In the past I used several plugins like Cookies for Comments and Simple Trackback Validation along side Akismet to fight comment and tracback/pingback spam. Nowadays I only use Akismet because it does an excellent job of fighting spam all by itself and having less plugins lessens the load on the server.

The WordPress team just released an updated version of Akismet – version 2.5.6 which is a maintenance release and contains several bugfixes and improvements.

Akismet 2.5.6 Bugfixes and improvements:

• Prevent retry scheduling problems on sites where wp_cron is misbehaving
• Preload mshot previews
• Modernize the widget code
• Fix a bug where comments were not held for moderation during an error condition
• Improve the UX and display when comments are temporarily held due to an error
• Make the Check For Spam button force a retry when comments are held due to an error
• Handle errors caused by an invalid key
• Don’t retry comments that are too old
• Improve error messages when verifying an API key

To upgrade Akismet to the latest version, you can do it automatically via the admin dashboard or download the zip file from the official WordPress plugin repository and install the update manually via FTP. Take note that Akismet 2.5.6 requires WordPress 3.0+. If you still don’t have Akismet and would like to use/try it out, you can get your Akismet API key from this link. Akismet is FREE for personal blogs and websites.

I just updated Akismet to the latest version and it works fine. The upgrade process went smoothly and no issues or conflicts with other plugins.

Anyone else use Akismet? If not, what other plugin/s do you use to fight off spam on your blog or website? Please share your thoughts.

WooThemes, one of the well-known sources for premium WordPress themes just recently released a brand new product called WooDojo. This product is a WordPress plugin that works as a “functionality suite” that adds additional functionalities to any WordPress theme on any WordPress installation.

WooDojo features:

• WooSidebars – Specify custom widgetized areas for any posts, pages, archives etc. on your site. Probably justifies a download of WooDojo by itself.
• Tabs – The popular, elegant tabber widget in any widgetized space.
• Shortlinks – Add your URL shortener of choice & easily display shortened URL’s for all posts & pages.
• Custom Code – Easily add custom CSS to your site.
• Login Branding – Replace the default WordPress branding on the login screen with your own brand identity.
• Social Widgets – A collection of widgets to connect to your online social profiles.

Screenshots:
Tabs

Custom Code

Widgets

Shortlinks

Login Branding

WooDojo is an awesome plugin because not only does it add functionalities to any existing WordPress theme but it also eliminates the need for using separate/multiple plugins for those functionalities. The features listed above are only the ones available for version 1 of the plugin but WooThemes ninjas are already working on new features that will be made available in the coming weeks.

I’ve already downloaded a copy of WooDojo but yet have to try it but I’m sure it’s gonna be a very useful tool for any WordPress user. The timing of the release of WooDojo is just right because I’m planning on doing a theme reboot and I hope to be able to use and integrate this plugin into my WordPress installation.

Head over to the official WooDojo page to download a copy of this awesome plugin.

What do you think of WooTheme’s latest product – WooDojo? What other features would you like to see added in future updates of the plugin? Please share your thoughts.

Web security company Sucuri recently released a security alert concerning a WordPress plugin called Deans FCKEditor with PWWANGS Code for WordPress. The said plugin contains a very serious vulnerability that allowed hackers to gain full control – modify, upload and execute files on any website running WordPress.

With the plugin installed on a certain website, a hacker or malicious person can gain access to the web server via HTTP through a backdoor in the plugin’s directory and use a graphic user interface (GUI) to wreck havoc. The Deans FCKEditor with PWWANGS Code for WordPress plugin has already been removed from the official WordPress Plugin repository but unfortunately, a lot of users are not aware of this security vulnerability.

If you happen to have Deans FCKEditor with PWWANGS Code for WordPress plugin installed on your website, you need to completely REMOVE it from your web server (delete plugin folder and files). Deactivating the plugin is not enough because as long as the vulnerable files exist on your web server, hackers and malicious persons are still capable of uploading files to your web server.

NOTE: The plugin involved is different from these plugins – Dean’s FCKEditor For WordPress and Dean’s FCKEditor For WordPress (same name but different plugins).

Please help spread the word so more WordPress users will be aware of this vulnerability.

StudioPress recently released the Simple Social Icons WordPress plugin. Coded by Nathan Rice, this plugin/widget enables users to easily display social media/networking icons on any widget area of the blog and link it to different social profiles.

Like its name, the Simple Social Icons plugin is very simple and easy to use that it doesn’t even need a settings page. It is also very customizable – users can customize the color and size of the icons and choose to align the icons left or right.

Screenshot:
Widget Admin Screen

Installation:

1. Upload the entire simple-social-icons folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
3. In your Widgets menu, simply drag the widget labeled “Simple Social Icons” into a widgetized Area.
4. Configure the widget by choosing a title, icon size and color, and the URLs to your various social profiles.

Social icons included in the plugin:

• Dribbble
• Email
• Facebook
• Google +
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• RSS
• StumbleUpon
• Twitter

I think it would be great if more social icons could be added to it like Reddit, Flickr, YouTube, FriendFeed, Instagram, Path, etc. One more thing, at this time the plugin doesn’t allow users to re-order the icons so it would be nice to have the option/functionality in the next update. But other than those two things, there’s nothing really much to say or complain about this WordPress plugin because it is easy to use and does what its supposed to do.

Thanks to Nathan Rice and the good folks over at StudioPress for creating and releasing this cool and very useful plugin to the WordPress community.

NOTE: The Simple Social Icons plugin requires WordPress 3.3 or higher.

Download the Simple Social Icons plugin from the official WordPress plugin repository

How do you like the Simple Social Icons plugin/widget? Anyone tried or already use this plugin on their blog? Please share your thoughts.

All the plugins I use were up-to-date and compatible with WordPress 3.2+ so I didn’t have much of a problem with the upgrade. I just made sure that I deactivated all of them before starting the upgrade process. The only incompatible plugin was Fluency Admin and the reason for it was because I was using an older version created for earlier versions of WordPress. I had to update it to the latest one – Fluency Admin 3.2 which is specifically designed for WordPress 3.2+.

For those who aren’t familiar with Fluency Admin, it is a technically a plugin but in terms of use, it is a WordPress admin or dashboard theme. In the past, there were lots of admin themes* available but with the development and release of newer version of WordPress, most of the admin theme authors didn’t update their products, rendering them incompatible with newer versions of WordPress. The only admin theme that’s left is Fluency Admin, which is constantly updated by its author – Dean Robinson.

Features:

• Stylish dark-on-light colours
• Hover activated sub-menus
• Custom colour-schemes
• Custom login screen
• Customise WordPress with your logo
• Access menus using ‘hot keys’

Screenshots:
Regular WordPress 3.2+ Login Screen

WordPress 3.2+ Login Screen w/ Fluency Admin (Extended Menu)

Regular WordPress 3.2+ Admin User Interface

WordPress 3.2+ Admin User Interface w/ Fluency Admin (Extended Menu)

WordPress 3.2+ Admin User Interface w/ Fluency Admin (Collapsed Menu)

I’ve been enjoying/using this type of user interface thanks to Fluency Admin since WordPress 2.5, which is about two years ago. Although the default WordPress Admin user interface is much much better than it was a couple years back, I still prefer to use the Fluency Admin theme because it uses less space (especially with the collapsed menu) and it doesn’t require me to expand the main menus to access the submenus – thanks to the hover menu and hotkey options.

In previous versions, Fluency Admin only had two color options/schemes available, same as the default WordPress color schemes – blue and grey. Now, you can customize and choose any color you want. Just go to Settings > Fluency Admin and specify the hex color code and click on Save Changes. If you want, you could also customize your WordPress login screen and use the Fluency Admin color scheme and also replace the WordPress logo with your own customized logo. To use a customized logo, just follow the instructions and the dimensions specified in the Fluency Admin settings page.

How do you like the new default WordPress Admin/Dashboard user interface in WordPress 3.2+? Anybody else using Fluency Admin? Which one do you prefer – default user interface or Fluency Admin?

*If you’d like to see the other admin themes which worked for older versions of WordPress, check out my Pimp My WordPress Dashboard series of posts – Pimp My WP Dashboard Part I, Pimp My WP Dashboard Part II and Pimp My WP Dashboard Part III.