check how DNS changes are propagating across the world with a neat map view. https://www.WhatsMyDNS.net/ intoDNS provides a report on the state of DNS and mail servers of your domain. It also offers information on errors and suggestions about fixing them. http://intoDNS.com/ DNSstuff has a large number of free domain, IP, networking and email tools. http://www.DNSstuff.com/ MXtoolbox – you can use this tool to check your MX records and solve email delivery problems. https://MXtoolbox.com/ CHECK TOOLS AND HOSTING BuiltWith ..read more