– ‘good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you happen to be hiding out there on the globe today…’
Welcome to Issue #2 of WordPress N3w$ 4 Y0u!
We have cobbled together the most recent news since you last heard from us!
If we missed anything PLEASE send it on in to Amber at amber@wppro.ca – and don’t be afraid to add a piece of your mind as well whether that piece is just saying hi or a telling off for missing something so important! All is welcome!
We put the question to you – is there a day that would work best for this to come out? I was orignally thinking we could do this every Monday that we are not doing a show – though it might also work well if we were to put this out on a regular day of the week EVERY week.
Let me know what you think by shooting me a message at amber@wppro.ca.
ALSO! Check out our site – we have a new addition to the home page and the main menu!
Our usual reminders…
Reminders:
- Our next live show is August 19th – hopefully no urgent matters will crop up keeping us from going live that day!! Otherwise we will be returning to our usual live schedule of every other week as of September.
- You’ll find the show notes on the home page of wppluginsatoz.com within 24(ish) hours after every show!
- This is a value for value show dear listeners, help us get some loven by hitting some like buttons, passing around the N3w$ issues!
- Suggestions and questions are always welcome – send them into me at amber@wppro.ca, or through our site at wppluginsatoz.com/contact – be aware we have a pet spammer eater, so be creative with the title!
This Issue’s Featured Artist:
Artist:
ME! The Mer of WP Plugins AtoZ N3w$ 4 Y0u!
No real graphic artists though – suggestions? Thoughts? For now I am just tossing up random images I know are free use – or pictures I have taken myself.
Go check out our art vaults, get inspired and send in something you think would work well for this! Check our our Submitted Art for some awesome ideas.
OR!
If you have ideas already, send them into us HERE – we would love to get some new art!
Breaking News in the WordPress World at large!!
Missed something? Shoot it over to me at amber@wppro.ca – I will throw it up in the next issue!
WordPress news this week:
WordPress Vulnerability Report from PatchStack
(https://patchstack.com/database/) – These guys always have the latest information on what is going on regarding the latest in vulnerabilities. At the time of writing this, the most recent issue was a plugin called ‘Traffic Manager’ with a cross scripting vulnerability found 9 hours ago.
WordPress Vulnerability Report – July 31, 2024
(https://solidwp.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-july-31-2024/) – In this report there are 80 vulnerabilities. Of these 75 are plugins, 55 have at the time of my writing this been patched – and there are 5 WordPress Themes with vulnerabilities, none have been patched at the time of writing this. Be sure to check the list out for yourself!
Why WordPress 6.6.1 was flagged for Trojan Malware
(https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-6-6-1-flagged-for-trojan/523259/) – Of courst it seems to be mainly Windows 11 users – does anyone actually like Windows 11 so far? So the cause of this? An HTTP rather then an HTTPS URL identified in the CSS style sheet. “A URL is not commonly considered part a of a CSS file so that may be why…” Very interesting article.
Not really WordPress but important for all Windows Users:
Microsoft confirms it broke Windows as 30-minute crashes hit after update
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/07/27/microsoft-confirms-it-broke-windows-as-30-minute-reboots-hit-after-update/) – So the whole system is not crashing every 30 mins – just when people are trying to access anything remotely. Can you imagine having your workflow inturrupted every 30 minutes? There is a Reddit page you can check out talking and supporting this issue, and a Microsoft Support Page talking about this too. Gotta love when they are ‘bettering your customer service – for you!’
Billions of Google Redirects to stop working next year
(https://searchengineland.com/billions-of-google-redirects-to-stop-working-next-year-444279) – This COULD go under one of the other newer sections we have created – except that this directly effects pretty well every WordPress User who has been using WordPress for longer then 3 years. “Google’s URL shortener service will stop serving completely on August 25, 2025, which will result in billions of redirected URLs to stop working after that date.”
This is a good article to go over, and try to get ahead of this if you rely on Google’s redirects -there are a lot of plugins that will do this for you and ways around relying on anything outside of your site.
WordPress inflation is the new reality
(https://thewpminute.com/wordpress-inflation-is-the-new-reality/) – This article talks about what we can likely expect regarding prices within the WordPress community – and I don’t disagree. WordPress, although pretty awesome and free, is still a business. And like all the businesses around the world lately, if the prices have not already started rising, they will be. This article walks you through the process, and an interview with a company that had to raise their prices.
Discussing WordPress Frustrations
(https://thewpminute.com/discussing-wordpress-frustrations/) – This is a podcast talking about recent discussion and frustrations within the WordPress Community. There are more and more people speaking up about the various frustrations within the community now – I think this is a really good thing.
Cybersecurity & Gaming stuff
Crowdstrike tells Delta it ‘wasn’t grossly negligent’ when it started a global outage
(https://gizmodo.com/crowdstrike-tells-delta-it-wasnt-grossly-negligent-when-it-started-a-global-outage-2000483288)
Microsoft update warning – 70% of all users now at risk
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2024/08/05/microsoft-warning-for-14-billion-windows-10-users-windows-11-free-upgrade/)
America’s cyber security agency picks its first head of AI
(https://gizmodo.com/americas-cyber-security-agency-picks-its-first-head-of-ai-2000482281)
Chinese hacker group StormBamboo successfully hijacked an ISP’s automatic software updates with backdoor malware and bad Chrome extensions to breach a downstream target
(https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/chinese-hacker-group-stormbamboo-successfully-hijacked-an-isps-automatic-software-updates-with-backdoor-malware-and-bad-chrome-extensions-to-breach-a-downstream-target)
Surge in Magniber ransomware attacks impact home users worldwide
(https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/surge-in-magniber-ransomware-attacks-impact-home-users-worldwide/amp/)
EU AI Act enters into force, sets global standard for AI governance
(https://thenextweb.com/news/eu-ai-act-enters-into-force-sets-global-standard-for-ai-governance)
How the Netherlands became a target for cyber espionage – and why Europe should be worried
(https://thenextweb.com/news/how-the-netherlands-target-cyber-espionage-europe-worried)
1 million signatures could make killing video games illegal in the EU
(https://thenextweb.com/news/1-million-signatures-killing-games-illegal-eu)
As its CPU scandal deepens, Intel plans to cut thousands of jobs
(https://gizmodo.com/as-its-cpu-scandal-deepens-intel-plans-to-cut-thousands-of-jobs-2000481623)
Garry’s Mod creator says Skibidi Toilet served him with a copyright takedown notice (Updated)
(https://gizmodo.com/garrys-mod-creator-says-skibidi-toilet-served-him-with-a-copyright-takedown-notice-2000481324)
Microsoft apologizes to users for widespread outage disrupting XBox, Outlook, and Minecraft
(https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-apologizes-azure-outage-disrupting-outlook-and-minecraft-2000481282)
Some AI stuff
Leaked documents show Nvidia scraping ‘a human lifetime’ of videos per day to train AI
(https://www.404media.co/nvidia-ai-scraping-foundational-model-cosmos-project/)
Rabbit says breach ‘not caused by a breach’, is fault of malicious employee, ‘hacktivists’, journalists
(https://www.404media.co/rabbit-says-breach-not-caused-by-a-breach-is-fault-of-malicious-employee-hacktivists-journalists/)
Websites are blocking the wrong AI scrapers (because AI companies keep making new ones)
(https://www.404media.co/websites-are-blocking-the-wrong-ai-scrapers-because-ai-companies-keep-making-new-ones/)
It may soon be legal to jailbreak AI to expose how it works
(https://www.404media.co/it-may-soon-be-legal-to-jailbreak-ai-to-expose-how-it-works/)
AI ‘deepfake’ faces detected using astronemy methods
(https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02364-y)
Google Gemini might soon question your taste in music
(https://gizmodo.com/google-gemini-might-soon-question-your-taste-in-music-2000482245)
Announcing the agenda for the AI stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024
(https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/05/announcing-the-agenda-for-the-ai-stage-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2024/)
Youtuber files class action suit over OpenAI’s scrape of creators’ transcripts
(https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/05/youtuber-files-class-action-suit-over-openais-scrape-of-creators-transcripts/)
Watch ChatGPT’s new voice mode sing, mimic accents, and correct pronunciation
(https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/1/24211087/openai-chatgpt-advanced-voice-mode-demo-accents-language)
A first look at Apple Intelligence and its (slightly) smarter Siri
(https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/31/24209910/apple-intelligence-ios-18-preview-siri)
Taco Bell is deploying AI to screw up your Crunchwrap Supreme
(https://gizmodo.com/taco-bell-is-deploying-ai-to-screw-up-your-crunchwrap-supreme-2000481954)
Death from oberwork: AI app pitches solution to Japan’s ‘Karoshi’ problem
(https://thenextweb.com/news/death-from-overwork-ai-app-pitches-solution-to-japans-karoshi-problem)
Today’s challenge: working around AI’s fuzzy returns and questionable accuracy
(https://www.zdnet.com/article/todays-challenge-working-around-ais-fuzzy-returns-and-questionable-accuracy/)
Microsoft, Samsung, and Apple!
Microsoft releases the new Outlook for Windows for anyone who wants it, including commercial customers
(https://betanews.com/2024/08/03/microsoft-releases-the-new-outlook-for-windows-for-anyone-who-wants-it-including-commercial-customers/)
Hands-on: Windows 11’s new recovery tool that clean installs the OS using Windows update
(https://www.windowslatest.com/2024/08/02/hands-on-windows-11s-new-recovery-tool-that-clean-installs-the-os-using-windows-update/amp/)
Microsoft quietly installing KB5001716 Windows 11/10 update for the good of your PC
(https://www.neowin.net/amp/microsoft-quietly-installing-kb5001716-windows-1110-update-for-the-good-of-your-pc/)
Samsung issues new warning for millions of Galaxy users – why this threat is dangerous
(https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/surge-in-magniber-ransomware-attacks-impact-home-users-worldwide/amp/)
The 2025 Explorer is the first Ford to get the new Android-powered infotainment system
(https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/2/24212211/ford-explorer-2025-digital-experience-android-infortainment)
Windows 11 can be transformed to Windows 10 in ‘One Click’ with new unofficial app
(https://www.neowin.net/amp/windows-11-can-be-transformed-to-windows-10-in-one-click-with-new-unofficial-app/)
All Android users must check their phones now as Google bans 5 popular apps
(https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/1931290/all-android-users-must-check)
The Extras – check out our Facebook, or Twitter page for even more!
Dealing with burnout in entrepreneurship
(https://thewpminute.com/dealing-with-burnout-in-entrepreneurship/)
Elon Musk managed to piss off an unusual number of politicians this weekend
(https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-managed-to-piss-off-an-unusual-number-of-politicians-this-weekend-2000483165)
A 20-year-old rom site is shutting down and moving to the internet archive
(https://gizmodo.com/a-20-year-old-rom-site-is-shutting-down-and-moving-to-the-internet-archive-2000482650)
The EU’s DMA is a new take on tech regulation – but that doesn’t mean it’ll work
(https://thenextweb.com/news/eu-dma-new-take-tech-regulation-will-it-work)
Dark and fascinating history of DARPA
(https://www.theblaze.com/return/the-dark-and-fascinating-history-of-darpa) – This is really quite a cool article! I honestly had no idea how DARPA was first created – nor that it started out as ARPA. If you are as fascinated by the origins of things like this as I am, I highly recommend giving this a read!
5 reasons why Linux will overtake Windows and MacOS on the desktop – eventually
(https://www.zdnet.com/article/5-reasons-why-linux-will-eventually-overtake-windows-and-macos-on-the-desktop/) (Yea, Linux still only commands single digits in the market share – but check this article out and you will likely change your mind on them taking over as well! They have been quietly sneaking up!)
IBM Report: escalating data breach disruption pushes cybersecurity costs in Canada
(https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ibm-report-escalating-data-breach-disruption-pushes-cybersecurity-costs-in-canada-826043590.html)
The congressional Nuclear Bunker is up for sale because of a dafaulted loan
(https://gizmodo.com/the-congressional-nuclear-bunker-is-for-sale-because-of-a-defaulted-loan-2000482560)
How to properly clean your mouse and keyboard
(https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/how-to-clean-your-keyboard-and-mouse/)
Arc’teryx’s new powered pants could make hikers feel 30 pounds lighter
(https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/29/24208615/arcteryx-skip-google-x-labs-mogo-hiking-exoskeleton)
WordPress Tips
Got some tid bit tips to pass on? Chuck them at amber@wppro.ca – whatever sticks will land in this section!
For parents working from home with teens
Just so everyone is aware, I have an 18 and 16 year old living at home with me.
The older is snarky, moody, and is quite certain the whole world is against her because nothing is ever ‘fair’ – meaning she doesn’t generally get what she wants only really what she needs. She is also rather computer illeterate and enjoys climbing up trees with 3-5 books in a bag with her and just perching there reading all day.
The younger is quiet and is working hard on morphing fully into a mushroom spore by trying to never go outside. She’s a gamer geek who is kind of out of touch with the real world but totally up to date with the latest memes and whatever MineCraft is up to – including breaking the awesome celebration they just had for their 15th with a whole lot of mini games and stuff on Bedrock – she found a way to glitch out every single one of those games. I think my favourite she showed me was her throwing buckets of milk at random people.
I’m sure at least a few out there are thinking ‘sounds familiar!’
Welp, if you’re working from home, utilize those sherpas! get them to do things like dishes, watering plants, cleaning out the fridge from the last week (or 4…) of leftovers in there, bathing the cat – get them to do all the things that you don’t actually have time for.
Don’t feel ‘bad’ about putting these responsibilities on the kidlets – seriously, they are gonna have to learn to do all this and go to work when they move out on their own anyways, so really you are doing them a favour by throwing them in the deep end at home where there is a life raft floating nearby.
Personally, I still have not found a reliable way to get them to keep up with the chores… but I keep finding new ways, so that counts!
You are a busy parent, and you seriously need to give yourself a pat on the back and a freaking break. You’re working your brain into goo by doing all the things for work from home – and running a house – and raising mouthy moody creatures who are suddenly taller then you and think you are part of the great conspiracy to destroy their happiness.
You’re doing great, and you will be doing just as great by getting those beautiful moody little sherpas to do the things that need doing while you work as un-inturrupted as possible for as long as possible every day.
Also, whether you drink beer/wine/scotch/whiskey/hot chocolate/tea/coffee – whatever you prefer! – get yourself a cup of that after reading this, and just breathe for a bit. And maybe picture the awsome eye-roll that somehow always turns into the full body roll you’re gonna get when you explain to them that they are gonna be given more chores.
(Evil cackling when they aren’t looking is totally acceptable – and encouraged here at WP Plugins AtoZ!)
Earn yourself a Producership Credit!
Want a Producership credit? They really do exist – check out how to get yours on our site!
Click on ‘Time’, ‘Talent’, or ‘Treasure’ to find out more on how you can help and get yourselt out there with a bit of tit for tat!
Miscellaneous Announcements from all:
Have an announcement like a meetup, or to announce you’ll be on stage at a WordCamp? Let us know and we will add it here and help get your news out to the world!
WordCamp Minneapolis/St. Paul – August 16th
WordCamp Begotá – August 30-31
To see the entire list you can follow the link here in the show notes, then click on ‘More WordCamps’ right below the list of the next 5. https://central.wordcamp.org/
If you are interested in finding a WordPress Meetup somewhere around the world you can go check out the places here: https://www.meetup.com/pro/wordpress/
Keep checking back every week to find out what else is going on!
And remember, the show notes can be found at wppluginsatoz.com!
How to reach us:
Feel like sending us something through the snail mail system? You can do that thanks to our brick and mortar address that we provide for you!
You can also reach us the more common way of the internets – have both of our internets available down below for ya!
WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall
20-754 E Fairview Rd.
Victoria, BC V9A 5T9
Canada
John:
- My website: http://www.johnoverall.com/
- WordPress Emergency Support: http://wppro.ca/wpemergency
- email: john@wppro.ca
Amber:
- email: amber@wppro.ca