Having read forums, Googled for hours, I wanted to know: What is the best security plugin? What is the best security plugin to deal with Brute Force attacks? What WordPress security plugin is best to block comment spammers? WordPress is the most popular blogging platform in the world with millions of websites using WordPress as […]
IT Talk, Discussion & Articles
Covering Domain Names, Email, Hosting, Internet, Publishing, Search, Software and Technical topics
Spam: See Your Invoice
August 2016 – The latest round of spam emails invite the reader to view an invoice that is attached to the email. What I find alarming is the spammer has managed to send these spam emails to email addresses which are not in the public domain. They are email addresses we setup for specific use, […]
Firefox: Your connection is not secure
We do have a giggle when we see a page with this error message. Your connection is not secure In this instance we were using Firefox to access Google Adsense: https://www.google.com/adsense/ We visit this page most days, so we “know” the link address is OK. It’s very kind of Firefox to alert us so the question […]
WPMU DEV
When I first found WPMU DEV, I was impressed. On the surface, here is a service born and managed in my home city of Melbourne offering 100+ plugins, themes and support for WordPress. My first major disappointment was the cost. Having done my “due dilligence”, the contact page shows Australian contact information leading me to believe […]
Affiliate Marketing: Australia
Website owners (publishers) revenue streams: Advertising – Google Adsense, Bing Ads Affiliations – Commission, Pay-Per-Click Products/Services – Marketing retail Affiliation marketing is an excellent revenue source for publishers*. *Publisher* A publisher is a website owner with a sizable audience of visitors. What Is Affiliation? An affiliation program is when a publisher promotes a product or […]
WordPress Admin Protection
This post explains how WordPress owners can lock down and fully protect their website, and improve server performance. It is achieved by denying access to WordPress Admin by allowing only known IP Addresses to access the area. All Ripefruit hosting clients with WordPress are fully protected If a client sees a 404 or 500 Forbidden […]
LastPass = Fail & Pass
FINALLY.. the end for LastPass! After repeated complaints, each time with LastPass blaming Chrome for its issues, I’d had enough. April 2023 = Get RoboForm After years of bitching and complaining about LastPass, I bit the bullet, downloaded and installed RoboForm.. and wished I had done it years ago. Purchase and learn more about RoboForm www.roboform.com […]
Ransomware – What Is It & How To Remove
Ransomware is a particularly invasive form of malware that takes a victim’s data or device and holds it hostage (or displays bogus claims of illegal activity, porn usage or suggests that a system is already infected with viruses) until a sum of money is handed over in order to secure its release. While ransomware has […]
Natalie McDonnell & Tim Jackson Spam
The spam started being sent by Pat Taylor, followed by Patrick Weddel, then Audrey Simmons, and now, it’s Natalie McDonnell. The latest batch of spam emails have been rolling in at the rate of 3 an hour for over a week from two names: Natalie McDonnell and Tim Jackson. Yes, very easy to fix, send […]
Wordfence Alert Alert
I’m frustrated! I continually receive these Wordfence Alert emails from the Wordfence plugin, except they are 100% wrong. The two anomalies that Wordfence refuse to accept are: We have BLOCKED all access to the login page by IP Address via .htaccess file Using another plugin, we have changed the name of the login page. I […]
Windows 10 Upgrade Review
Like many, on Saturday 1st August 2015 I downloaded and installed Windows 10 replacing my Windows 9 operating system. Largely the download and install went very well. I worked on a second PC during the update which took over an hour. On finally installing, a welcome screen invited me to customize Windows 10 or go with […]
Jessica Easton | GoDaddy.com Spam
Does the SPAM from these people ever end? First the name was Pat Taylor from Improve Biz Rankings, then she became he with Patrick Weddel from Improve Biz Rankings, then Audrey Simmons from Online Reputation Management, now today (Jukly 16, 2015) it is Jessica Easton from Grow Business Rankings. This time round, same number of emails, […]
More Spam from Audrey Simmons
When I see an inbox with half a dozen emails all addressed from the same person with the same message, I smell a rat. A new round of emails are from the same people who were previously sending spam that I posted about some time ago. Pat Taylor – Improve Biz Rankings Patrick Weddel – Improve Biz […]
Fixing WordPress Speed Issue
One of the negatives about open source software like WordPress is that it becomes an easy target for hackers and spammers. We were experiencing speed issues as a result of high loads on our server with several services struggling to cope. We identified that a number of WordPress installations were receiving a lot of traffic to the admin login […]
Firefox & Unresponsive Plugin
Warning: Shockwave Flash may be busy, or it may have stopped responding. This issue has been happening for over a year now. The only way to fix it is to reboot my PC which is frustratingly slow and down right annoying. It is time Firefox fixed this plugin issue once and for all. The warnings […]
Spam Queen | Pat Taylor – Improve Biz Rankings
I have to admit, repetitive spam emails drive me crazy! You know the ones, they arrive 10 at a time or regularly throughout the day. I have explained in other posts how I employ software to deal with spam and virus email like AVG (Anti-Virus Protection) and SPAMfighter which combined filter out most bad emails. […]
Blogging Gone Mad
No, we haven’t gone mad, we’re simply practicing what we preach, blog as often as you can. How many blogs do we have, I hear you ask? Let’s call it 3 blogs, here’s why: Ripefruit Blog – the post you are reading right now is a business post explaining the reason behind three different blogs. KozBlog […]
Google Mobile-Friendly Search Results
In March 2015 the web industry went into meltdown on hearing Google are changing the rules effective 21st of April 2015. As of the 21st of April 2015 ALL websites MUST be RESPONSIVE to mobile phones and iPads. Those websites which are not will be penalised by Google and may well lose their current ranking […]
Hoodwink the Spammer
A mate of mine asked the other day what do I do about spam email? My answer = nothing. As I have already posted, I use SPAMFIGHTER and AVG software to help me fight the ever present scourge that is spam and viruses. On the average day, over 1,000 emails are dynamically sent to one […]
Welcome Skoolz
Skoolz is our fabulous new publication helping Australian’s find suitable classes, courses, workshops and schools. Skoolz is Australia’s education gateway Every type of education, every subject, every school. Ballet for girls, driving lessons for boys, art classes for dad, cooking classes for mum. Officially launched on the 9th October 2014, skoolz.com.au has taken Australia by […]
Toontown is BACK
A new Toontown called Toontown Rewritten is being launched on September 19, 2014 – 2:00 PM Toontown Time (PST – USA Time). It is an independent production not connected with Disney, although we hear it has Disney’s blessing and best wishes. A group of former Toontown Online players have created Toontown Rewritten, which they describe […]
Domain Name Management
This page explains transferring management rights of a domain name from one provider¹ to another. The transfer process: Owner/representative completes a transfer request with the new provider Approval request is sent to the domain name owner The owner approves the request Management is then transferred The transfer is irrevocable and permanent Once transferred, management, control, […]
How To Hotlink to an Image
Hotlink refers to the common practice of showing an image on one website that is hosted on another website. Hotlinking images overcomes many issues for publishers including Rights & Permissions Uploading issues Spam & Virus Protection Unfortunately hotlinking has it’s own issues including permissions (Google), time based (Facebook), user abilities and others. It remains the […]
Just Delete Me
I recently wrote about my frustration at being unable to recover my password for an account on twitter, so reading in todays paper about a similar issue seems very relevant. I could not recover my password but what if you wanted to remove your account altogether with your personal details? It appears it is just […]
Australian Data Privacy Changes 2014
Australian Data Privacy Deadline is 12th March 2014. Please read on, as there is a lot to take in and decipher, ultimately deciding what it all means to you and your business. A quick over-view is as follows: Small business – look at how you store and use your customers details and information Big business […]
Dreamweaver | Site Definition Local Root Folder
Dreamweaver | Unable to select correct local root folder for a Site in Dreamweaver CS3 and CS4 on Windows Vista SP2 and 7 Heres an overview of the issue A previously working version of Dreamweaver (in this case CS3), moved to Windows 7 (although I didn’t realise Windows 7 was the culprit). When creating a […]
Google Link Warning
It is always alarming when a customer has been misinformed and comes to us requesting something based on a misnomer. The big one currently is an advertiser requesting a link be removed because Google has warned them that the link is bad = tut tut, not true! Google may consider a link is bad, but […]
How To Write Content For Web Pages
A question from an old customer got me thinking… How does a business write content for the pages in their web site? Here are my suggestions to get you started: Read all 10 items before starting. If you do not read first, some of your time will be wasted, and you will only realise afterwards. […]
Unable to create directory uploads
You are in WordPress trying to upload an image, and get the dreaded message… Unable to create directory uploads ~ ~ ~ Is its parent directory writable by the server? Dismiss Errors Error image-file-name.jpg I am very pleased to say, I have found a setting that FIXED it for us. Hopefully it will fix it […]
How to remove Comments from WordPress
How to remove Comments from WordPress in 3 easy steps… I searched everywhere including StudioPress but could not find how to remove the Comments | Speak Your Mind functionality from my wordpress web site. When I finally did find it, I muttered.. it was so easy, I can’t believe I forgot it. Go to the […]
Bank Scam Emails
Lets start this with a simple warning.. Your bank will never email you about security.. NEVER, ever, won’t, ever, never!!! Do you understand? Your bank will not email you about anything to do with logging in… ever! If you log in from an email, you are STUPID! Sorry, I mean’t to say, if you login […]
Vicnet | Closing Down
Vicnet, a division of the State Library of Victoria is closing its web hosting, domain name and email services effective from Friday, January 31, 2014. The majority of Vicnet web sites are small community groups like Toy Libraries, Playgroups, Community Organisations, Neighbourhood/Community Houses, Historical Societies, Probus groups, etc. We are delighted to announce, Ripefruit (Melbourne) is […]
Google Penalty | Link Removal
For some months now we have been hounded, pestered and abused by a Paolo representing ALPINE-CONNECTION.COM, requesting a link removal from one of our publications. The first very noticeable feature of his email is the title: Google Penalty: urgent action requested Yes, it is quite alarming and suggests that the receiver will be penalized by Google […]
WordPress | Plugins & Settings
Don’t get me wrong, I love WordPress, but as with any software it does throw up its share of issues. Most often, not with WordPress itself, but with the plugins, and specifically configuration of the plugin. Here are some of the bugs we’ve come across and how we resolved them. ——————————– W3TC Cache & Settings Our […]
KIK in the Ass
We were shell-shocked on leaving our son’s primary school last night after listening to a Cyber Safety & Anti-Bullying evening. We work in the IT industry and thought we have a good understanding of security and generally, whats happening with software. Boy, were we wrong! In the first minute, we learnt about new software specifically […]
Toontown Is Closing
It was very sad to read this morning that Toontown is closing. To many this announcement will not mean anything as they wont know what Toontown is or why it is sad. Toontown is an online interactive game, a virtual world created by Disney and played by millions worldwide. Every other player (Toon) is a […]
Domain Name Scam | DomainRegister
Last time we talked about domain name scams, it was about Domain Renewal Group, this time we received a letter in the post from DomainRegister. What these companies are doing is not technically illegal, but its a scam in that the domain they are advising you to register or renew is not a domain you previously […]
Computer Maintenance
A computer is the same as anything that has moving parts (car, washing machine), it needs regular maintenance and servicing. Failing to do so with slow the computer down, and affect its running performance. Now for the good news, there are 4 software programs that you can run that clean, tweak and will keep your […]
Scams in June 2013
Not a month goes by when we are not telling you about the many scams that are doing the rounds this month. Anyone in Melbourne who listens to 3AW and the rumour file will have already heard about the elderly woman who went into a post office with $12,000 in cash and wanted to post […]
Bad Google Search Results
Let me start by saying.. we love you Google. Having got that out of the way, what is going on? Once apon a time you could bank on good search results in Google. Results that made sense and most often gave you what you were looking for besides one or two other results. Then along […]
Domain Renewal Group
Have you received a letter from the Domain Renewal Group? Have you ever heard of the Domain Renewal Group? We are pretty sure you won’t have heard of them, but guarantee you own a domain name, most probably a .com name. Once every now and then, a client will call and ask about this company in relation to […]
WordPress is Damn Good!
How good is WordPress? Damn good! Alright, I know we bang on and on about WordPress software, but it is seriously good. The team here at Ripefruit Media recently completed our new web site (you’re looking at it) using WordPress and StudioPress Themes plus a bunch of Plugins. We hope you like it. We reckon […]
Xilo Hosting Services
Are you considering hosting with Xilo Hosting in the UK? Well, think again… Some may consider this review unfair, but it is stated as an experience we felt people should know about. In June 2006 we set-up a XR4 Package and a year later (2007) upgraded to a XR5 package (why, I’ll never know), and […]
Listing | Link Removal
A one-off Listing Removal fee* of AU$49.50 is charged to remove a listing (including URL). On receipt of payment, all text links (URL) and listing information will be permanently removed from our database, web sites and site maps. Additionally, the URL is removed in Google Search Console. Click on the Buy Now button below, pay […]
Blocked IP Address
This information affects all hosting accounts on Ripefruit servers. If you are unable to view your web site, or unable to connect to your mail server to download your emails, then your IP Address may be blocked. The simplest way of determining whether your IP is blocked is to ask a friend on a different […]
35 Tips and Tools to make your net time better!
The items listed here are not rocket science, simply good tips to save you time and angst while at your computer. 1) Change display settings To make changes to your PC desktop, wallpaper, screensaver or the appearance of your pop up menus: On a PC: Right click anywhere on a clear patch of the desktop. […]
Free Software
Are you mad? Did you say FREE software? Yes, we said “free” software.. 100% Free. The software shown here has always been free, but hasn’t always been known by the general public. We started this page for our customers but everyone is more than welcome to access it. If you find a bad link, please […]
HTML Tips
We receive many questions from people designing their own web sites! Here are answers to commonly asked questions and some helpful advice. Alt Tags Also see: Meta Tags Click Here ALT Tags allow you to give an alternative to people who have the ‘view images’ function turned off in their browser. Let’s say the navigation system […]
Business Advice
E-commerce – advice for business More and more business are using the Internet for a number of purposes, including selling goods and services. While the Internet is a new and exciting medium, it is important for businesses to be aware of their rights and responsibilities when advertising or transacting. The following information is a guide […]
Welcome Peeps
Welcome to Australia’s premier publisher, Ripefruit Media! Yes, everyone recognises the web sites, they just didn’t know they all came from Ripefruit Media. Read more about us using the links above in the navigation to discover if we may be a good fit for the services you require, and when you are good and ready, don’t email us, pick up […]