I think there are too many automated commenting software tools around lately. I am using the Askimet plugin and another one to stop spam called:  WP-Spam Free, but they aren’t stopping the flood of ridiculous comments. I am about to make sure I am upgraded to the latest version of WordPress.  (I am not but will be as soon as I post this.)

I’ll try to post again to see if upgrading to WordPress 3.0.1 helps at all. I really don’t want to turn off the commenting features of my blog. So, if anyone has a tip to make these dumb comments stop, please let me know! Also, if I marked someone’s legitimate comment as spam, let me know and I will fix my error.

UPDATE: I looked up more ways to stop comment spam. In the WordPress Dashboard, under the Settings, there are a couple of places to either moderate or blacklist words commonly used in spam comments or you can enter the IP address of the spammers and moderate or blacklist those! Since I get repeat spam comments from some of the same people I used this feature (that I had not tried before) and so far it has successfully stopped most of the WordPress comment spam.

Technorati Tags: blogging, comments, Plugins, spam, wordpress

Here are a few things that are recommended to do – especially for those of you that host your own blog:

1,  Keep your version updated

2.  Update/ugrade your plugins

3.  Backup your database

Easy Way to Get the Latest Version of WordPress

The older, unpatched versions of WordPress (older than 2.8.4) are not secure and are vulnerable to being attacked by a worm that will infect your site. This is what WordPress.org says about it:

Right now there is a worm making its way around old, unpatched versions of WordPress. This particular worm, like many before it, is clever: it registers a user, uses a security bug (fixed earlier in the year) to allow evaluated code to be executed through the permalink structure, makes itself an admin, then uses JavaScript to hide itself when you look at users page, attempts to clean up after itself, then goes quiet so you never notice while it inserts hidden spam and malware into your old posts.

These things are similar to doing routine maintenance on an automobile – and the ones I am recommending are as easy as putting in windshield wiper fluid or adding oil to your engine. I won’t recommend the ones that would be as difficult as doing a complete oil change (because I am too busy to do any of these things the long and boring way). So, my recommendations are to use more automated methods (which have been created by brilliant programmers for people like me to use – I am not a programmer).  I have written before about a plugin that helps you upgrade your WordPress to the latest version in an automated step-by-step process. And really, this is so easy! You don’t have to download software and know anything about programming. All you need to do is download a plugin and put it in the “plugins” folder. To get the plugin go here: Download Upgrade Plugin. Then you log into your wp-admin (WordPress admin) dashboard. Click on the Plugins on the left, activate your new plugin. Then, at the top of your WordPress administrative dashboard a prompt will appear that says, “Click Here to Automatically Upgrade WordPress to latest Version.” Basically, if you click that there will be instructions that walk you through upgrading. It’s so easy to do, and it will keep your site more secure.

Update/upgrade WordPress Plugins

I also think you should try to keep any plugins updated. Here is some good information on the WordPress.org site about site maintenance – http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Site_Maintenance. Ugrading plugins usually only requires you to click the “update now” links on the plugins page. Sometimes you may have to actually download the latest plugin and then upload it to your hosted files.

Keep Backups of your WordPress Database

After you get your site upgraded, there is also a plugin to use to have backups of the database (which holds all the posts, comments, user and other data for your blog). If you were ever to experience a site problem or hosting problem, you can use the backups to set your site back up. My favorite plugin for scheduling these backups is the WP-DB-Backup plugin. This one is really easy and can be downloaded here: WordPress Database Backup.

Technorati Tags: database, latest version, maintenace, Plugins, security, update, upgrade, virus, wordpress, worm

For those that have asked me about the WordPress plugin called Caffeinated Content, I’ve created a document that gives you a look inside – and shows exactly how to install and use the plugin. This is from a slide show and converted to a PDF – so you can download it here:

Get the guide: 7 Steps to Using Caffeinated Content

Remember, after you download this file, if the pages are not oriented to read on your monitor, use the View menu to rotate the view. If you don’t have this plugin, you can get it from the creators at  Kansieo – Caffeinated Content for WordPress. (where they have lots of information and more instructions, too).

Hope this helps you understand the power of this useful plugin!

Technorati Tags: auto content generator, Caffeinated Content, Kansieo, WordPress plugin

WordPress Database Backup – On-demand backup of your WordPress database. You can download your backup file and there are scheduling options. http://www.ilfilosofo.com/blog/wp-db-backup/

- or -

WP-DB-Backup – WP-DB-Backup allows you easily to backup your core WordPress database tables. You may also backup other tables in the same database. ALso schedules backups:  http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-db-backup/

This is my favorite – and it’s so easy to use:

1. put plugin on host in the plugins folder
2. activate plugin (after signing into your WordPress Admin panel
3. select Tools and select Backup
4. follow instructions on the page

WP-DBManager 2.03 – Manages your WordPress database. Allows you to optimize database, backup database, restore database, delete backup database and run selected queries. http://lesterchan.net/blog/2006/04/01/my-wp-plugins-update-april-06/ For specific WordPress versions and translations: http://lesterchan.net/wordpress/readme/wp-dbmanager.html

WordPress Automatic Upgrade - allows a user to automatically upgrade the wordpress installation to the latest one provided by wordpress.org using the 5 steps provided in the wordpress upgrade instructions. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-automatic-upgrade/ (Not needed in WordPress 2.7 and above because this feature is built in for those versions.) See the free step-by-step guide for using the automatic upgrade plugin.

Redirection – a WordPress plugin to manage 301 redirections, keep track of 404 errors, and generally tidy up any loose ends your site may have. This is particularly useful if you are migrating pages from an old website, or are changing the directory of your WordPress installation. http://urbangiraffe.com/plugins/redirection/

Thank Me Later – a plugin which will send a “thank you” message to readers a few days after they sent the message. It has a vast array of features and options, and is highly customizable. http://www.making-the-web.com/2008/08/27/plugin-thank-me-later/

Technorati Tags: Automatic Upgrade, backup, blog backup, database backups, maintenance, Themes, WordPress Plugins

Not only are these fantastic and free, these WordPress plugins are from all over the world. I have never seen a concise list of recommendations on these, so I thought I would make my own list. I am not saying I am an expert at this point – but I’ll try to share what I have learned so far. Many of these developers have a donate button on their site – if you feel that their plugin has been useful, you may want to make a donation.

You can set up a WordPress blog and never use a plugin. But to do some of the cooler things, and to use the widget ready templates and themes, these plugins extend the capabilities of your blog.

Note: Be aware of the version of WordPress you are using to be sure you download the plugin that is compatible. See: WordPress Plugins Compatibility.

I am going to list the plugins that I use in this post. Future posts will include information about setting up a new WordPress blog and how to upgrade to the latest WordPress version. Another post: http://www.wordpressthemestudio.com/wordpress-plugins/wordpress-database-backup-and-maintenance is a list of WordPress management plugins (for database backups and maintenance).

First – the plugins I like to use and that I recommend you start with (I’ll make this a list of my top 7 plugins and below that I will explain their use and where to download them):

• All-in-one SEO Pack
• Ultimate Google Analytics
• WordPress Duplicate Content Cure
• Google XML Sitemaps
• Cforms (cformsII)
• Add This (button or drop down)
• Tags to Technorati
  

All in One SEO Pack - Described as “Out-of-the-box SEO for your WordPress blog.” This plugin helps you add title tags, descriptions and keywords to your blog posts. There are more features you can read about, plus a video tutorial (and you can download it) at: WordPress All In One SEO Pack

Ultimate Google Analytics – Enable Google Analytics on your blog. Has options to also track external links, mailto links and links to downloads on your own site.  Ultimate Google Analytics Plugin

WordPress Duplicate Content Cure – Whether you believe duplicate content will hurt you (or if such a thing exists) this plugin claims to be a very simple, yet effective SEO plugin that prevents search engines from indexing wordpress pages that contain duplicate content, like archives and category pages. Duplicate Content Cure.

WP-Sticky 1.40 – Adds a sticky post feature to your WordPress’s blog. Modified from Adhesive by Owen Winkler.  http://lesterchan.net/portfolio/programming/php/ (You won’t need this with running WP 2.7 and above because those versions have this “sticky” feature built in.)

*Cforms (cformsII) – cformsII offers unparalleled flexibility in deploying contact forms across your blog. Features include: comprehensive SPAM protection, Ajax support, Backup & Restore, Multi-Recipients, Role Manager support, Database tracking and many more. http://www.deliciousdays.com/cforms-plugin

Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin will generate a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap of your WordPress blog which is supported by Ask.com, Google, MSN Search and YAHOO. WordPress Google Site Map Generator

WP tags to Technorati – Simple plugin to convert WordPress 2.3’s tags to Technorati (’http://technorati.com’) links.  Wordpres Tags to Technorati

Add This (button) – A button that helps readers add your blog to social bookmarking sites. http://www.addthis.com/

Plugins for ads, adsense, and ad management – I doubt you need to use all of these. I’m going to use them one at a time to test them. A note about these ad managment plugins: I need to explore them more and write more about each in a later post.

Adsense Manager – Control and arrange your AdSense & Referral blocks on your WordPress blog. With Widget and inline post support, configurable colours.  http://www.mutube.com/

WP admanager – This new Plug-in enables you to make use of much improved Banner management features at WordPress blog. https://www.ohloh.net/p/wp-admanager/packages

Adserve - AdServe is the advertising server for WordPress. You could setup your banner campaigns using different sized banners, set available impressions and count resulting clicks! Optionally AdServe links ads to blog users so that one could check the campaign results within the Dashboard!  http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/adserve/

This is the basic list of plugins I like, but I’ll probably be adding to this list as I start learning about and using more of them.

*Note: Cforms II has a new update (version 10.5) but it requires that your server is running PHP5.

Technorati Tags: best wordpress plugins, blog help, SEO, WordPress Plugins