John's Intro:

It's Episode 578 and we have plugins for Halloween Count, Halloween Decorations, Halloween Woo, Client Dash, X-3P0, Halloween Panda… and ClassicPress Options. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z!

– ‘good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you happen to be hiding out there on the globe today! Coming to you LIVE from …'

Amber's Rant:

Welcome to Episode 578 – It's a WordPress Halloween – This is episode 38 for 2022, And it's the best time of year – Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

A Message from your AtoZ Plugin Worker Bee's – This is a Value for Value show, meaning any value you find here, offer that same value back – and don't let the zombies catch you!

Remember, don't skip the end of the show – you never know what ghosties might catch up to you if you bail before good advice can be given!

A special note to our New Listeners: Don't be shy to ask your questions. No such thing as a stupid question, only stupid zombies.

…When you see this in the notes, this means we didn't read this onto the show, and that the only way to find this information out is to read our Show Notes!

…You can send any questions/suggestions or notes saying hi over to me at amber@wppro.ca, or hit up our site wpppluginsatoz.com/contact – Be creative with the title so that the spammer eater doesn't eat your note though!

Let's start the show with this weeks Featured Artist:

Greg's Graphics (Greg Holdsworth)  — https://gregsgraphics.com

Feeling Inspired? Hit up our site at https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/ and submit some artwork of your own!
…We can NEVER have too much art!

Or check out allll the artwork at: https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Breaking News in the WordPress World at large!! 

…If I missed something, shoot me a link at amber@wppro.ca – it may show up on the next show!

News this week:

– WordPress Vulnerability Report – October 26, 2022 (https://ithemes.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-october-26-2022/) –
– There was recently a vulnerability in tagDiv Composer Theme, though it has been fixed – if you use this, be sure to update!
– Only a few plugins in the list this week! – Webmaster tools verification, Grid Kit Premium, and OAuth client by DigitalPixis.
Be sure to keep an eye on these!

– Gutenberg Contributors explore a New browse mode for navigating the site editor (https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-contributors-explore-a-new-browse-mode-for-navigating-the-site-editor) – This is a continuation of ongoing work for this product, the roots of which are from 2019. The navigation is still jumpy and a bit confusing, though hopefully these newer ideas will bring some smoothness to the navigation!

– 2022 Web Almanac Performance Data shows WordPress sites may be overusing Lazy-Loading (https://wptavern.com/2022-web-almanac-performance-data-shows-wordpress-sites-may-be-overusing-lazy-loading) – What they are talking about is that in the update in january of 2022, Lazy Loading is a native part of WordPress; though this information states that 72% of WordPress users are still using Lazy-Loading plugins, thus using it doubly, causing a pull on their resources.
Previous to the update in Jan. 2022, the aggressive native lazy-loading of WordPress was actually causing problems rather than solving them, but since the fix there shouldn't be an issue.
I personally think that the reason people are still using plugins is because not many people were really aware that the Jan. 2022 update had fixed the issue, and figured it would be the same as before.

– Gutenberg 14.4 introduces distraction-free mode, redesigns pattern inserter (https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-4-introduces-distraction-free-mode-redesigns-pattern-inserter) – I had thought they already introduced this ‘distraction free mode', though I suppose what I am remembering is when they were going to introduce it… for those who use Gutenberg, this may or may not be awesome! Personally, I don't like the distraction free mode in WordPress – it takes away all of my buttons… I like buttons…

– 5 Web Design Trends for October 2022 (https://ithemes.com/blog/5-web-design-trends-for-october-2022/) – We've got Sleek Sliders, Interesting Grids, Unusual Imagery, BIG buttons, and No Click Sales. I personally think that the ‘unusal imagery' is the best looking, though the ‘big buttons' is looking pretty awesome too! I like buttons…

– WordPress Accessibility Day 2022 publishes speaker lineup (https://wptavern.com/wordpress-accessibility-day-2022-publishes-speaker-lineup) – For those who are looking forward to this event, this is exciting news! Now you can peruse the speakers that will be up on the stage, and decide what sections/time slots are really worth spending your precious time on!

– Gaming in Cars – 'cause playing a video game in your car is never a bad idea… (https://thenextweb.com/news/automakers-expand-gaming-as-in-car-entertainment-for-future-autonomous-vehicles) – N-Dream, the Swiss startup behind AirConsole game platform was inspired to create an in-car gaming experience after CEO Anthony Cliquot saw ‘people playing games on their phone despite a big screen in front of them' while charging their EVs.  I just hope that they make sure these games can't be played while driving…

ClassicPress News:

…Our News Section really isn't complete without ClassicPress News…

There is no new news or fundraising goal update directly from ClassicPress this week.

ClassicPress has projects they are looking to have some support with.  They have a page with these projects listed and who the contact is for the project.  Check out the following page if you are using ClassicPress and are interested in helping them move forward!    https://forums.classicpress.net/t/currently-active-projects/3630

They also have some petitions posted check them out!

…For some up to date news on ClassicPress check out the ClassicPress Blog.

The Extras – check out our Facebook, or Twitter page for even more!

…Here you will find news on tech in general, and some random things I think are pretty nifty! If you come across something you think should be added, send me a link at amber@wppro.ca

– New Azov data wiper tries to frame researchers and BleepingComputer (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-azov-data-wiper-tries-to-frame-researchers-and-bleepingcomputer/) – A new and destructive ‘Azov Ransomware' data wiper is being heavily distributed through pirated software, key generators, and adware bundles trying to frame well-known security researchers by claiming they are behind the attack.

– Actively Exploited Windows MoTW zero-day gets unofficial patch (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/actively-exploited-windows-motw-zero-day-gets-unofficial-patch/) – A free unofficial patch has been released for an actively exploited zero-day that allows files signed with malformed signatures to bypass Mark-of-the-Web security warnings in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

– New open-source tool scans public AEWS S3 buckets for secrets (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-open-source-tool-scans-public-aws-s3-buckets-for-secrets/) – A new open-source ‘S3crets Scanner' scanner allows researchers and red-teamers to search for ‘secrets' mistakenly stored in publicly exposed for company's Amazon AWS S3 storage buckets.

– Microsoft releases out-of-band updates to fix OneDrive crashes (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-releases-out-of-band-updates-to-fix-onedrive-crashes/) – Microsoft has released out-of-band updates to address a known issue causing OneDrive and OneDrive for Business to crash after installing recent Windows 10 updates.

– ConnectWise fixes RCE bug exposing thousands of servers to attacks (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/connectwise-fixes-rce-bug-exposing-thousands-of-servers-to-attacks/) – ConnectWise has released security updates to address a critical bulnerability in the ConnectWise Recover and R1Soft Server backup Manager (SBM) secure backup solutions.

– Student arrested for running one of Germany's largest dark web markets (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/student-arrested-for-running-one-of-germany-s-largest-dark-web-markets/) – Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has arrested a 22-year-old student in Bavaria, who is suspected of being the administrator of ‘Deutschland im Deep Web' (DiDW), one of the largest darknet markets in the country.

– Largest EU copper producer Aurubis suffers cyberattack, IT outage (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/largest-eu-copper-producer-aurubis-suffers-cyberattack-it-outage/) – German copper producer Arubis has announced that it suffered a cyberattack that forced it to shut down IT systems to prevent the attack's spread.

– Microsoft shares workaround for ongoing outlook login issues (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-shares-workaround-for-ongoing-outlook-login-issues/) – Microsoft is working on a fix for ongoing sign-in issues affecting some Outlook for Microsoft 365 customers and preventing them from accessing their accounts.

…Some random entertainment in the World of WordPress!

…Matt's Famous Quotes
https://www.idrlabs.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg.php

…The hall of shame via Automattic:
transparency.automattic.com/tag/hall-of-shame/

Let's have a peek at our Contests for this week…

Firstly we want to thank Simple Giveawaysfor being totally awesome and providing us with their Premium Version for our contests!

Secondly we want to thank Steve Goodtime & Brant Matthews for creating our amazing jingle we still use!!

As mentioned last week, FANTASTIC NEWS: Charlie is back!! And he brought with him from the great wilds out there a contest!!

We are SO happy to have Charlie back, honestly I think he's the only one who can really fill his old shoes he had left behind – and the contest we have for you is:

 Enter for your chance to win one of THREE Breakdance Page Builder One-Year Licences valued at $149 each

Breakdance Page Builder

 

With 120 built-in elements, a modern UI and workflow, and deep WooCommerce integration, Breakdance is the ultimate website builder plugin for WordPress.

Click here to visit breakdance.com

https://wppluginsatoz.com/giveaway/breakdance-page-builder-one-year-licences-giveaway

Remember, this is YOUR show! We are just the Worker Bee's here – Don't be afraid to jump up and down and demand a turn at the wheel to help guide the show to where YOU want it to go!

That goes for all the Developers out there too – this is YOUR show! by supporting us with your Plugin donations you are helping to guide the show to where you want to see it go! A GIANT Thank You is owed to the Developers who have been supporting us this whole time, we honestly could not have even gotten this show started without you!

If any Developers out there listening right now are interested in adding to the show by donating a Premium License for our Contests, you can do so by going to WPPluginsAtoZ.com/PluginContest!

Time for the Good Stuff! …

Off we go into the meat and potatoes of plugin depravity…..

WordPress Plugins

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John's Plugin

Halloween Countdown

https://wordpress.org/plugins/halloween-countdown/

The Lowdown:

No settings to adjust; nothing saved to your database; just add the shortcode [hcount] to any page, post, or Text widget. That’s it.

Rating 5 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

Ultimate Client Dash

https://wordpress.org/plugins/ulimate-client-dash/

The Lowdown:

This is a pretty awesome plugin – designed to personalize the WordPress Dashboard for both you and your client!

This plugin was made with personality in mind! You will find the dashboard for the settings on the left hand menu – and in the free version you will find options to personalize the Admin White Label Branding, Admin Styling, and Personalized Login Page; Though that's just for the Admin! This also means you can decorate the Admin area for things like Halloween with no worries about your clients seeing your crazy colours! Eeexcellent….

You will also find  options for personalizing the Client Access, Landing Page, Tracking and Custom Code, Widgets, and a Custom Welcome Message!

The Pro Version has a lot more features, and really I think the Free Version gives you just enough of everything to want to try out the fullest capability of it all in the Pro!

I really like this Plugin, it feels like though they put a lot of stuff into it, it's all focused and well done.

Rating: 4 Dragons

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John's Plugin

Simple Halloween Decoration For Your Page

https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-halloween-decoration-for-your-page/

The Lowdown:

With this plugin you can decorate your site for Halloween with just one click – an Easter Egg that will delight your visitors!

There is an options page under settings where you can activate and throttle spiders and flies. These will appear on the page and crawl across the screen in a very real way. A spooky affair perfect for Halloween.

Rating 5 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

X3P0 Powered By

https://wordpress.org/plugins/x3p0-powered-by/

The Lowdown:

Honestly, I first read it as C3P0 – I love Star Wars.

Alas, this is not a virtual golden android, though it is a neat Gutenberg Block plugin – and it's free! What it does is generates a random ‘powered by' message replacing the typical ‘powered by Theme/WordPress' message in footers!

The messages are things like ‘powered by coffee' or ‘powered by crazy ideas and passion'.

Just a neat little Gutenberg Block plugin to lighten your users day by noticing a nifty ‘powered by' message that changes randomly!

Rating: 5 Dragons

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We Interrupt this Meat and Potatoes of Plugin Depravity Edition to bring you our Donations Segment and to thank our Producers!

Remember, this is YOUR show! We're just the Worker Bee's here. Don't forget to restock the show's larders with some Time, Treasure, or Talent Donations! Need more info on how to do that? Check out our site wppluginsatoz.com – right up in the menu you will see each one under ‘Donations'!

Special thanks goes to:

Free-Lance Producers popping in and out:

Though always showing up at unexpected times, these Producers are surely part of the reason our name is getting out there! Thank you!

…If you have listened to even 10 minutes of this show, or shown up a single time to one of our live shows on YouTube, you are one of our many Free-Lance Producers! Although you guys are always popping in and out at unexpected times, we appreciate your support and periodic help with one thing or another – thank you!

Back Room Producers hanging-out in the Lounge:

Always about the place consuming all the coffee and donuts, these Producers earn it by helping out with our contests, artwork, site organization, notes, questions, suggestions, licenses, and by hiring us! Your Time and Talent Donations are equal to your Treasure Donations of under $50, and we would not be here without you – thank you!

…Back Room Producers, if you ever notice something that needs some work feel free to reach out to us and let us know – you can offer to take it up yourself, or just let us know and we will add it to our list.

War Room Producers:

With their donations of $50 or more these Producers receive a few extra perks – an official AtoZ Handle of their choice, a spotlight in that weeks show for a short speech, an official Executive Producership Credit, and seeing the ‘Magic' as it happens up in the War Room before we send the show out into the netherworld of the internets! Thank you for sticking by us and helping to keep the Back Room Producers stocked in coffee and donuts!

…**If you prefer to stay anonymous, please let us know at the beginning of your note to us regarding your donation! We are more than happy to keep you anonymous from the world – nobody is ever forced out of the tender embrace of the shadows on this show!**

…To receive your Official AtoZ Handle, think up an original name, and send it into us! Be sure to note down the show number and title of the show so that we know when to log it!

…Your spotlight can be an elevator pitch for your business, a note, or you can just skip it!

…The Producership Credit we offer is REAL! When you send your donation in to us of $50 or more, please be sure to note down the number and title of the show your donation shows up on, and we will back up your right to claim Producership!

…'Seeing the Magic Happen' refers to being part of the show – if you are interested in taking up a larger part in the show, reach out to us and let us know! We will be happy to discuss the options!

…War Room Producers, same as for the Back Room Producers, reach out to us if you notice something that needs work! Whether you are wanting to take up the job yourself or just inform us and leave it, we will add it to our list!

Thank you, now back to the Meat and Potatoes of Plugin Depravity Edition!

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John's Plugin

Halloween Woocommerce

https://wordpress.org/plugins/halloween-woocommerce/

The Lowdown:

Get your WooCommerce-based shop ready for Halloween! With 50 beautiful Halloween icons to choose from, you can reward your customers for using your website.

The plugin will display selected Halloween icons in random places on your website. If the client gathers enough of them, a popup with a coupon is displayed.

You are able to configure many aspects of the plugin’s behavior, such as:
– Icons that should be displayed
– Number of icons needed to get a coupon
– The content of messages that will display to your customers
…
And many more!

Rating 4 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

Halloween Panda

https://wordpress.org/plugins/halloween-panda/

The Lowdown:

I'm a little sad, this is still the only really Halloweeny plugin I can find… and it's 2 years since it's last update. If that Panda were real, it would be a sad Panda…

It's still working though!! So that's awesome!

This plugin offers pop-ups with zombies and the like, Monsterfall which has a snowflake like fall of pumpkins and bats, and general website decorations!!

Always fun, totally free, worth checking out!

Happy Halloween!

Rating: 5 Dragons

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ClassicPress

We have sadly neglected ClassicPress… we are working to remedy this.

…A little about ClassicPress for those who aren't sure: ClassicPress is WordPress frozen at version 4.9. Once WordPress moved to 5, they added in a whole lot of new folders, and the experimental additions to the Core started in earnest. ClassicPress is literally the Classic version of WordPress. A few plugins have been made over the years for just ClassicPress, though all Plugins compatible with WordPress 4.9 should work for ClassicPress.

To any ClassicPress user listening right now: I challenge you – yes YOU – to write a review of your favourite, or least favourite ClassicPress plugin, and send it into us! You can do so by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/!

…And feel free to add more to this section by reaching out to me at amber@wppro.ca.

ClassicPress Resource Section:

This information is like Fruit Cake! It doesn't wither away and will still be good years down the road so it's great for learning! Go and check this section out in our Show Notes if you have an interest!

…We have thrown some ClassicPress Resources in here for you – and they appear to have stuck like well cooked pasta! Glad you made it to this part of the notes since we only mention it lightly on the show – If we missed something, let us know!

…Learn more about ClassicPress 1.4.0 RC2:
…https://forums.classicpress.net/t/classicpress-1-4-0-rc2-release-notes/3785?fbclid=IwAR3wGK5IW8ssJ-XC4k7IiZMBtSjUTVN2pexk6ATCRvuMN-Fn-McOy-XJJv8

…ClassicPress Tutorials on their site:
…https://www.classicpress.net/category/tutorials/

…ClassicPress's “Must Have” Plugins List:
…https://forums.classicpress.net/t/must-have-plugins-list/1163

…ClassicPress Repository!!
…https://directory.classicpress.net/plugins They now have 71 plugins (and counting!) available.

…WordPress Plugin Section compatible with ClassicPress:
…https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/classicpress/

Questions, Notes, and Feedback from our Producers out there:

…Send us your thoughts and opinions, but most of all send us your questions! No such thing as a stupid question people! I was new not too long ago, and I know how overwhelming it can be stepping into this world at this stage – I know for a fact that questions you have are the same questions others out there have!

Nope, nothing today; seems our homing pigeon got lost on the way back with our messages again….

How to be part of your own production!

Interviews – get yourself out there using us as your tool!
…Looking for a way to get your name and work out there? Use us as a stepping stone! Hit us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/interview

Send in Plugin Reviews, or suggestions for Plugin reviews!
…Have a plugin you love? Or one you really think people should avoid? Reach out to us and get your words and opinion out into the world by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/

Send in questions and/or comments!
…Have a thought to share? Send it in! You can stay anonymous or belt your name out in all caps!

Stuff and reminders about Stuff:

Meetups:

Nothing new has been set out yet, it all depends on how moody our island is going be this winter and how much snow/rain we get – no sense having a meetup if the main highway gets washed out again!

Keep an eye here for the next Meet Up, eventually we will get it going!

Random:

Remember you can check out our Show Notes on our site wppluginsatoz.com! There is extra information to grab up there that we don't even speak out loud on the show!

Today's Plugins we covered were:

John’s Plugins: Halloween Countdown – 5, Simple Halloween Decoration For Your Page – 5, Haloween Woocommerce – 4

Amber's Plugins: Ultimate Client Dash – 4, X3P0 Powered By – 5, Halloween Panda – 5

Ways to support the show!

You can support us by Subscribing to our Newsletter, Donating, or reviewing us on Stitcher Radio, Google Play, or the iTunes Store.

Join us on our Facebook, and hit the *Like* button on our YouTube Channel!

…Just showing up to our YouTube Channel and joining us live every Thursday at 11am PDT is a FANTASTIC show of support! So is joining our FaceBook page and hitting *Share* on our posts every once in a while!

…Giving a review of us on any of the platforms listed above would be super helpful too!

Want to get ahold of us???

If you still do Snail Mail, you can send an actual, physical letter or item to this Brick and Mortar address:
…(Pssst! I love receiving things that are not bills! Especially art if you enjoy drawing – no matter what age!)

WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall 
20-754 E Fairview Rd. 
Victoria, BC  V9A 5T9  
Canada

OR, you can email us!

Amber: amber@wppro.ca
John: john@wppro.ca

Q & A Time with Amber – Catch this info on our YouTube Channel

If you have questions you would like to have asked on the show, send them in to me at Amber@WPPro.ca – let's see if we can stump my dad!

• Which aspects of the web design industry really need people to know about the sound stuff like mic's, headphones, sound systems, etc?

• Say a person is getting into podcasting – what first 3 things should they look into?

Questions asked after closing credits:

• Are the headphones with the mic good for shows, or are they only really good for making calls and playing games?

• As someone rather new to the whole sound system thing for shows and what not, what's the difference between the $200 mic and the $100 mic?

One more time for the ways to contact us!

Our Brick and Mortar Address – just in case you decide to send along a gift!
(Especially art if you enjoy drawing – no matter what age!)

WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall 
20-754 E Fairview Rd. 
Victoria, BC  V9A 5T9  
Canada

Fastest way to contact us:

John:

• My website: http://www.johnoverall.com/  
• WordPress Emergency Support: http://wppro.ca/wpemergency
• email: john@wppro.ca

Amber:

• email: amber@wppro.ca