Renovations
Found out that apparently wp-config.php is stored in a publicly-accessible directory for most users. This is important because wp-config.php contains, by default, the name of the SQL database that WordPress uses, and the associated username and password (but, to be fair, not your admin username and password). Now, more experienced webheads who implicitly understand these things would have the option of installing the entire WordPress directory somewhere safer (for example, anywhere other than ~/public_html/) before configuring it, but I’m not too keen on moving around a billion files this late in the game. What to do?
Google as usual produces a good answer. The entire WordPress directory doesn’t have to be moved, since it’s really only the wp-config.php file that is of major concern. All that’s needed is to strip out the database/login information and paste it into a new php file outside of ~/public_html/, and then finish by dropping an include(); into wp-config.php to link them up. This way, wp-config.php is still able to view the information it needs while keeping said information out of public view. Hacker-proof? Probably not, but it’s at least a deterrent against bots and scripted attacks.
If you’re paranoid, it goes without saying that you should probably rename your SQL database and the associated login information after moving things around, or else Google’s cache (or someone else’s) might be able to dig up the information anyway.
Anyhow, I wouldn’t be surprised if the page is acting pear-shaped for a few days. Drop me a line if so.
Open for Business
One might call this another source of news, commentary, and miscellany, but that would be wrong. I’ve decided to carve out a piece of web real estate, because some days you might just go crazy if you don’t tell the whole planet what you had for breakfast.
Why the Daily Anvil? I had a pretty good answer involving Wile E Coyote. In truth, the internet is a dense, wordy thing, and if the internet news media’s rapid-fire approach could be personified in any one object, I would a pick comedy anvil preceded only by a whistling sound and an all-too-small umbrella.
