Fear mongering journalist pointlessly blasts WordPress

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Written By Brian Krogsgard

13 thoughts on “Fear mongering journalist pointlessly blasts WordPress”

  1. Wow. Great writeup, and baffling to think that this could even occur. Thanks for the “blast-back” to Mr. Phillip Thomson, Brian. Well-informed, and well-stated.

  2. Brian,

    I LOVE these kinds of writeups. The naïveté that comes from clients about the actual costs of website development is one thing, you can educate them; but this is just really irresponsible journalism.

    Also.

    Don’t they have other things to worry about in Syndney?!

    -Sarah

  3. Perhaps the recommendation of a good Internet security expert would be a good idea too, clearly the one used in the original article is well out of the curve. I wonder whether the journalist paid him for the information, and how much it cost his employers. Now that would be a waste of funds.

  4. Good article. You can’t take a journo seriously when they are on a tirade.

    Plus the fact his main hotpoint is ‘WordPress’ or the lesser known fork ‘worpress’ what a muppet.

    If you’re going to instill fear and raise eyebrows at least spell the offending platform correctly.

  5. I guess this is the problem when a technology becomes pervasive – it becomes a buzzword and an easy target, and leads to many so-called “experts” having an opinion on it based on half-facts and non-truths.

    Unfortunately there are many people who remember WordPress from the earlier days (when it was a blogging platform and become synonymous with link farms) and opinions are often based on these recollections mixed in with some poorly research reactionary journalism. I come across this attitude in developer circles as well from end users.

    Great deconstruction of the article though – WordPress use in government should provide reassurance of the platform, although perhaps the other issue is the general public’s belief that government is too witless when it comes to technology and related issues, expecting (hoping?) for them to screw up!

  6. Unfortunately, this looks like a hit piece in the Sunday Morning Herald. The author would have said anything that would not embarrass the newspaper or landed him in jail that pushed the political agenda of the paper.

    This obviously has nothing to do with WordPress, but it will be used as “proof” by people who wish to push “custom bespoke web solutions” using their favorite trendy programming language about how you’re not a “real programmer” if you’re using a CMS for your web app.

  7. Brilliantly put, Brian! I’m embarrassed to share a last name with this “journalist”.

    I’ll share this response as far as I can 🙂

  8. OMG! What an absolute idiot! So annoying reading nonsense like this from people who are obviously ill-informed. I’m surprised he didn’t pull out the ol’ “WordPress is just for blogs” line as well. Well done for pointing out all his inaccuracies. Good stuff Brian!

  9. BRAVO! Great article, oh and WordPress ROCKS

    If you are serious about security, here are some tips to lock-down your WordPress install:

    move wp-config.php to ROOT directory

    rename wp_ prefix on database tables

    Remove any indication of wordpress from your theme files and raw code

    utilize SSL for all administration pages

    and stay updated!

    ALSO THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP FOR OPEN SOURCE CMS USERS:

    DO NOT USE WORDPRESS OR ANY OPENS SOURCE PLATFORM FOR YOUR TOP-SECRET DATA!

    If your data is top-secret and so important that you don’t want anyone to ever be able to access it here is what you do:

    Step 1 for securing TOP SECRET data:
    Print all your data on paper, place it in binders labeled “Top Secret” and put it in a large barrel.

    Step 2 for securing TOP SECRET data:
    Encrypt the drive that contains your top-secret data, do this at-least 5 times so you have at-least 5 levels of data encryption protecting your TOP SECRET data.

    Step 3 for securing TOP SECRET data:
    Format your hard drive atleast 10x. Make sure to do a complete format, don’t “quick format” that S#!+

    Step 4 for securing your TOP SECRET data:
    Run your hard drive through a magnetic degauss several times to permanently remove the data. Do this several times.

    Step 5 for securing your TOP SECRET data:
    Take a sledge-hammer to your hard drive and once it is smashed into tiny pieces take the pieces bury theme one at a time. Make sure they are buried atleast 100 miles apart.

    Step 6 for securing your TOP SECRET data:
    Now take that barrel of your TOP SECRET documents and burn it. Eat the ashes and then burn the poop.

    Your TOP SECRET data is now secured from prying eyes….

    (security is an illusion)

  10. Well, what you say is true and accurate. Unfortunately you say it in a way that is . . . . . . well . . . unfortunate.
    Hopefully you will come to understand that being ‘right’ in itself, is admirable, but it’s significance is diminished by a misplaced sense of self importance.

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