Month: November 2008

Protect Your WordPress Directory from Public Browsing

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Found a really good WordPress security tips a while ago:

Directories should not be left open for public browsing.

There is a potential problem letting people know what plug-ins you have, or what versions they are. If there is some known exploit that is linked to a plug-in, it could be easy enough for someone to use it to their advantage.

To test whether your site is vulnerable to this issue, just go to http://<your_site>/wp-content/plugins
Your site SHOULDN’T be listing all the plug-ins available on your site.

It’s fairly simple to protect your WordPress installation from public browsing:
1. Make an empty wp-content/plugins/index.html file
Or
2. just add this line in your .htaccess file in your root:
Options All -Indexes

Easier VPN Setup with Ubuntu 8.10

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Quite a while ago I’ve posted a way to setup your VPN access using VPNC in Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. Now with Ubuntu 8.10 Interprid Ibex, things will become much more easier, by using the NetworkManager applet in Gnome.

When you have not yet installed any VPN manager, the “Add” button for VPN connections in the applet seems to be disabled. But thanks to a post in UbuntuForum here, I manage to enable the “Add” VPN connection button, and add my office’s VPN connection by a few simple clicks.

1. Go to Applications -> Add/Remove.

2. From the Show dropdown “All available applications”, and then enter “vpn connection” into the search box.

3. Choose your choice of VPN manager. In my case it’s VPNC.

ubuntuvpn-addremove.png

4. Now you can add the VPN connection. The “Add” button is enabled now. Click on the NetworkManager applet -> VPN Connections -> Configure VPN…

5. Click on the VPN tab, click “Add” button

ubuntuvpn-add.png

6. Enter your VPN connection details (Gateway, user name, passwords, etc).

ubuntuvpn-add2.png

7. Click “OK”, and Voila!, your VPN connection is available for you at your NetworkManager applet, shown below:

ubuntuvpn-wifi.png

Enjoy.

Ubuntu 8.10 on Dell XPS M1530

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Following my previous post, finally I got the new Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex on my Dell XPS M1530 laptop. The verdict: Pure Awesomeness. The installation is very quick and simple (it just that it took me a while to write this post). Almost everything works out of the box. The driver support is better. The OS itself I feel more stable, hard as a rock. And of course, more features. Sure, there is a few bumps, but nothing too serious.

Desktop

(Above: My shiny brand new desktop 🙂 )
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