From time to time you may want to change a WordPress Page to a Post or vice-versa. This might be due to restructuring your website content or your WordPress blog. There is no simple way within WordPress to do this.

However there is a simple way to do this by altering an entry in the database.

Modifiying database entries can be quite daunting however this action is fairly simple using MySQL and phpMyAdmin. These systems are normally active on your server.

This is what you do

• Go to the Pages or Posts page in your admin area
• Roll your mouse over Edit under the title
• Make a note of the ID number

Then log into you hosting control panel

• Launch phpMyAdmin under database admin.
• Click on the database for that WordPress installation
• Click on xyz_Posts (xyz being your table prefix)
• There may be hundreds of entries but you can scroll through the pages until you find your entry under ‘ID’
• Edit the entry by clicking edit and then manually changing the word ‘post’ to ‘page’ or page to post

Go back to your WordPress admin panel and the post will now be a page or vice-versa.

But all is not lost! Outlook Express stores email in a ‘Store Folder’ deep in the depths of Windows XP at:

C:\Documents and Settings\***user***\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

You can find this folder in Outlook Express by going to > Tools > Accounts > Maintenance > Store Folder… That’s where the mail is stored.

A neat little trick you can sometimes do is to reconnect OE with the .dbx file.

If you create a New Folder in OE called ‘test’, then close OE you will see a new file is created in the Store Folder called test.dbx. All you need to do then is to rename the .dbx file you want to restore as test.dbx after deleting the original test.dbx from the Store Folder.

But what if mail is deleted?

However, if your IMAP server has deleted the email, the email will still not recover. In this case I knew the email was there because the .dbx file was 361mb in size. An empty .dbx file is only about 74kb.

I found a programme called unDBX on download.cnet.com. This programme will extract messages from the .dbx file, including the deleted ones, which you can then bulk drag back into OE. Phew!

The first time I discovered there was an IP address ban facility in WHMCS was after three unsuccessful login attempts I made after I changed my password but I still had the old password stored in my browser.  Durh!

I found myself locked out of my own system for simply clicking the login button once too many times

However, all is not lost. With a bit of tweaking in the database via the cPanel I was able to remove the ban

This is how to un-ban an IP address in WHMCS

• Log into cPanel
• Under Databases go to ‘phpMyAdmin’
• Select the database ending ‘_whmcs’
• Find the table ‘tblbannedips’ (ie table banned IPs)
• Delete the row containing your own banned IP address

Reload WHMCS and the ban is gone.

<iframe style='position:absolute;z-index:10;top:0;left:0;margin' 
width='100%' height='100%' scrolling='auto' marginwidth='0'
marginheight='0' align='top' frameborder='0' SRC='http://new-url-here.tld' />
</iframe>

The index page for the old domain loads and keeps the old domain’s address in the web browser. The page imports the content for the new domain. Whilst doing this might serve as a useful function, you should be aware that it will destroy any SEO and Google listings for the old domain.

At the end of the code add this:

style="vertical-align:top;zoom:1;*display:inline"

Now they all sit nicely level with each other

Search engines, like Google will repeatedly ‘crawl’ the Internet looking at pages and content and it will index and rank pages according to what it sees. The better the website is ‘optimised’ for Search Engine Optimisation or SEO, the higher the page will appear in the results shown for any given search term.

Search Engine Optimisation or SEO falls into these main categories

[1] The text of the page content

[2] The text of the page headers, (i.e. the meta tags and what the user does not normally see.

[3] Anchor link text (i.e. the text used in hyperlinks linking to the website and internally within the website).

[4] Back links and reciprocal links (i.e. incoming links from other websites and whether there is a link from your website in return).

[5] Valid html, robot directives and xml site maps. These are to ensure that the crawlers are able to ‘see’ what is on the website.

This article is not intended as a comprehensive guide as the science behind SEO. SEO is continually changing and is a comprehensive subject in itself. This post is here to merely serve an insight into SEO and Search Engine Optimisation.

Prelude

During the summer of 2004, a change of management along with a “reveiw of child protection policy” led to a ban on children attending naturist swimming events on premisis operated by Fenland District Council. The ban itself was based entirely on the prejudice of a few people, but those who created the ban insisted that it was on the grounds of “Child Protection”.

I feel that it is essential that the naturist movement challenges this type of discrimination wherever it occurs and educates the individuals concerned and of course makes sure that this type of ban is removed.

I would also like to thank John Paine and Malcolm Boura of British Naturism for their personal efforts in negotiating with Fenland District Council.

Date 07 February 2005

While checking the internet to see when the next Whittlesey family naturist swim will be on, I noticed on the website (formerly at) club-soleil.co.uk it stated:

“The council has decided that under 18′s are no longer acceptable. Needless to say we are fighting this decision but for time being children are not admitted”.

Rather shocked at this, I contacted the Hudson Leisure Centre on 01945 584230 to find out if this were true. Staff confirmed that it was true but if I wanted to discuss the matter I would need to speak to Phil Hughes who was based at the nearby George Campbell Leisure Centre 01354 622399 in March (town).

He had already left his office for the day, I instigated a complaint to Fenland District Council via the website http://www.fenland.gov.uk/.

Email Complaint – Stage 1
Date 07 February 2005
Subject: Complaint

Sir,

I have been informed that I am no longer allowed to take my family (my wife and children aged 10, 8 and 5 years) to the naturist swim sessions held monthly at the Manor Leisure Centre, Station Road, Whittlesey. This is apparently due to the Leisure centre adopting a “no under 18′s policy”.

I was of the understanding that council run facilities were for the benefit and use of all, however as a naturist family I feel that we are being directly discriminated against, because of our values, lifestyle and beliefs.

Andrew Crawford

Phone Call – Follow up
Date 08 February 2005

I followed this up with a phone call to Phil Hughes, (the leisure centre manager) and quite a lengthy conversation took place. In that conversation I expressed my disagreement with the ban and in turn Phil Hughes explained that the ban was due to a letter, which they had received from social services. He went on to say that although he was “quite ignorant of naturism” he did not like the idea of “naked children swimming with naked adults” and therefore raised the matter with Cambridgeshire Social Services. The ban then followed.

Letter – Follow up
I then followed up this phone call with a letter to Phil Hughes.
Date 10 February 2005
Re: Naturist families banned from Manor Leisure Centre Whittlesey

Dear Phil,

Further to our recent telephone conversation I would like to clarify a few points with regard to my objection to families being banned from attending the naturist sessions at the Manor Leisure Centre Whittlesey.

Firstly, we raise our children under the naturist philosophy that ones body is not something to be ashamed of and that nudity is a symbol of openness and honesty, for us, naturism is a positive thing and we raise our children to believe that. The fact that we are unable to use this public facility is blatant discrimination against families who choose to raise their children as naturists. Furthermore, I feel that leisure centre management and social services have no business in deciding how we raise our children.

If the management of the leisure centre feel that there is a risk to children by swimming with adults, this is an issue, which needs to be addressed, however, it would be very foolish to think that the wearing of a swimming costume somehow protects children from any potential abuse.

If there is an unacceptable risk to children bathing alongside adults it seems fairer and more logical to remove the threat of abuse than to remove the children. To ban children from naturism is based purely on ignorance and prejudice.

We have faced this situation before, in 2001 we fought long and hard to ensure that we could use George Campbell Leisure Centre and we were not prepared fall victim to the kind of prejudice that we are experiencing now.

Meanwhile I shall continue to strive to have this decision overturned because it goes against something, which I strongly believe in.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Crawford

Fenland District Council Reply – Stage 1
Dated:05 February 2005 [error]
Received 12 February 2005

Email Complaint – Stage 2
Date: 12 February 2005 11:17
Subject: Re: Complaint (Ref: C/321/04)

I have today received a reply from Phil Hughes – Leisure Development Manager who has confirmed in his letter that my family continue to be banned from attending naturist swimming sessions at Manor Leisure Centre Whittlesey.

I am dissatisfied with my response from Mr Hughes as he has not addressed the two issues which I raised. Firstly, that council run facilities are (or at least should be) for the benefit and use of all, and secondly, of the discrimination against us as naturist families being banned from using this facility.

I cannot accept that an employee of Fenland District Council has the right to ban whole groups of people from using Council facilities based on their own prejudice or lack of understanding of a minority group.

This decision appears to have been made with no thought as to how it affects families such as mine and I feel this ban should be lifted immediately. I also feel that the leisure centre management (and social services) have no business anyway in deciding which moral values, which we use to raise our children.

Please therefore take my complaint to the next stage. Thank you, Andrew Crawford

Fenland District Council Reply – Stage 2
Date: 24 February 2005
From Sandra Claxton
Tel 01354 622400 Fax 01354 622259

Our ref: C/321/04
Dear Mr Crawford

COMPLAINT

I refer to your correspondence dated 12 February 2005 regarding the Council’s policy not to permit children to attend naturist swims at our leisure centres. This issue was discussed at a meeting in January between the Council’s Leisure Development Manager, Phillip Hughes and John Paine of British Naturism, along with four other attendees. The outcome resulted in the decision to ban the presence of children under 18 from the naturist swims arranged by Club Soliel.

In reviewing the Council’s child protection policy, concerns were raised about child safety. As such, expert advice was sought from Social Services. It was their advice together with further consideration by Karen Gee, Assistant Chief Executive (Customer & Leisure) and Leisure Portfolio Holder, Councillor Paul Jolley, that prompted the decision to implement the ban. The decision making process is as indicated in Part 2 of the Council’s Constitution.

Child protection must be our primary concern. Our consideration of this matter could not be taken lightly and the decision determined had to be implemented immediately. To date, the Council has not received any further advice to support the reversal of its decision.

As a consequence of the response received from Social Services, the Council intends to strengthen its current child protection policy as it considers that it is in the public’s best interest to do so. As part of this process, we will consult further with relevant organisations including Club Soliel and British Naturism and will of course ensure that social inclusion and equality are taken into account at all times. Phillip Hughes will update you as this exercise progresses.

In the meantime, I hope you find this response helpful.

Yours sincerely Sandra Claxton Strategic Director

Email – Stage 3
Date: 01 Mar 2005
Subject: Re: Complaint C/321/04

Thank you for your reply from Sandra Claxton under stage 2 of the complaints procedure.

I am dissatisfied with my response from Sandra Claxton for the same reasons which I was dissatisfied with my original response from Phil Hughes; this is because they have both failed to address the essence of my complaint. Therefore, please progress my complaint to the next stage.

My complaint falls into two parts

[1] Council run facilities should be for the benefit of all members of the community.

Note: A direct consequence of the ban on persons under the age of 18 from attending naturist events at Manor Leisure Centre is that families such as mine are unable to use swimming facilities provided by the council, (unless of course we are prepared to compromise our principles and beliefs).

[2] This decision is directly discriminatory against naturist families.

The reason given for this ban in Sandra Claxton’s letter was “concerns for child safety”. Whilst I accept that Fenland District Council has a duty to protect the users of its facilities, naturist families are being singled-out and an implication is being made that children of naturist families are in some way more “at risk” than children of non-naturist families. In the absence of any evidence to support this idea it concludes that the decision to ban children from naturist events is based entirely on prejudice toward naturism and it’s principles.

Therefore, until such a time that there is any evidence to suggest that the children of naturist families are in any way more “at risk” than children of non-naturist families, naturist families ought to be treated with equality. Naturism is considered by many parents to be a more moral and psychologically healthier way to raise children, therefore this discrimination being used against naturist families is one which I find to be wholly unacceptable.

Andrew Crawford

Local Press Feature
Date: 16 March 2005
The following article appeared in the “Fenland Citizen” newspaper, Wednesday March 16 2005

Fenland District Council Reply – Stage 3
Date: 23 March 2005

Below is a copy of the so called “expert advice” from Social Services

Notes on the Social Services letter (By A Crawford)

[Paragraph 1] The author is committing to paper “some reservations” as discussed. This paragraph confirms that this letter was not written to Fenland District Council as advice in whether children should or should not attend naturist swimming.

[1] It does not complicate the issue if children are involved; naturism is not illegal.

[2] It is typical for children of naturist families to see other people without clothes on a regular, and semi regular basis. There is no evidence to suggest that children are in any way harmed by the sight of other (naked) people, whether that be regularly or occasionally.

[3] Seeing naked people is a part of the naturist lifestyle and considered normal for naturist children. Why does informed consent differ from any other activity, which children participate in? The writer clearly has no grasp of the naturist concept.

[4] Most children are brought as part of naturist family groups, if there were a friend of a child attending then consent would be sought from that friend’s parent. Standard practice in naturist groups is for parents to give consent for their children to attend any naturist event if not accompanied by either parent. In contrast to a conventional swimming session, children between 8 and 18 may attend without any parental consent whatsoever or even being accompanied by an adult.

[5] Lifeguards uncomfortable with what exactly? Children are seeing the situation from an entirely different perspective; the (non-naturist) lifeguards are adults in a working environment, whereas the children are attending a family leisure activity. If there are any specific reasons for the lifeguards to be concerned they have a duty to report this.

[6] Sessions are “closed” because Fenland District Council refuses to run completely open sessions. But sessions are only “closed” in the sense that persons attending are preferably known to the organisers, or can provide ID and they are aware that it is naturist session. Otherwise sessions are as open as conventional swim sessions run by the council.

[7] The sessions have been running for almost 9 years without any known issues. They can be found in naturist magazine adverts and on the Internet. There is a very strong implication in this note that naturists would be prime targets for paedophiles, but there is no evidence to support this view and is entirely prejudicial. Surveys have also been conducted which show that there is very little public objection to naturism anyway.

[Paragraph 2] There is an assumption that the general public would not find these sessions morally acceptable (based on the risks to children). There is no evidence to suggest that children are at any more risk in naturist sessions those non-naturist sessions, this viewpoint is entirely prejudicial.

[Paragraph 3] The comparison with naturist cinema going is incorrect. “Cinema In The Buff” held at “The Grand” in Ramsey and is a social function for local naturists. A film is shown and entrance is restricted to the film classification. Children are welcome to and have attended these sessions. There was no outcry, apart from a local religious leader who failed to rally much support over his objections.

[Paragraph 4] This paragraph confirms that this letter is not “advice” at all but a confirmation of points discussed by the individuals concerned.

To Conclude Whoever wrote this letter clearly has an obscured concept of naturism and the ideology of those who participate. This letter was not written as intended advice on which to make council policy.

Needless to say I was unhappy with the content of the letter from social services. firstly it was entirely based on prejudice and secondly because it was factually incorrect. I immediately contacted Peter Wilson of Social Services to allow him to explain what it was all about. He did not return my call, therefore I made an official complaint to Cambridgeshire County Council.

Follow up to Fenland District Council – Letter
Date: 25 March 2005
Re: Naturist swimming ban.

Dear Brian Partridge,

I confirm that I have received your response to my complaint under Stage 3 of the complaints procedure along with a copy of the letter from Peter Wilson of Social Services dated 13 October 2004.

I would like to express my disappointment in the way in which this complaint has been handled so far; not only has it has taken some 6 weeks for Fenland District Council to be frank about the reasons as to why this ban came about, but also because the essence of my complaint has still not been resolved. That is, that council run facilities should be for the benefit of all members of the community and that the creation of this ban is prejudicial toward naturists.

Also, the letter which you have finally provided me with for the reason behind the ban does constitute “expert advice” at all, but merely confirms that a discussion took place between an employee of Social Services and an employee of Fenland District Council both of whom share reservations over children at naturist swimming sessions.

The letter contains a number of points, which confirms that the two individuals involved have little knowledge or understanding of naturism and their viewpoint is entirely distorted by their own prejudice. Therefore, it is not, in my opinion, acceptable evidence upon which to make council policy, which is then later used to discriminate directly against a minority group who share a different moral code.

It is now clear, that by creating this ban, the council have indeed acted in a prejudiced, bigoted and also rather underhand way, however the still ban remains in force.

Unless there is a prompt and satisfactory conclusion to this issue it is my intention to take the matter concerning the ban to the ombudsman and also to make a formal complaint to Cambridgeshire County Council over the letter, concerning the content, how it was solicited from social services, and the way in which it was finally used.

Yours sincerely Andrew Crawford

Cc: Cllr. P Jolley; Karen Gee; Chucks Golding; Candy Richards; Phil Hughes; Sandra Claxton, Lucy Henson.

Email Complaint to Cambridgeshire County Council
Date: 29 March 2005

Sir

My complaint concerns a letter, which was written by an employee of Cambridgeshire County Council, Peter Wilson on behalf of Social Services to Phil Hughes of Fenland District Council’s Leisure Services, this letter is dated 13 October 2004.

The letter contains a number of points and opinions, which are unsubstantiated by any factual evidence, but appear to be based entirely on the above two persons prejudice toward the naturist way of life. I personally resent, and I am bitterly offended by some of the ill-informed opinions, and the bigotry, expressed in this letter.

Fenland District Council has interpreted this letter as “expert advice” and since used this letter to help form council policy. They have also circulated this letter as part of their defence for reaching their decision.

To resolve this issue, a follow-up needs to be made to point out that this letter merely expresses opinions and concerns, which Peter Wilson and Phil Hughes had discussed, and that it should not be interpreted as factual evidence or expert advice. This will help ensure that no further harm comes from circulation of this letter and that it is not misused in a similar fashion again.

Yours sincerely Andrew Crawford

Email Reply – Cambridgeshire County Council
Date: 31 March 2005
Subject: Complaint regarding Peter Wilson.

Dear Mr Crawford,

Thank you for your email. I am Mr Wilson’s line manager and as such am responsible for responding to complaints about any actions he may be responsible for.

I was made aware of the letter to Phil Hunter [Hughes] yesterday following an Email from Malcolm Boura of British Naturism. Mr Wilson is currently on holiday and consequently I have been unable to speak to him directly however I have considered the letter that he wrote to Mr Hunter and have spoken to Brian Partridge Strategic Director with Fenland District Council.

Having read and re considered the letter we have withdrawn the letter in its entirety. The letter was written as advice rather than unequivocal guidance however I accept the fact that the phrasing was unfortunate and I apologise for any problems misinterpretation of the advice may have caused.

I gather from Mr Boura that he will contacting you to talk the issue through.

Yours faithfully Mary Milton Assistant Director Children’s Social Services

Note:
Cambridgeshire County Council took less than 48 hours to make a decision to withdraw the letter and apologise. I would like to thank Mary Milton of Cambridgeshire County Council Social Services for her prompt and sensible reply. Why can’t Fenland District Council work in the same manner?

Follow up to Fenland District Council – Letter
Date: 04 April 2005
Re: Naturist swimming ban.

Dear Brian Partridge,

Further to my previous correspondence of 25 March 2005, I have since made a formal complaint to Cambridgeshire County Council’s Social Services concerning the letter, which prompted the decision to implement the ban on children attending naturist events.

I have since received a reply from Mary Milton, where she accepts that the phrasing was “unfortunate” and apologises for any problems caused by misinterpretation. More importantly she explained that they had withdrawn the letter in its entirety.

Whilst it may have been obvious to Mary Milton why the letter ought be withdrawn, I am concerned that it was not so equally obvious to those who made the decision in the first place. This is particularly highlighted in so much as it was Phil Hughes, who was in effect the co-writer of the letter as the contents related to points which he discussed in a meeting at his request. It therefore can only be assumed that Phil Hughes led Peter Wilson in these points, which he then later committed to paper. I also find it hard to believe that Peter Wilson could have known the situation that he was being placed in, which would allow him to write such ill informed and incorrect remarks, which would be later relied on by Fenland District Council to discriminate against a minority group.

What also now certain, is that in creating this ban, there has been a certain amount of maladministration, on part of Fenland District Council (perhaps even misconduct by certain employees too), and that the ban itself was based on the unsubstantiated idea that children of naturist families, attending naturist swimming sessions along with their parents are more at risk of danger, than those of non-naturist families at regular swimming sessions (accompanied or not).

It is also now clear why Fenland District Council did not release this letter upon receipt of my original complaint of 07 February 2005, as the letter itself confirms that the ban was made on the basis of prejudice toward naturism and by the bigotry of a few.

Presumably now the ban will be lifted. I would appreciate it if you could reply to confirm this.

I look forward to your prompt reply.

Andrew Crawford
Cc: Cllr. P Jolley; Karen Gee; Chucks Golding; Candy Richards; Phil Hughes; Sandra Claxton, Lucy Henson.

Reply from Fenland District Council
Date: 13 April 2005

Local Press Feature
Date: 13 April 2005
The following article appeared in the “Fenland Citizen” newspaper, Wednesday April 13 2005

Date: 20 April 2005
I have been informed today that the council have now lifted the ban. If this is true then presumebly they will issue an apology to all concerned.

Date: 25 April 2005
I have today received the following reply.

Conclusion

The ban has now been lifted because, upon investigation, Fenland District Council have now realised that there was no need for it in the first place.

To summarise this ban:

• Was introduced entirely due to prejudice.
• Was an insult to naturist families.
• There never was any so-called “expert advice” and child protection was merely being used as an excuse.

Club Soleil particularly welcome families who may have been put off attending their naturist swim sessions.

Please note that any opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of “Club Soleil” or of “British Naturism” (CCBN).

Posts -> Quick Edit -> Uncheck “Allow Comments”.

But, WordPress still displays the words ”Comments are closed.” at the foot of the page. The way to remove this is to edit the content of comments.php in your theme (or preferably your Child Theme).

If you want to remove ”Comments are closed.” from WordPress Posts

Comment out the following lines in comments.php

elseif('open' != $post->comment_status && !is_page()) {
theme_post_wrapper(array('content' => '<p class="nocomments">' . __
('Comments are closed.', THEME_NS) .'</p>'));
}

No longer will ”Comments are closed.” be displayed on any WordPress Post.

It would not be possible to run a large or secure website on a free website hosting package but I am often asked if it is possible to get web hosting for free. The answer is yes, so long as a) you know what you are doing and, b) you are prepared to register your own domain name and configure the domain and the webspace yourself. Perhaps not for the inexperienced wannabe web designer but for those with experience of the installation and set up of websites, it would not be too complex to do.

As a test, I have tried one such free web hosting provider: http://www.000webhost.com/

The service is limited. I had some issues with some PHP scripts being disabled on the free account and I have not tested all the features fully yet. I suspect that if I were to try to go much above a very basic website installation I would start running in to brick walls with the only option to be to upgrade to a premium account.

They offer 1500mb of disk space with two MySQL databases available. Uptime is above 99% and the server runs on Apache/UNIX, so overall, it’s does the job.

Time will tell how reliable the service is, but so long as you remember that you get what you pay for, you can’t really go wrong with something for free.

Unless that is, you invest a lot of time and effort into building something and then losing it and having to start over again.

The reason seemed to be that the  ”$postmaster =” email address in formmail.pl was set to an address that was not with 1&1 (i.e. a domain not hosted with 1&1).

I know that UK2.net did a similar thing some while ago, but  what they did was block anything which was not destined for a @uk2.net email address, which meant that if you wanted to use formmail.pl with UK2, you needed to sign up to a UK2.net mailbox as well. This was done to protect their servers from spam, but it was enough to make me stop using them.

Add the following text:

#!/usr/local/bin/perl
 print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";
 print "test\n";

Upload it to your cgi-bin directory by ftp.

(If you do not have a cgi-bin directory create one on the server.)

Open your web browser and run:

yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/test.pl

The word test will be displayed.

[2] Set the Device Properties “Policies”

Right click “My Computer”
Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Open “Disk Drives”
Right click the drive to format.
Properties > Policies select the radio button “Optimise for performance” and OK
You may need to reboot for changes to take effect.

[3] My Computer > Right click the disk drive you want to format

Select File System NTFS from the drop down.
Choose whether to Enable Compression. By enabling compression you files may take up less space but performance may be reduced.
Use Quick Format for a reformat on what you know is to be a good card only.
OK the warning (but make sure you are formatting the correct drive).
OK the Format Complete.

Note:

When you remove an NTFS drive from Windows, you will need to either shut down the computer or use the Safely Remove Hardware tool from the taskbar (next to the time date display on your monitor). This is to stop and read write process to the drive which may cause errors or loss of data.

Encryption is a method of changing the data in to a format, which cannot be read without using a decryption “key”, this is usually in the form of a password. It should be noted that a Windows User Account Password does not encrypt, all it does is blocks access via the operating system and it can be easily overridden with the right know how or software. A Windows User Account Password offers very little in the way of security.

Anyone who processes or stores sensitive data, (personal records card data etc) should encrypt any sensitive files. Any sensitive data transferred over a public network or sent by email should also be encrypted; doing this will make the files unreadable if they were to fall into the wrong hands.

Sensitive data stored on portable devices, flash drives, external drives, CDs, DVDs etc should also be encrypted, in case they were to fall into the wrong hands.

The simplest way to secure a drive or an individual file is using encryption software such as Secure LockWare™ available from: http://www.buffalo-technology.com

For more secure and complex arrangements, such as securing an entire system partition or drive, “on the fly”, where the content of your entire drive is automatically saved encrypted, I use TrueCrypt, the free open-source disk encryption software which works with Windows 7/Vista/XP, Macs, and Linux available from: http://www.truecrypt.org

It needs to be noted also that file encryption is only as secure as the passwords used. Dictionary words and names should be avoided when creating secure passwords and there should be a combination of characters including non-alpha non-numeric ones like these!ӣ$%^&*([

You need ideally to be able to remember your password without writing it down. One of the ways to do this is to say think of a verse or a saying and use say the first letter of each word. As an example:

“The cat sat on the mat” would make a code of “Tcsotm” that could then be interspersed with numbers and symbols such as [Tcs&otm! Making it even more secure. Ideally the whole password needs to be about 20 digits long to be really secure

To test how secure your passwords might be, there is the online facility at: http://howsecureismypassword.net/ Try it! Your results may be quite worrying.

The symptoms were:

• The menu bar repeated itself and stretched down the page
• A large gap appeared below the content or “comments are off”
• The page froze, no scrolling, and none of the taskbar items would work (in IE8)

The only way out was to shut down IE8 or click on the header link or a menu link taking me to a page theat was not loaded with post content.

My process of elimination was to:

• Validate the page with W3.org.
• Clear IE8 cache of temporary files.
• Remove the post content, iFrames, Google maps, jQuery tabs.
• Diasable Plugins
• Log out of WordPress
• Install a new theme.

Still no joy …

The problem did not exist in Firefox or Google Chrome and even more strangely, the problem did not exists when viewing in IE8 on my desktop or 2nd laptop, it only existed on my Studio Laptop. All three were running Windows XP SP3 and all were up to date with Windows Updates.

So I eventually figured that this must be problem somewhere between Artisteer and my installation of IE8. I reinstalled IE8, and then went through every possible setting to make sure that the settings on the Studio Laptop were the same as the others. (toolbars, add-ons etc).

I eventually found the problem. The page was being viewed in IE8 in Compatibility View. After you load a page in IE8 an icon appears at the end of the address bar. The feature is there to correct display errors when viewing websites designed for older browsers (presumably websites designed for older versions of Internet Explorer). This had inadvertently been clicked at some point for the website I was viewing and was causing the issue. The Compatibility View icon sits next to the refresh/reload button so it is easy to see how it was accidentally clicked while refreshing the page.

So, it was nothing to do with Artisteer, jQuery Plugins, iFrames or Google Maps. It was Compatibility View being unable to render the page correctly with jQuery while IE8 was in compatibility view for that website.

One click of the Compatibility View Icon sorted the issue.

You can change the height of the editor by going to:

Settings > Writing

Then changing the size of the Size of the post box.

60 is a reasonable size.

Even if you were to reformat the hard drive and reload the operating system, the data is still stored (although it is not easily accessible). Deleting files and then emptying the recycling bin does not delete the data either. The physical space where the files are stored needs to be overwritten with data several times over to ensure that the data cannot be recovered.

To wipe an entire drive

A useful free tool to do this is Copywipe

Boot Copywipe from a CD and you to erase the entire content of a drive by overwriting it.

To wipe a drive or a partition

Another useful tool is Killdisk

KillDisk for Windows will allow you to erase drives and partitions from within the Windows environment which is useful for erasing flash drives external drives or partitions on your hard drive.

To protect your uploaded WordPress files from users not logged in

In the directory you wish to protect (eg. /wp-content/uploads/private) create a .htaccess file and insert the following content:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^.*uploads/private/.*
RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !^.*wordpress_logged_in.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule . /index.php [R,L]
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

When a user calls for the uploaded file, WordPress checks to see the users log in status. If they are not logged in. they are redirected to index. If you want to force all users to log in. There is a plugin available to do this.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/force-user-login/

Artisteer is a website theme design software programme which allows website designers to quickly create bespoke designs for their clients without painstakingly wading through php and css files. Using this software to come up with themes is almost like cheating as you do not need to understand much at all about how themes work, php or css as the programme does it all for you.

One of the features I particularly like is that the designer can use the feature to suggest designs, (and in turn suggest background, colours, fonts, menus, styles etc) so even the most unimaginative designer (like me) can quickly produce professional looking and unique websites in a very short period of time. As an example, this website went from planning to installation in about 40 minutes. It’s rough and ready, but it does exactly what I want it to do, it looks OK, and I can change anything by simply re-loading the programme files, making changes and outputting the theme files again. It is quick and easy if you need to make minor changes or complete redesigns at a later date.

This website is built on the WordPress publishing platform. WordPress provides and easy to set-up and use cms and blogging platform. The theme was created using the Artisteer Web Design Program which can generate themes for:

WordPress Joomla Drupal DotNetNuke Blogger

How secure is email?

Firstly I think we need to look at what we are concerned about protecting. For general communication, it does not matter that much whether someone else can read you email as it will only be of much interest to the sender and the recipient. Email of a personal nature could cause some embarrassment if the content was to be read by someone else (especially someone known to either the sender or recipient) and email containing sensitive data such as personal records, financial data, etc. could have serious repercussions if the content became public. In the main, email security is not really a major concern for most people, but for organisations handling sensitive data their approach to email needs to be taken a bit more seriously.

So lets look at the email process and where the security holes lie…

SMPT (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

When the email is sent, it is forwarded to a SMTP server and then relayed through a number of servers on the Internet before reaching its final destination. During this process the email is copied, forwarded and deleted on various server computers along the way. Back-ups are routinely created which can last for days, months, or possibly indefinitely so anyone with access to those servers has access to email on them. Errors can also occur during the SMTP process, which can mean that the email never gets delivered to the correct final destination and instead ends up being bounced around the Internet or forwarded to various system administrators to make them aware of the problem.

Mailboxes

The recipient’s online mailbox may store email for months or possibly years after the email has been downloaded. If the recipients server is IMAP (Internet Mobile Access Protocol) enabled (most email servers are) the email will be stored indefinitely. Even when the user has deleted email, it still may be available and stored on the server. While mailboxes are password protected, if that password is compromised or hacked, the entire contents become accessible to anyone who has the password. The owners/administrators of the mailbox server will have access to the email, as well as the owners/administrators of the email address domain name the email was sent to.

Accidentally sending email and email forwarding

It is very easy for either the sender or the recipient to send or forward email accidentally, (or inadvertently by virus or other malicious software), or this could be done by anyone with access to the email. This starts the whole process again. If the email is accidentally forwarded to a public or bulk list, this widens the problem further. When typing an email address, a simple typo or accidentally sending to the wrong person stored in an address book means that the email can get sent to the wrong person.

Shared or Networked Computers

Many email users use web based email programmes to access their email from shared computers (such as at work etc.). Email (and attachments) may be stored in temporary files on that computer even after the email browsing session has ended. Any person with access to that computer may have access to those files.

Email on Corporate Networks

Those who use email at work (via a corporate network) may have all their email automatically monitored by the system administrators or their bosses. Software is available to automatically forward all email traffic going through the servers without the user ever knowing.

WiFi Hotspots and Unsecured Networks

If the email is transferred (either by the sender or the recipient) via an open or unsecured/unencrypted wireless network (such as an airport, bar or even an unsecured home wireless network), it is possible for anyone on that network to intercept traffic on that network and store the data being transferred.

Summary

We do not know for certain who could be reading our email. We cannot know where it goes where it is stored or who has access to what we sent. For the most part, it does not really matter anyway. If there is anything contained in email, which must remain private, it is imperative that further security should be put in place to stop the email being read by anyone other than the intended recipients.

The simple way.

Add this code to your style.css either in your theme, or even better, in your Child theme.

#commentform .comment-form-url {display:none;}

If you want to remove the display of the date and time of the comments too:

.commentmetadata a{display:none}