Lighting The Way for WordPress Plugins

It's Episode 545 and we have plugins for Memory Display, Gotham Light, Searching Terms, Replacing Edits, Rando RSS, Click5 History… and ClassicPress Options. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z!

Server IP & Memory Usage Display, Gotham Block Extra Light, Highlight Search Terms, Block Editor Search & Replace, RandomRSS, History Log by click5……. and ClassicPress options on Episode 545.

John's Intro:

This is a value for value show and I look forward to everyone providing some value back.

Before I get started, you will want to hang around to the end of the show for our Q & A segment with Amber…. and to those listening on the podcast, you may want to check out the YouTube version which has some great discussions before the show starts…

Producer Credits:

Executive producer:

Nobody this week. Maybe next week!

Show Art:

Angel Lemus — http://www.koadigital.com

All the show notes can be found at: WPPluginsAtoZ.com

Check out all the art work at https://wppluginsatoz.com/show-art-submitted/
To Submit Artwork go here https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Amber's Rant:

This is #4 of 52 episodes for 2022! Don't know about everyone else out there, but our family just got through the regular flu for this flu season. It sucked, just like every other year. The kid still has the bronchial cough, but otherwise we are doing good again!

Hopefully everyone out there is remembering to take their vitamin C, and drink some good tea! A combination I have found to do wonders is honey, lemon, echinacea, and a couple of small bay leaves. Bay leaves have an amazing effect on your system, really good for you! Which is likely why we were taught when we were younger to always put bay leaves into our soups and stuff, though most of us don't question it, we just do it.

Remember, mental health is a big part of your physical health! Give yourself a break from the drama lama's in the socials, and give yourself a break from the news's doom and gloom! Spend some quality time with your family and friends, pull out your dusty board games and play a few rounds of Snakes and Ladders or Monopoly or Chess! Or just get out and go for a walk! The quality time will do your mind wonders, and you will feel healthier for it!

Rinse and repeat as often as needed.

We have some news from the world of WordPress for you today as well as some great plugins.

News this week:

iThemes WordPress Vulnerability Report for January 26, 2022 – The ones you need to worry about right now are: The Buffer Button; Translation Exchange – Translate Your WordPress Sit In minutes!; Lean WP, ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Memberships, Groups and Communities; User Registration, Login & Landing Pages – LeadMagic. As of now, you need to deactivate these plugins as there is not a patch as of yet.

iThemes WordPress Vulnerability Report for January 19, 2022 – Because we missed last week due to my being sick, I have last weeks report here for you. There are only two plugins to worry about here, and they are: Random Banner, SpiderCalendar. Be sure to check and see if there have been any updates for these since the 19th, and if so be sure to update. Otherwise, deactivate.

Over 90 WordPress themes, plugins backdoored in supply chain attack – A massive supply chain attack has compromised 40 themes, and 53 plugins in WordPress, giving them a backdoor granting full access to websites. The issue is a PHP backdoor – discovered by JetPack. This article goes through how to tell if you are affected, and gives you the link to check the complete list of fixed products.

WordPress plugin flaw puts users of 20,000 sites at phishing risk – The WordPress WP HTML Mail Plugin has a flaw that can lead to code injection causing distribution of convincing phising emails. While the plugin isn't that popular, a lot of those using this have large audiences, and that is where the worry comes in. The vulnerability was discovered by WordFence on December 23, 2021 – but they have only heard back from the plugin creators as of January 10, 2022. There has been an update, released on January 13, 2022 – so if you are using this plugin, be sure to get your plugin up to version 3.1 ASAP.

Three WordPress Plugins with the same bug putting 84K WordPress Sites at risk – The three plugins are: Login/Signup Popup, Side Cart WooCommerce, and Waitlist WooCommerce. The issue found in these three plugins has to do with where the plugins registered the save_settings function; it is initiated via wp_ajax, which in these three plugins ‘this function was missing a nonce check, which meant that there was no validation on the integrity of who was conducting the request'. The plugins have since been patched, so be sure to update!

WordPress 5.9 “Josephine” released, introduces full site editing and new Twenty Twenty-Two default theme – Named for American-born Jazz Singer Josephine Baker! With the new theme comes the first ever block-based default theme. It has pre-designed colour palettes and patterns, and the ability to combine and create.

Gutenberg 12.4 includes accessibility improvements, categories reminder, and a tag cloud outline style – Exciting news for the Gutenberg users out there! Although there does appear to be a new bug inside the site editor – when opening the block inserter, its scrollbar does not appear. Do you use Gutenberg? Write to us to let us know how you find it so far!

The extras – for even more extra news, check out our Facebook, or Twitter page!

This is the extra news stuff that someone out there might find interesting. To read more, you can head on over to the show notes or newsletter and check it out! If you find something to add for next show, send me a link at amber@wppro.ca

9-year old hackers attaaaaacck!! – A group of 9 year old's were found by crime cops to be commencing DDoS attacks at their school networks and websites; said cops are trying to dissuade the kids from crime – though I gotta say I am impressed!

Is that Windows Process actually a virus? 3 ways to tell if an EXE File is safe – This is a useful article for those who have had a few scares from EXE files; it goes through explaining not only how to access the EXE of a Windows Process, but also how to tell if it is really part of Windows or a virus, and than what to do if it doesn't belong.

MoonBounce Malware hides in your BIOS Chip, persists after Drive Formats – This article goes through explaining what this new malware does, how it hides, how to find it, and what to do if it is found.

How to protect your PC from ransomware using Window's built-in protection – This is a useful article on how to use the built in ransomware protection in Windows. Very easy to follow, and can be very helpful!

Brave vs DuckDuckGo: Which is the best privacy browser for Android? – This is a great article comparing the two, going through the pros and cons of each. If you haven't heard of Brave, might be worth checking out as I have personally found the results for DuckDuckGo are getting worse and worse.

Codrops list of 9 Awesome WordPress Plugins to Use in 2022 – This is a decent list, we ourselves have covered a few of them; if you are looking for some new plugins to try out, check this list out!

EV charging stations can be hacked – Researchers have assessed a body of 16 electric vehicle charging station managing systems and have identified the 13 most severe vulnerabilities to cyber attacks. Read on to find out more!

Which of the various NASA experiments turned into products here on earth – This is a neat article that goes through and talks about various NASA products, what they were created for, and how they became regular consumer products here on earth.

 

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

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

Donor Support

This Show will not work without you, the producers, as it is a Value for Value model, meaning if you're getting any value out of it then give some value back and help the show out.

Start by subscribing to the newsletter for additional information and get out there round them up and rope them all in, belly up to the bar and enjoy. Spread the word about WP Plugins A to Z and catch it live every Thursday at noon PST on our YouTube Channel.

Show Producers

We'd like to acknowledge all the producers who have supported the show in the various ways over the last week.

This weeks show Art Work comes from:

Angel Lemus — http://www.koadigital.com

To Submit Artwork go here https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Check out all the art work at https://wppluginsatoz.com/show-art-submitted/

This week's Executive Producer/'s are:

Nobody this week. Maybe next week!

A big thank you to all the Producers who came in under $50 and to those who have set up weekly subscriptions they will remain anonymous and I thank you very much.

All these small subscriptions really help the show out.

A big thank you to those who have hired me because of the Podcast, thank you that is as good as donating to the show.

You can Support the Show by:

Donating money to help the show Donations of $50 and over are credited with an Executive Producer Credit in the Show Notes, and their note is read out on the show.

Submitting art work at the WP Plugins Art generator,
To Submit Artwork go here https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Submit articles news and information

Submit plugin suggestions for reviews

You can also create a monthly donation at Patreon

Or something I may not have thought of.

If you would like to send something to WP Plugins A to Z you can send to the following address:

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

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

ClassicPress Options

ClassicPress is growing really well, but I just don't have the time to add reviews on ClassicPress myself. I am always open to reviews sent in by listeners; though unless there is a review sent into me on ClassicPress, I am not going to do more than mention that ClassicPress is a thing, and here are some resources. I hope some listeners out there find this information useful!

One thing I am looking forward to in the ClassicPress World is the expansion of the number of ClassicPress specific plugins and their own repository. There are a few plugins specifically for ClassicPress and all plugins for WordPress 4.9.9 work well on it. I do believe it has a future, I just have not time to help them in getting it out there.

ClassicPress News:

No new updates this week.

Find out 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

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

ClassicPress Resources:

“Must Have” Plugins List
https://forums.classicpress.net/t/must-have-plugins-list/1163

You can check out the ClassicPress repository here https://directory.classicpress.net/plugins They now have 84 plugins (and counting!) available.

WordPress Plugins

Are you looking for some great newly released plugins check this link
https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/new/

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John's Plugin

Server IP & Memory Usage Display

The Lowdown:

This is a plugin you can use to see where your memory is at and what your server IP is. It also includes the PHP version as well as the server operating system

Rating 4 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

Block Editor Search & Replace

https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-editor-search-replace/

The Lowdown:

If you are an editor, this will be endlessly helpful! This plugin creates the addition of Search and Replace in your block editing area. There have been a few times while editing that I wished for that function – and now it works like a dream!

This is a plug and play plugin, and is currently totally free!

This only works so long as you are using WordPress, and not anything like Elementor, so be aware of that!

Rating 5 Dragons

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John's Plugin

Gotham Block Extra Light

https://wordpress.org/plugins/gotham-block-extra-light/

The Lowdown:

This plugin is used to detect if visitors to your site are using ad blocking software and then activates to ask them to turn it off so you can make a buck on that great free content they are reading. You choose the level to enforce from a minor warning to blocking their access unless they turn it off.

Rating 5 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

RandomRSS

https://wordpress.org/plugins/randomrss/

The Lowdown:

This plugin is a cool thing for those that do the auto blogging! This creates a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed featuring up to 10 posts selected at random with optional filtering parameters.

For those who are unfamiliar with how these work, this plugin won't work alone; you will need to have an auto-blogging plugin that supports RSS aggregation. Then you use the new RSS campaign using the URL of your RandomRSS feed. In other words, get an auto-blogging plugin, and use this plugin to help make it work better.

These guys are pretty cool, they suggest a plugin to match them first that you pay for, then one that matches them that is totally free.

Rating 5 Dragons

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John's Plugin

Highlight Search Terms

https://wordpress.org/plugins/highlight-search-terms/

The Lowdown:

When users do a search on your site this plugin highlights the search terms they used on both the results page and the posts linked from it. Pretty useful

Rating 4 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

History Log by click5

https://wordpress.org/plugins/history-log-by-click5/

The Lowdown:

This is a very useful plugin that keeps a record of user activity on your site. This is a plug and play, no settings or anything to deal with, and a shortcut is created for you on your sidebar so that you can go there at any point and time.

This will give you a list of important events that occur in your site, like when plugins have been updated or changed. Though you have the option to filter down to only events of your interest, so you don't have to pick through everything that has been going on when all you want to do is use this to troubleshoot something.

You will have a report of page and post changes, menu updates, taxonemies, core and theme and plugin updates, and you are able to get information on particular plugins as well.

Very useful, worth a look at the price of free!

Rating 5 Dragons

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Random links for plugins

WordPress plugins crafted from love and experience
https://codeat.co/

Listener Feedback / Audio Clips

Feel free to send in your thoughts to us – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – we'll take them all!

Listener Questions

If you have any you would like to have asked, please feel free to send them in! Remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question!

Contest Coming Soon… Check Back In With Us For Your Chance To Win!!

Contests Powered by Simple Giveaways who kindly provides us with the premium version for our contests.

Steve Goodtime & Brant Matthews created a new jingle for us for contests.

I do want to thank Charlie for coming to the aid of the show and getting our contests all organized. I also want to thank all the developers again for supporting our show with their plugin donations! Please check them out.

Short note about participating in the contests folks. Remember we go to great efforts to get these licenses and look for more participation from you the producers.

The plugins we covered were:

John’s Plugins: Server IP & Memory Usage Display – 4, Gotham Block Extra Light – 5, Highlight Search Terms – 4

Amber's Plugins: Block Editor Search & Replace – 5, RandomRSS – 5, History Log by click5 – 5

 

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

Reminders / Commercial / Promotions:

Next Week:

No meetup planned at the moment but you can keep tabs on this at https://wppluginsatoz.com/meetup

Would you like to be on an interview show? Simply connect at https://wppluginsatoz.com/interview

If you have suggestions on plugins you would like to have reviewed please submit them on the website at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/

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 and we will answer to the best of our ability!

• How do you know whether or not a database is active in MyPHP?

When moving files for creating a dev site or updating or what have you:

• What happens to tables that makes you need to clean them?
• What does cleaning tables actually do?
• What happens if you don't repair the tables before telling them to copy over?

Closing out this Episode

Just some reminders:

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All the show notes can be found at: WPPluginsAtoZ.com

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How to Contact Us:

John can be contacted at:

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

Amber can be contacted at:

• email: amber@wppro.ca