WebDotUNC

Subscribing to New Forum Posts

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:13:43 +0000

You can get notification on forum topics you post on the support forum (http://forum.web.unc.edu) with the ‘subscription” option. When you subscribe you will get an email notification as soon as the forum is updated. You can unsubscribe at any time as well if the notifications get too frequent.

WordPress Botnet Attack

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:17:58 +0000

You may have heard about the huge attack on WordPress sites happening right now. One or more botnets (large networks of compromised computers that being used maliciously) are attacking WordPress sites across the world by trying to break into sites using the “Admin” username and guessing passwords. Here is what we have done and know.

Local “Admin” usernames have been disabled on all networks. In fact, this step was completed many months ago as a precaution. AD and Shibboleth, our authentication methods, will not permit a user, or compromised network of computers, to sign-in with that username.
AD (sites.unc.edu) is also protected from brute force attacks by locking out users after three failed attempts for 30 minutes.
A number of other security-related measures have been employed to reduce exposure to vulnerabilities.

As with all things security-related we will continue to monitor this and other potentially dangerous situations. As a reminder, enterprise WordPress sites on the ‘sites.unc.edu’ network require VPN for off-campus site editing.

Here are a few related posts in case you have a stand alone WordPress site:

WordPress hit by massive botnet: Worse to come, experts warn. (ZDNet)
Huge Attack on WordPress sites could spawn never-before-seen super botnet. (Ars Technica)

Convert Contact Form 7 to Gravity Forms in WordPress

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:11:53 +0000

If you have a site with Contact Form 7 on it you can migrate the forms to Gravity Forms with the use of a plugin. This video will walk you through how to do this.

Setting up Custom Sidebars in WordPress

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:08:34 +0000

If you are looking to set up a custom sidebar for a section or page in WordPress you can easily do that with the “Custom Sidebar” plugin. This video will walk you through the process.

Duplicate WordPress Site Locally with BackupBuddy (Stand Alone Site)

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:18:41 +0000

If you are working on a custom theme, moving to a new multisite host, or want to do some testing of your website you can backup your WordPress website using BackupBuddy.

Duplicate WordPress Site Locally with BackupBuddy (Multisite)

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:17:13 +0000

If you are working on a custom theme, moving to a new multisite host, or want to do some testing of your website you can backup your WordPress website using BackupBuddy. You can get the latest version of BackupBuddy here. The following tutorial will walk you though the process.

Local WordPress Development with Plugins including Premium Plugins

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:43:00 +0000

When you are doing local development for inclusion on WebdotUNC sites you need to get the plugins to develop your themes you can get the majority of plugins for free from the WordPress Plugin repository.

We also have a number of premium, or UNC specific plugins we have site licences for. You can download those plugins below but by doing so you agree that you will NOT use these plugins on any non-UNC websites.

Make Child Theme of the UNC Base Theme

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:21:16 +0000

ITS Webservices has a base theme they use for building out all UNC themed websites. This base theme has all the basic and standard functions needed for a UNC themed website and follows standard protocols. If you are looking to create a UNC themed website please consider creating a child theme of the UNC Base theme. This will significantly reduce your development time.

Great Custom User Group to See Gravity Form Entries

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:50:31 +0000

If you are using WordPress and would like to create a custom user group that can ONLY see the entries from a gravity form follow the directions in this video.

Export/Import Atahualpha WordPress Theme Settings

Jeff VanDrimmelen — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:12:57 +0000

If you would like to export the Atahualpha theme settings go to Apperarance – Atahualpha Theme Options in your dashboard and click on the “Export/Import Settings” tab on the left. Then click the “Export & Download Atahualpha Settings File” in the right hand column. This video will walk you through this process.