Author: Randy

Reset a WordPress password

I’ll make this post short and sweet. Let’s say you’ve forgotten your login for a WordPress site. To reset the password to something new, you can simply use a SQL query. If you have access to PHPMyadmin or the MySQL command line, this is really straight forward.

From PHPMyAdmin, open the database for the WordPress installation. If you don’t know which database to use, check out your wp-config.php file inside your main WordPress installation folder. You’ll find constants defined in that file for your database name and database user. Once you’ve found the database, you can execute a SQL statement by clicking the SQL button. In there, type:

 
UPDATE wp_user SET user_pass = MD5("yourpassword") WHERE user_login = "admin";

That’s assuming that your username is “admin”. Change it to whatever username you are using. Once you run that SQL statement, your password will be set to whatever you put in “yourpassword”. Both the username and password need to be quoted in the SQL statement.

To do the same thing in the MySQL command line, connect to the database with:

mysql -u<username> -p

Substitute <username> with your actual username from the wp-config.php file.
You will be prompted for a password. Use the password from the wp-config.php file.
Once you are logged into the mysql command problem type:

USE <databaseName>

Substitute the actual database name from the wp-config.php file.
Finally, type the update statement above and hit enter.

After you’ve updated the table via SQL, you should be able to login to your WordPress installation.

Don’t Save Your Password

It’s common practice for software developers to put options in their programs to save password. Web browsers allow one to save passwords. This is terrible functionality to have built into any program. Passwords are there for a reason. They are there to keep others out and let you in. Saving passwords in your browser is a terrible habit to start. This is especially true with a laptop.

If your computer is stolen, the thief not only has a nice new toy, they also have access to anything you have saved on the laptop. All one has to do to access passwords on your browser is open up the browser options and manage stored passwords.

There’s also the factor of forgetting your own passwords. Saving your password makes in much more likely that you’ll forget the password.

There’s no real good reason to store your password. Storing passwords is not only a lazy practice, it is also a terrible “feature” of any software.

Rosewill RK-9000 Review Coming Soon…

After recently returning a Corsair Vengeance K90 keyboard, due to some issues after a firmware update and general problem I was having in Linux, I’m awaiting the delivery of my new Rosewill RK-9000 keyboard with great anticipation. I believe this will be a great keyboard and I can’t wait to give a review of it. Check back in a couple of days, as I’ll be giving the review after a few hours of use. I may even post a video review/unboxing of the keyboard as well.

A Free “Net Nanny” Solution using OpenDNS

Many internet users understand that a large portion of the internet is pornographic in nature. Many parents want to restrict their children from being able to view pornographic sites, and with sites like Youporn and other “porn tubes” which do not require identification or a credit card, this is even harder to restrict. There are programs available to block such sites, but sometimes they aren’t very effective, and there are easy ways around them.

There is a good alternative for parents in their search, however. OpenDNS, which is a free DNS service with many features, has built in site blocking capabilities. You simple sign up for an OpenDNS account at http://opendns.com and configure your router to use the OpenDNS servers. That last part isn’t as hard as it sounds, but it’s different on various routers. Typically the DNS settings are in the main router configuration settings. It will typically be set to automatically use the DNS servers provided by your ISP. You should be able to use manual DNS servers, however, and you can find the IPs for these servers at the bottom of your OpenDNS account page.

Once you have your router using OpenDNS’s servers, you can configure your home network’s settings on the OpenDNS accounts page. There are various levels of blocking, plus you can block individual domains if you want. They also have good stats available, if you enable it. This will track all domain name requests and show you what everyone on your home network has been looking at. I’d say a few wives just raised their eyebrows.

Of course, with enough know how, one can get around these types of blocks, just like any other block. Most children will not know how to do this, however. Tech savvy teenagers may have more ability to get around these blocks, but once they are at the point where they’ll go to such great lengths to look at porn, just let them do it. They aren’t going to listen to you anyway 😛

My Search for the Best Deal on a Dedicated Server

Searching for a dedicated server can be stressful, especially when you have a lot of sites that are running slow as a result of their current host. Recently, I switched about 600 sites over to a dedicated server I borrowed from my friend Lynn. It is a pretty decent server, with two dual core Xeons running at 3 GHz. It also has 8 GB of RAM. However, it’s just not enough. After switching DNS over to this new server, its load went to 20 very quickly. For those who don’t know, a load of 20 means that there are 20 processes waiting in line to be processed. I don’t like my loads to go above 2 or 3. I can deal with them spiking to as high as 4, but with a multicore/multiprocessor I don’t want it to get above the number of cores/processors you have available.

Suffice to say that the web sites were loading very slowly. So, I switched the NS back to the VPS server I’ve been running them on. I’ve seen its load spike to 10 quite often but it normally stays well below 4. So the VPS is holding up pretty well considering. This VPS has 4 cores assigned to it, each at 1.6 GHz. It also only has 3GB of RAM. So, my question is, “Is a dedicated server really the best option?”.

There’s more factors in this as well. For instance, my sites are all on a WHM/cPanel install, which means I have to pay a monthly license fee for that as well. On a VPS this license is about half the cost as it is on a dedicated server. I like saving money.

I currently have my hosting through a small hosting provided in Knoxville, TN called Knoxcolo/Smith & Hammaker. I have a colo server (not the one I used for my 600 sites, it’s a single site), and I have the VPS. For the colo they charge $35 for the 1U of rack space, and it’s an unmetered drop. The VPS is $40 per 1GB of RAM. That’s their rate, they don’t charge for extra HDD space or even CPU cores. They are also a good bunch of people to work with. I have full access to the colo facility through a high security system. I rarely use it since my colo has an iLo connection for remote console even when the servers main drop is offline. The security for operational technologies is really necessary to protect the data.

I thought that a dedicated server would be a better choice for my 600 sites, but I’ve found that the VPS is really the better choice in the long run. The only thing I don’t like about the VPS is that I don’t have the ability to remotely reboot the virtual machine. I’d really like this ability.

So I’ve found that perhaps a dedicated server isn’t what I really want. Some VPS providers give you a lot more bang for your buck. You can spend hundreds of dollars per month on a very powerful dedicated server, but you have two problems. You don’t want to spend a lot of money for hardware that you may not use fully. Of course, secondly, you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a server that can’t fully handle the load if you have a lot of sites. With a VPS, you have more power to change the hardware specs to meet the demand of your site load. You pay for whatever you need. This is really the best option for anyone who wants to host any number of sites. If you don’t need much power, because you only have a few sites, you can save money.

However, you should look for the best deal on a VPS. Smaller companies actually have the better deal when it comes to a VPS, because they typically don’t have as much total load on their rack of CPUs. If you get a VPS from a larger provider, they may be pushing their rack to its limits already, and you’ll get terrible physical processor speeds, even if you are paying for four cores.

Shop around and look into VPS servers. They are great alternatives to dedicated or colo servers if you look in the right place.

So you forgot your router password?

A friend messaged me on Facebook yesterday, because she was trying to connect to her home router but had forgotten the password. She offered to pay me to fix it, but somehow I feel dishonest for taking money from people when their problem is so simple. So, in this blog entry I thought I’d take the time to tell everyone how to quickly fix a problem like this.

Generally speaking, all home routers have a reset in the back. It may be a small button or a recessed pin-hole button. Either way, to reset your router to factory defaults, simple press and hold this button for a few seconds. You can also Google search for your particular router model to find specific details about this. Some routers require the power to be plugged into the router while this is happening. Some require that you hold the button for ten seconds, while other models can be messed up by doing this. Simply search for your router model and find out how to reset it from the manufacturer.

After you have reset the router, you can either login to it using a default login (also available from a Google search of the router model) or you can use the supplied router software to set it back up for your home network.

I know there are plenty of people who make a living at fixing simple things like this for people, but these are really things that people should try to fix themselves. I sense a general fear of technology from a lot of people, and I want to eventually change this. When someone approaches me to fix something for them, I usually judge from experience how much knowledge is required to fix the problem. If it’s something that can be fixed with very little knowledge and only the ability to read, I usually point them to another resource. Of course, most people want an expert to fix something so they know that it is done correctly, but most of the technology today isn’t geared toward experts. It’s geared toward normal users. Sometimes I wish this was not the case, for various reasons.

Such is the case with desktop computers in general. Windows is an OS that can be used by just about anyone, but it’s also very easy for anyone to mess up their computer through their actions. The easy desktop is a double edged sword.

Typing While Drunk Speedtest

I recently tested my typing speed on various different keyboards and thought it’d be a good idea to test that typing speed while drunk. I’m typing this while pretty tipsy, as a matter of fact. Disregard any typos.

This isn’t a scientific test but after about 7 beers, my typing speed is around 58 WPM. I average around 74 WPM, depending upon which keyboard I’m using. I recently average around 81 WPM on this particular keyboard. So that is a 23 WPM (drunk math) decrease in typing speed due mainly to mistakes. My actual speed is probably about the same but there’s a definite increase in mistakes.

I’d like to hear from others. What’s your drunk typing speed?

Removing Old eth devices from Debian

I have a Virtualbox VM which, over time, has been opened on 9 different host operating systems. I reinstall my main OS move than the average person without a doubt. Every time the guest VM is opened from a new host, it adds a new device. So I ended up with 9 ethernet devices. Every time I opened the VM on a new machine I’d also have to reconfigure my static IP. Removing these devices isn’t as difficult as you may think. It’s simply a matter of editing the /etc/udev/rules.d/??-persistent-net.rules file and committing out all the lines that begin with SUBSYSTEM. Then reboot and you should have a fresh eth0.

The Best Linux Distribution

This subject will raise a few eyebrows from the geek community. Everyone has their favorite Linux distribution. However, this post will be rather unbiased. I have my picks, but I will try to refrain from pushing them. So I’m ranking Linux distributions based on experience but not on personal preference (to an extent).

Choosing a Linux distribution is like choosing a programming language. You should pick the right tool for the job. I see three main uses of Linux as an operating system.

First of all, if you are going to be using Linux in an enterprise/business setting, you should probably learn the industrial standard distribution for enterprises. Chances are, if you are going to be a Linux admin at some big company, you’ll want to learn Red Hat (RHEL). It’s a commercial operating system, so if you want to practice using it, you’ll probably want on of its clones. They are usually free and are basically repackaged versions of RHEL. The forerunner of these clones is CentOS. Honorable mentions go to ClearOS and Scientific Linux as alternatives to Red Hat. These clones offer most of the same features as RHEL and give you a nearly exact replica of the Red Hat environment.

Secondly, if you are going to run Linux as a desktop operating system, there are a few good choices. Linux Mint, Debian, and Ubuntu make great desktop operating systems. Of those, I prefer granddaddy Debian. Debian is the basis for which many of the popular desktop Linuxes derive. Ubuntu is an “improved” version of Debian, though really I don’t care for many of the “improvements” and tend to stick with Debian. Linux Mint has two versions. One is derived from Ubuntu and the other is derived straight from Debian. Fedora also provides a good desktop experience and is based on Red Hat. So for you enterprise admins out there, Fedora will feel closer.

Finally, if you want a development server to run in a VM or another machine, I suggest Debian again. It’s one of the quickest and easiest to set up.

If you are a Linux guru, I suggest ArchLinux, as it gives you more control over more aspects of the OS.

One distribution that I’ve never tried (but I should) is Slackware. Many people like it. I personally don’t like being without a package manger.

No matter what you want to use Linux for, there’s a distribution for you. Check out DistroWatch for direct ratings of Linux distributions.

#1 Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated company that is owned by one individual only. While it is the most simple of the types of businesses, it also offers the least amount of financial and legal protection for the owner. Unlike partnerships or corporations, sole proprietorships do not create a separate legal identity for the business. Essentially, the owner of the business shares the same identity as the company, consistent communication is the key to success. Therefore, the owner is fully liable for any and all liabilities incurred by the company.

An entrepreneur may choose this option if they want to retain full control of the company. Additionally, it is a relatively easy and inexpensive process to establish a sole proprietorship. There are also tax benefits, as income is considered the owner’s personal income and therefore only taxed once. Finally, there are relatively few regulation requirements for sole proprietorships.

#2 Partnership

As the name states, a partnership is a business owned by two or more people, known as partners. Like sole proprietorships, partnerships are able to take advantage of flow-through taxation. This means that the income is treated as the owners’ incomes so it is only taxed once. Owners in partnerships are responsible for the liabilities of the firm. However, there are some nuances to this. There are different types of partnerships: general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships, look into this coworking space located in Sydney.

General Partnerships: This is the easiest type of partnership to form, with few upkeep costs. Every partner is considered as participating in the operations of the business, and there is unlimited liability for every partner. This means that every partner’s personal assets can be used to repay the liabilities of the partnership. This also means that each partner is responsible for every other partner’s actions.

For example, John and Dave are in a general partnership. If John is sued for malpractice, Dave’s personal assets may also be claimed against in the lawsuit.

Limited Partnerships: This type of partnership has at least one general partner. This general partner takes on unlimited liability for the partnership and manages the operations of the company. Additionally, there are also limited partners in limited partnerships. Limited partners only take on as much liability as their financial stake in the business. However, as limited partners, they are not involved in management decisions and do not have any direct control over the company.

To Comment or Not to Comment

Anyone who has had programming classes knows that one of the primary things they push on you is that all good programmers comment their code. They don’t always tell you how much commenting you should do, although some do give good advice. How does one decide how much is enough.

Comments are great because they are basically communications between programmers to help with the logic that is going on in the code. Sometimes the two programmers are the same person. I think a good rule of thumb is to comment just below your own skill level. This means to comment just enough to help someone of almost the same skill as yourself along. You don’t want to comment your code to the point that it clutters up the rest of the source, but you want to be able to read through your own code and quickly find the cause of any potential bugs. You never know when you’ll have to go back through your own code. Chances are you won’t remember what exactly is going on at any particular point, especially if you work on a lot of projects.

Of course, there are always conventions that are mapped out beforehand for most developing teams, but if you are working solo, you should comment as if you are in a team environment.

I personally find comments distracting and ugly when viewing code. I don’t particularly care for method and class header comments. They rarely give any useful information. Inline comments are very valuable, however. So if if the coding standards of your team require class and method headers, put them in, but if you are solo or there’s no coding standards in place that require these types of comments, don’t use them. You should be able to look at any method and tell what kind of parameters it takes, and you should be able to quickly find the return type. These aren’t necessary and break down code readability in the end.

Comment changes. If you have to remove some code, comment it out instead of deleting it. This will help you revert changes or come up with better solutions if it is later found that the new code is buggy itself. If you have some bit of logic that is complicated even to your own eyes, comment it and explain how it works. Other than that, keep comments to a minimum.