John's Intro:

It's Episode 585 and we have plugins for Birth Compatibility, Luna widget, Stopping Enumeration, Xmas Greetings, Pimping Sites, Dev-ing Snow… 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 Seeking The Sun & Warmth with WordPress – This is the last Episode of the year for 2022! Everyone ready for the Christmas Cheer and the awesome Egg Nog that's definitely coming your way?? I know I am! Admittedly I am lactose intolerant, so there is only ever one night a year I indulge – but it's so worth it! That lactose free egg nog just doesn't taste right…

A quick message for our listeners – we will not be here live, in person for the next two weeks, though we have pre-recorded a couple of shows just for you! We will be going over some favourite times, some upcoming changes, and just having a bit of a chat in general!

Remember: This is a Value for Value show, meaning any value you find here, offer that same value back! We accept all currencies including time and talent currency! Chocolate is always good too…

And don't skip the end of the show – you never know what kind of amazing life altering advice you might catch!

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

…When you see this in the notes, this means we didn't read this on 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:

Artist: Unknown

We are still lacking in new art, however because of this we get to bring forth some amazing art that has not been seen for a while!

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 – December 14, 2022 (https://ithemes.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-december-14-2022/) – We have a WordPress Core News this week: WordPress 6.1.1 was released on November 15, has 29 bug fixes in Core and 21 bug fixes for the block editor. If you haven't already, be sure to update!

There is also an ‘Unauthenticated Blind SSRF via DNS Rebinding' vulnerability in WordPress – this affects all versions, although all you need to do is turn off XML-RPC or pingbacks on your WordPress Site.

For Plugins we have a bit of a list, here are the ones I recognize most easily: WP User, WP AutoComplete Search, Product List Widget for WooCommerce, WP Social Sharing, and Multimedial Images.

And a couple of WordPress Theme Vulnerabilities: WPQA Himer and WPQA Discy. Recommendation is to switch Themes if this is one you are using.

State of the Word 2022 Recap (https://ithemes.com/blog/state-of-the-word-2022-recap/) – There's a lot on Gutenberg, talk on a return to in-person events, talks on the machine intelligence, human creativity, and openverse – there was a lot of information that was brought forth in this State of the Word 2022- if you are interested in checking it out, be sure to check out our show-notes!

State of the Word 2022: Matt Mullenweg highlights Gutenberg's progress, announces new community tools (https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2022-matt-mullenweg-highlights-gutenbergs-progress-announces-new-community-tools) – This is an overview that dives a little deeper into the tools that are coming to the community. To get a full and comprehensive understanding of State of the Word if you weren't there, I recommend you check out both of the articles here in our show notes!

Drupal Gutenberg 2.6 released with Drupal 10 compatibility (https://wptavern.com/drupal-gutenberg-2-6-released-with-drupal-10-compatibility) – The Drupal Gutenberg Module offers a better authoring experience using blocks inside the editor without any code experience required. To learn more you can check out the article for yourself in our show notes!

Gutenberg 14.7 introduces color coding for template parts and reusable blocks, adds media tab to inserter (https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-7-introduces-color-coding-for-template-parts-and-reusable-blocks-adds-media-tab-to-inserter) – The latest release adds colour to template parts, reusable blocks in list view, block toolbar, and block selection outlines. The reason for the colour is to try and help users more easily differentiate block types as they edit their designs. Another new addition is an experimental split control for block settings, and an added media tab to make it easier to images, video, and audio! There's a few more nifty surprises with this latest release as well, be sure to check them out! Would love to hear back from our Gutenberg users out there, hear what you think of these changes and experiments!

Mailchimp for WordPress Plugin for sale in the ballpark of  €1.6M (https://wptavern.com/mailchimp-for-wordpress-plugin-for-sale-in-the-ballpark-of-e1-6m) – I thought this was rather interesting! First, that Mailchimp for WordPress is up for sale at all, secondly the cost of it! Although the plugin is unofficial, it is one of the most popular Mailchimp solutions for WordPress. It appears that the maker of the plugin Danny Van Kooten did not build it as a passion, but instead built it, realized it was well liked, chose to keep it up as it kept paying his bills. So if anyone is interested, it's up for grabs! You can find the link in our show notes to find out more.

3 nightmare interviews for software developers (https://thenextweb.com/news/3-nightmare-interviews-for-software-developers) – As I am sure some out there are aware, the tech industry is not exactly known for having great interviewing processes. This entertaining article covers:

• The White Board Interviews
• Timed Technical Assessments
• Phone Screens

Great article for entertainment – also great article to read up on if you are entering into the tech world and are about to do an interview – especially if you are a self-taught individual.

ClassicPress News:

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

Help Test PHP 8.0 Compatibility in v1.5.0-RC1

After years of hard work, the PHP 8.0 compatibility in ClassicPress is finally here.

On December 8, they released version 1.5.0-RC1 for testing. This version includes PHP 8.0 compatibility, among many other improvements. Now, they need your help testing 1.5.0-RC1 with PHP 8.0.

ClassicPress is doing a Poll of its users to see where they want ClassicPress to go in the future.  They have given two options to vote on. Go check out the options and cast your vote!
https://forums.classicpress.net/t/community-poll-the-future-of-classicpress/4446

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

Resteraunt CRM platform ‘sevenrooms' confirms breach after data for sale (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/restaurant-crm-platform-sevenrooms-confirms-breach-after-data-for-sale/)

T-Mobile hacker gets 10 years for $25 million phone unlock scheme (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/t-mobile-hacker-gets-10-years-for-25-million-phone-unlock-scheme/)

Glupteba malware is back in action after Google disruption (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/glupteba-malware-is-back-in-action-after-google-disruption/)

Google introduces end-to-end encryption for Gmail on web (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-introduces-end-to-end-encryption-for-gmail-on-the-web/)

Microsoft fixes Windows taskbar bug causing Explorer, Office freezes (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-fixes-windows-taskbar-bug-causing-explorer-office-freezes/)

Columbian energy supplier EPM hit by BlackCat ransomware attack (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/colombian-energy-supplier-epm-hit-by-blackcat-ransomware-attack/)

FBI warns that BEC attacks now also target food shipments (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-warns-that-bec-attacks-now-also-target-food-shipments/)

Microsoft: Edge update will disable Internet Explorer in February (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-edge-update-will-disable-internet-explorer-in-february/)

…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 Giveaways for 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!!

And we want to thank Charlie for coming to our aid and rescue yet again with another fantastic contest!

The winner for this contest is: Elmyer

We don't have a contest for you starting this week, instead we will have a brand new one for you after the holidays on January 9th! Be sure to tune in after the holidays to hear what it is.

…To Enter, head on over to wppluginsatoz.com/giveaway and enter for your chance to win!…

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

————————————————-

John's Plugin

Birth Chart Compatibility

https://wordpress.org/plugins/birth-chart-compatibility/

The Lowdown:

Add The Birth Chart Compatibility Plugin, to your widgets, posts and pages. Select you and your partner's stars signs and read your stars signs compatibility. Suitable for any WordPress powered site including astrology, online news, magazines and blogs, this Astrology Plugin For WordPress is free and easy to download and install.

Rating 4 Dragons

————————————————-

Amber's Plugin

Christmas Greetings

https://wordpress.org/plugins/christmas-greetings/

The Lowdown:

This is a pretty cool plugin! You will find the Settings in your left hand menu under ‘Christmas Greetings'. Here you will have the options to add a top page decoration, choose a Santa, a kind of snow – you can even make the snow bright pink if you like – leave a present, and even turn on Christmas music!

You can choose whether this is all over your site on ‘every page', or just on one specific page. You also get to choose a start and stop date – so no worries about forgetting to remove this when Christmas is over – always kinda odd to go onto a site a week after Christmas and still see all the decorations still up.

That's the free version – in the Premium version, there is also a New Years setup!

I like the way this looks, and it didn't seem to slow down my site at all which is a bonus.

Christmas Greetings!

Rating: 4 Dragons

————————————————-

John's Plugin

LunaSolCal – Sun Info Widget

https://wordpress.org/plugins/lunasolcal-sun-info-widget/

The Lowdown:

LunaSolCal – Sun Info Widget is a plugin that allows you to add a widget to your WordPress site that displays the times of sunrise and sunset at a given location.

Rating: 4 Dragons

————————————————-

Amber's Plugin

Pimp my Site – Christmas Edition

https://wordpress.org/plugins/pimp-my-site-christmas-edition/

The Lowdown:

You will find the dashboard for this plugin under Settings>Pimp My Site – Christmas Edition.

This is an interesting plugin – in the free version you get to choose from one of the 8 pre-made versions they serve up to you – which will overwrite any other Christmas decorations you have active.

The pre-sets are pretty awesome, all 8 of them! Although, if you upgrade to the Premium version you get to choose your own setup – and you will have access to Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations as well.

The free version is pretty cool, though if you want to truly enjoy the full capability of this plugin, you will need to upgrade.

Pimp My Site – Christmas Edition!

Rating: 4 Dragons

---

We Interrupt the 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

Stop User Enumeration

https://wordpress.org/plugins/stop-user-enumeration/

The Lowdown:

Stop User Enumeration is a security plugin designed to detect and prevent hackers scanning your site for user login names.

User Enumeration is a type of attack where nefarious parties can probe your website to discover your login name. This is often a  pre-cursor to brute-force password attacks. Stop User Enumeration helps  block this initial attack and allows you to log IPs launching these attacks to block further attacks in the future.

Rating: 4 Dragons

————————————————-

Amber's Plugin

DevVN Snow

https://wordpress.org/plugins/devvn-snow/

The Lowdown:

You will find the dashboard for this plugin under Settings>Snow Settings.

Here you will find the option to choose the colour of the snow, number of snow on ‘mobile', number of snow on ‘pc', z-index, and margin left of tree.

You may need to look up the best way to set these for your site, although they come preset – and it looked great on my tiny lap top as well as my giant work screen!

Great free plugin that works fantastic and looks great!

DevVN Snow!

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!

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!

Amber and John,

I just wanted to thank you both for another great year with the show.  I learn a lot from listening to you and enjoy when Hemdian joins in and shares his knowledge or comments in the chat window, what a great addition!  Charlie, glad you were able to help with the contests again.

Here's to another great year for you all in 2023!  See you then!

Anonymous Me!

…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: Birth Chart Compatibility – 4, LunaSolCal – Sun Info Widget – 4, Stop User Enumeration – 4

Amber's Plugins: Christmas Greetings – 4, Pimp My Site – Christmas Edition – 4, DevVN Snow – 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!

• when writing css, what's the difference between margin and padding? They look like they occupy the same space…
• What is a SQL injection attack on PHP…?

I have a couple more questions for my dad just after the closing credits, for those listening elsewhere, you will have to make your way over to the YouTube's!

Questions asked after closing credits:

• Regarding updating to PHP 8.1, do you think we will have to start writing out code to get it to work on those odd one out sites, or do you think the sites will sort of work themselves out…?
• What is the difference between ‘client-side' and ‘server-side' programming?

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