The truth is, just a few years ago it WAS really hard to get a website online (especially a good looking website), but with huge steps forward in technology over the last couple of years, it’s actually gotten MUCH, MUCH easier (you don’t even need an HTML editor like Dreamweaver anymore).

This video is a demo of the thing I use these days for creating just about all of my websites, sales pages, squeeze pages, launch funnels and membership sites (because it makes it so much easier).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0HGtNtztVc

The video (around 45 minutes long) is intended as a demo of how to actually use Optimize Press since all of the other videos I found online were just from affiliates trying to promote Optimize Press to earn a commission (even though I LOVE Optimize Press and will throw my affiliate link below, I try to keep the video a DEMO video and not make it sound like a sales video).

If you think it will be benefit you, feel free to check out Optimize Press here.

As always, you can leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

If you’re not familiar with phishing, it is a way scammers attempt to get people’s information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by pretending to be a bank or financial institution.

I’m not sure how long these phishing sites were hosted on my server, but it was for at least a few days before I received a notice from Google telling me that my sites had been removed from the Google search engine for hosting phishing pages.

Google also gave my examples of some of the phishing sites on my server and after having my server techs investigate…

It turns out that the hackers gained access to my server through WordPress.

This blog post is about how to secure your WordPress sites from hackers so hopefully you don’t have to go through what I’ve gone through over the last couple of days cleaning and securing my sites.

I’ve known (and practiced) the basics of WordPress Security for a long time.

Stuff such as:

• Always keep your WordPress install updated to the latest version (each version fixes security flaws in previous versions).
• Don’t use unofficial/untrusted themes and plugins.
• Don’t share your login info (if you need to give someone access to your site create their own login info for them and remove it when they no longer need access to your site).

I thought I was being pretty good about keeping my WordPress sites secure from hackers…

It turns out I missed a couple of things that allowed the hackers in to exploit my site.

Even though I always keep my ACTIVE WordPress sites up to date, that hackers gained access to my server through an outdated version of WordPress for a domain that wasn’t even active any more (I had even let the domain name expire).

It turns out that since the old/inactive domain was an add on domain on my server and the files/database was still live on the server (even though the domain wasn’t active) the hackers were still able to exploit that outdated version of WordPress and gain access to my server.

It was a lesson learned the hard way and a mistake that you’ll hopefully avoid!

Here are the things I did (in addition to the basics above) to better secure my WordPress sites and to minimize the chance of something like this happening again:

1. Completely remove old WordPress sites from your server if they’re no longer active. Don’t just let the domain name expire, completely delete all of the WordPress files PLUS the database from your server.
2. If the login info for any of your WordPress sites is still “admin”, change it to something else that the hackers can’t guess. For WordPress installs done in the past via automatic methods in cPanel like “Fantasticos”, the default login username used to be “admin”. It is no longer the default, but if you installed your site in the past your login name may still be “admin”. Of my 50+ WordPress installs, about 10 had “admin” as the username. If your login name is “admin” you should change it to something more secure. The problem is, you can’t change the username in WordPress after it’s set so what you have to do is a) Add a new user and set their role as “administrator” then, b) delete the user “admin” and assign all posts and comments to your new user. You will then login to your WordPress admin area using the NEW USER’S login info.
3. Just to be extra cautious I also changed my password for cPanel and ALL of my WordPress sites. It’s a good idea to change your passwords on a regular basis.

Hopefully these tips on how to secure your WordPress sites form hackers will help prevent you from having your sites taken over by hackers like mine were!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Overall the survey was very helpful in letting me know what format and type of content you want me to make for you, however, there was one thing that concerned me a bit…

I created this audio going over the survey results and telling you why I’m concerned.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

I hope you enjoy the video, and if nothing else, I hope it at least inspires you and makes you think about your business and your life.

See if you can spot the stupid typo in the video (actually there is probably more than one typo, but one was super obvious to me when I watched the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTfc6XD2iVM

Thanks in advanced for taking the survey:

Click Here To The Take The Survey

Also, feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of the video.

I can teach you the tactics and strategies you need to succeed (I’ve gotten results in multiple markets).

What I CAN’T give you is the burning desire and NEED for success!

What’s more important:

• Your favorite hobby or success?
• Your favorite TV show or success?
• Going out drinking or success?
• Getting a good nights sleep or success?
• Whatever else that eats up your time or success?*

How bad do you want success?:

*A couple of disclaimers:

First, I’m not suggesting you give up spending time with your family and loved ones – after all, what does success matter if you have no one to share it with?

Also, if you’re working another job right now, please make sure you’re financially able to take care of yourself and your family before you quit your job. I’m all for having people tell their boss where to shove it (I take great pride in helping people quit their job), but you’ll have a hard time being successful online when they cut off your internet connection because you can’t pay the bill.

The point is… You have to have that burning desire to succeed and be willing to sacrifice things you enjoy to make it happen!

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

I did a little experiment when hiring an outsourcer and I was shocked by the results:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8jKZ788AAU

Leave a comment below to let me know what you thought of the video.

There is now a solution that makes full integration between Nanacast & Wishlist Member possible. I’ve been using it for several months and it works like a charm!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_vI7MprqI4

If you want to give WishListCast (that is the name of the plugin that makes it all possible) a shot, head over to Steve Oven’s blog here to download the plugin and give it a try (it’s a little difficult to set up the first time since it requires a bit of configuration at Nanacast, but full intructions are provided).

Get The WishList Cast Plugin Here (Steve Oven’s Blog)

Check Out Nanacast Here

Check Out Wishlist Member Here

Steve, if you’re reading this… You really should start charging for this great plugin – but not until my readers have had the chance to download it first

I wasn’t happy with the “guest posts” that I had been allowing on my blog for years so I decided that instead of going through and selectively deleting certain content, I’d just push the RESET button and start fresh.

From now on you’ll only get content created personally by me!

Starting with this video about Darren Scott Monroe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tycefv9PAqk

If you want to check Darren out you can find him at: darrenmonroe.com