Truthout.org Finds Refuge in Joomla!

Truthout.org was one among those sites by Drupal which was outdated and scavenged by malicious attacks, and effortlessly hacked every week. Tired of being a pushover Truthout.org turned towards Joomla! Developers to transform the site’s platform to a more flexible and stable premise. 

 

Obstacles Wiped Out

From the initial stages the site had numerous problems and each problem was a hurdle to the Joomla! developers. The basic problem was the outdated and ill-maintained condition of the site which was making the site an easy target to bots and other aggressive functions to hack it in a regular basis. And securing the site from attacks from all directions was a task which looked like mountain to the Joomla developers. Once this was tackled the next hurdle rose, which was migrating such a huge database of large scale Drupal to Joomla! and this was the first of its kind. With combined content of 200,000+ articles alone, each with 15-20 unique fields in Drupal, and tens of thousands of users, this was definitely a unique challenge.

The process of migration was also done efficiently by the talented Joomla developer and the next task was to clone the site already exiting template from Drupal to a Joomla! template. And finally the high-profile site was secured from external threats. 

 

Procedural Structure of Joomla! Developer’s Job

Security

Delaying even minutes proved to be a security hazard for the site as it was getting hacked on a regular basis. Thus the preference for holding the old site was given priority even while the new site was being developed. Once the old site was kept in a secure place, the new site had to be secured accordingly and for this the Joomla! developers sought the help of the most reliable security providers SecureLive. 

 

Content Construction

The content which was already present in the Drupal site had to be cloned to the new Joomla! site. The content which was present in the old site had to be mapped in a order so that it could be imported and presented in Joomla!. To tackle this barrier of the need for content extension Joomla! developers adopted the K2 CCK. K2 was built as a complete replacement of the default article system in Joomla!.  K2 CCK can be installed like any Joomla! extension which will import articles from the default Joomla! article system and instantly get a host of new features for the existing content. There were many options which were considered by the Joomla! developers to manage the content but finally K2 was opted for as it was technically compatible with the specific format with which Drupal stores data. The work did not end with the process of importing the content, Joomla! developers had to go further and according to the client’s specification building of many custom K2 features to assist in both content editing, and presentation were done. 

 

User Management

While importing content Joomla! developers experience this difficulty of maintaining consistency in the association of user and content. In Joomla! (and K2) a single user can be assigned to a single article. With a news agency like Truthout.org it became necessary for the Joomla! developers to collaborate a single article with multiple users as there were numerous articles and series associated with a number of authors. As this problem was tackled recently by the Joomla team while working in a project for the United Nations, it was simple for them to handle it this time around. 

 

Overall Site Design

The final design of the site was the final frontier for this project as the new site had to be adopted entirely from the already existed Drupal template. To facilitate the requirements of the site layout, and the unique positioning of different modules and new module positions, Joomla! developers started with the T3 framework from Joomlart to build a flexible template that can easily be expanded as needed.

 

DCKAP can build robust and reliable applications on the Joomla framework with experienced Joomla developers, Joomla programmer, Joomla programmers, Joomla developer, Joomla development services, Joomla integration, Joomla programmers, migration, maintenance and support.

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Registered JUG changes

The Registered Joomla User Group team are pleased to announce that we are making some changes to enhance the relationship between the team and JUG coordinators.

* We have made a gallery page for the people in the team know who we are and what their special skills are.
* We are tweaking the JUG directory to ensure it stays up to date and is easier to handle that includes removing the deadwood and locating JUGs who have lost their way a bit.

* The rules are being translated to native languages similar to the German and Spanish ones already made. If you can assist in any way, please let us know.

* We will organise a regular JUG news spots and ask groups to have a general round up in the Registered JUG Google group. We suggest all sign up with the group,
Other behind the scenes improvements are :

* Have an ideal  7 day response limit from application to approval. (But this is not possible in all cases).

* Update and rebuild the JUG welcome pack

Thanks for reading and commenting in the people.joomla.org group

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Tips to Enhance Joomla Site’s Security

Joomla has established itself as one of the best Content Management Services in the industry. When sites around the globe start using a specific technology, naturally the security threats pivoting that technology also arises.

 

To tackle the increasing security hassles Joomla developers keep tweaking the site and the service in different ways to ensure the optimal configuration is obtained which can withstand any level of threats to the security. The following are some tips to the users and other Joomla developers for ensuring that the site they are developing or using is secure.

 

Proper Hosting Environment

For all site the platform in which the site is built is the basic foundation and it is always important to check if it is properly configured. There are numerous kinds of attacks that happen to sites hosted in a platform which has no tweaked its security and the arrangements are not done efficiently. Host your site on a server that runs PHP in CGI mode with su_php. This means that PHP runs under your own account user instead of the global Apache user and you don’t need to set insecure global permissions like CHMOD of 777.

a. Set register_globals OFF

b. Disable allow_url_fopen

c. Adjust the magic_quotes_gpc directive as needed for your site. The recommended setting for Joomla! 1.0.x is ON to protect against poorly-written extensions. Joomla! 1.5 ignores this setting and works fine either way.

d. Don’t use PHP safe_mode

 

Change the Default Database Prefix (jos_)

Every database is named in a default way and the names and extensions they are given are rather common. Due to this bots and other automated entities find it simple to attack the database by random ruling. To avoid this the during installation the default database prefix could be altered to something random rather than using the same default name of jos_users table which will prevent most of the SQL injection attacks as hackers try to retrieve superadmin details. 

 

Disable FTP Layer

FTP details are stored in the form of plain text under a Joomla configuration file. This becomes a potential security hole. To avoid this glitch it is recommended to all users, Joomla developers and Joomla programmers to disable the FTP layer.

 

Change Superadministrator Username

Bots and other hazards which try to attack a site are programmed in such a way that if the superadministrator’s username assigned by the Joomla developers has not been changed and remains to be “Admin”, it will easily get access to the site. To avoid this it is always wise to change the username and password of the superadministrator to something inconspicuous like “ted_123” etc. 

 

Setup a backup and recovery process
Joomla developers are notified to rely on a strong backup and recovery protocol for your live website. It’s not just hacking that may compromise your website but other factors like a faulty upgrade or extension install, hardware failure, hosting provider issues. You can use JoomlaPack, a non-commercial component native for both Joomla 1.0 and 1.5 for backup.

 

Use Strong Password

For administrator accounts it is advisable to use a strong password which cannot be deciphered by automated bots. Characteristics of a strong password that Joomla developer have to keep in mind are as follows:

·         has at least 15 characters;

·         has uppercase letters;

·         has lowercase letters;

·         has numbers;

·         has symbols, such as ` ! " ? $ ? % ^ & * ( ) _ - + = { [ } ] : ; @ ' ~ # | \ < , > . ? /

·         is not like your previous passwords;

·         is not your name;

·         is not your login;

·         is not your friend’s name;

·         is not your family member’s name;

·         is not a dictionary word;

·         is not a common name.

 

A good addition is to password protect the administrator folder. In apache web server, you can do this htaccess file or in cpanel, you can use Password Protected Directory option to setup a password. This will add another layer of username/password before someone reaches your Joomla admin details. Needless to say, have this password different from Joomla admin password.

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Flex Developers Rejoice in the Hands of New Apache Flex

DCKAP, capitalizing on the remarkable updates made by Flex, announced today the services which it will provide and about the elevations on the services it is going to offer. DCKAP and its Flex developers are excited that the new developments provided by Apache Flex, formerly known as Adobe Flex, have made Software Development Kit more accommodating and prompt.

Flex has been a very consistent and adaptable open source framework so now that it has gone into the hands of Flex programmers in the Apache Software Foundation it is expected to be more versatile and elegant, as instead of a single team there are going to be teams of Flex developers from both Apache Software Foundation and Adobe working on it. Programmers in Apache Software Foundation who had a glimpse around the already existing structure say that Flex is going to be developed in such a way that its cross-platform deploying abilities are going to spread out avidly.

The major concern in Flex Programmer’s heads is the speculation of factions migrating towards HTML5 from Flex, to flag such conjectures the Adobe team of Flex Developers pointed out some major advantages that Flex holds over HTML5. Factors such as feature-level consistency across multiple platforms, browsers, and devices; Flex programmers find it very simple to build complex user interfaces using the Flex component set and programming model; For developing large applications ActionScript 3 is an ideal object-oriented programming language; Supporting tools offer a productive development environment with respect to code editing, debugging, profiling, and testing.

As Flex too has been set in hands of expert Flex developers in Apache Software Foundation, DCKAP and its team of Flex developers are looking forward to developing innovative and competent applications.

About DCKAP
DCKAP (www.dckap.com) is a Fremont, CA based global technology Services Company delivering technology driven business solutions that meet the strategic objectives of the clients. Founded in 2005, with offices in California & Colorado, USA, the UK, Australia and a development center in India, DCKAP has earned appreciation from well respected Fortune 100 companies for its competent services.

2201 Walnut Ave, Suite 240
Fremont, CA 94538
Call US: 1 510.796.2525
Email: infoca@dckap.com

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A First Look at the Mobile-Ready Joomla 3.0

Joomla 3.0 is due in September and the team have been hard at work bringing the next era of Joomla to life.
One of the most important changes will be an overhaul of Joomla's design. Both the visitor and administrator areas are being redesigned from top-to-bottom.

The next web revolution will be the mobile revolution. As hundreds of millions more people come online, many of them will only be using mobile devices. Our aim is make Joomla 3.0 completely mobile-friendly, while still remaining recognizably Joomla.

Kyle Ledbetter and his Joomla Usability team ( http://ux.joomla.org ) are redesigning Joomla using Twitter Bootstrap. Twitter describes Bootstrap as being: "an extensive front-end toolkit for developing web sites and applications." Using Boostrap allows Joomla to create a mobile-ready experience based on a hugely popular framework that many other developers and designers already know and love. You can find the offical Bootstrap project homepage at http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap.

The release of Joomla 3.0 is still over five months away and much work is still to be done, but here are some teaser shots of where things are today. Look for more information as work progresses and head over to http://ux.joomla.org if you want to get involved.

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For Free consultation on regarding Jomsocial Expert, Jom Social Experts Hire your Joomla Programmers, Joomla Developers log on to http://www.dckap.com/

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MTV Uses Joomla

MTV is one of the few TV channels that is truly famous around the world. Broadcasting in over 60 countries, MTV has has had a profound impact on the music industry and popular culture.

MTV recently re-launched their website in Greece using the power of Joomla: http://www.mtvgreece.gr.

Read More.. 
For Free consultation on regarding Jomsocial Expert, Jom Social Experts Hire your Joomla Programmers, Joomla Developers log on to http://www.dckap.com/

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Joomla! Conquers New Horizons

It is time you jumped to one of the most user-friendly and rapidly evolving content management system which makes tasks exponentially simpler. The new version of Joomla! which has been released with further new revamps which has become even more user friendly and it has been paced out into the future like a bullet out of a barrel. Out of the infinite advantages of using Joomla! certainly some could be pointed out. The foremost factor which has made thousands of web developers to prefer Joomla! is its platform and environment versatility. Moreover it also enables a multi-user environment which helps the joomla developer to split a single project into multiple modules and each team can handle a single module. This approach rapidly fastens the pace of the project development phase, now there is at least another pair of eyes to share the round the clock agony. 

 

No More Update Hassles 

Joomla! has updated its update manager which is a component as vigorous as it was promised to be. Developers all around the globe have started accessing it and the reviews have been exceeding expectations till date. This component can be accessed from administrator end and unlike the last update manager this opens in a new Joomla! Update Component instead of just a new tab. Glitches caused due to hosts which do not allow directly writing to files during installation files can be done by writing to files using FTP. This move has been much appreciated by joomla developers even though it is a tad slower than directly writing to files. The process of updating has been made very flexible and according to the requirements of the user options can be chosen. If you are a very observant user then custom settings according to your need can be validated. 

 

Joomla! Joins Hands with Google

We all already know how big a cap Joomla! is wearing to accommodate all the feathers in it and yet Joomla! has another feather in its cap. Joomla! has become a part of the Google Summer of Code which is a worldwide opportunity for students and freelancers to write code for various Open Source projects. By being a part of GSoC, Joomla! intends to develop various projects for the benefit of all mankind. Joomla! intends to mentor and develop fresh developers through this project as this project is tied up with Google the inspiration it provides knows no bound. This opportunity for young joomla developers and joomla programmers  will help them work in a pitch which is related to them to the marrow than to work without the hard disk in your head. 

 

Internationalizing Trends

Joomla! has always been rebellious for the greater good and one barrier it has been fighting against relentlessly has been the language barrier. With its latest release of the program it has nuked the barrier like a hero. Out of a score of new features Joomla! is too proud about one of them and that is the addition of the multilingual function. By hammering this obstacle Joomla! now believes that the internationalization of websites, developers, users etc has become many times simpler. To promote this and make people aware of such an indispensible option, Joomla! conducted a webinar which was a huge success. 

 

One Touch Mobile Finesse

With all these day-to-day innovations still Joomla! has not quenched its thirst for development and honestly we all know that it never will too. The next horizon it is working like a bee to conquer is the mobile platform. To augment the increasing use of internet via mobile devices and to enhance the effectiveness of such a powerful platform Joomla! team has been revamping both the admin and the user areas. 

 

Using the Twitter Bootstrap, which is a very simple yet elaborate front-end toolkit used for designing websites and applications, Joomla? Plans on making one of the most effortless and elegant applications for designing.

 

The above image shows the first look of Joomla! for Mobile and it is just a teaser snapshot of the product which is going to be released this September.

 

Aiming to create a mobile-ready experience the Joomla! Team has implemented many techniques such as JUX (Joomla! User Experience) so that potential users of the application can come forward and voice their opinions on the working of the application which still is not even in the BETA stage.

 

Though there have been numerous updates recently in Joomla! the number never seems to come down which shows signs of extreme escalation.

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