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Official HSB Tech Blog
January 12, 2007
Blog login and password trouble-shooting
Before contacting tech support about not being able to login, please do the following to cut down on some extra back and forth emails:
- Make sure you are using the correct password and remember it is case-sensitive. If there are caps in your password, you must use them. Also, don't trust that because the password box is already filled in with asterisks that your password is in there correctly. Mine are always filled in and when I try to just hit enter, it doesn't work. I *have* to hand-type my password each time I want to login for it to work. I don't know if this is a glitch or a new security measure, but make sure you try hand-typing in your password if the pre-filled one doesn't work.
- If you are using the correct password and are getting an invalid login screen (where it sends you to login again), visit the following page: www.homeschoolblogger.com/clear.php
Then try logging in again to see if you are able to. If you still can't login, go back to the page above (in a fresh screen - click on the link to get a new page load) and copy the text and paste it into an email to hsbadmin@homeschoolblogger.com. Let me know what the problem is (login not accepted as incorrect or whatever).
- If you are not sure you have the right password and want to change it just to be sure, you will not be able to change it yourself right now due to a problem with the 'security question' field on the password request page. Instead, email me at the above address and ask for a new password and I will manually generate one for you. If you are still having problems logging in with the new password, go back to step 1 and try again with the new password.
- Please be patient as this problem is worked on. Much of our staff have been ill, including our web tech who is working on fixing the issues we've encountered since the update. I am forwarding all update/tech issues that he needs to look at to him so he can work on them. We have a bit of a backlog right now, so we really appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to get everybody back into their blogs and all features working as they should.
- Please keep checking this blog for any updates. As things are fixed or issues are dealt with, I will post them here. Bookmark, Friend or RSS this blog to check for updates as it is much easier and faster for me to communicate to everyone here rather than sending out multiple individual emails. I will post here before responding to emails asking for the status of various issues. If it isn't reported here as being fixed or having a solution, we are still working on it.
Thanks!
Jodi
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January 7, 2007
JavaScript - our love/hate relationship
We had a note about this on the front page for awhile, but some people didn't see it or wanted more information, so here it is!
JavaScript has been disabled on user blogs. This is part of the site update we've been working on. The change has been made for security reasons.
Here is some information from the person who knows a lot more about this than I do - he's doing the actual updating on the site - combined with information I have also found on the topic.
HSB, being a "community" site, is very likely to be targeted by JavaScript worms in the future. The only 100% effective solution to prevent a worm like this is to disable all scripts.
Here are some links which demonstrate why this is important:
CrossSite Scripting Worm Hits MySpace (betanews.com)
Worm Attacks via QuickTime and JavaScript (pcworld.com)
JavaScript Opens Doors to Browser Based Attacks (cNet/news.com)
There were also a couple different attacks at "second life" and Xanga (couldn't find an appropriate link for either of these - most either display the vulgarity from the worms or have wholly inappropriately clad pictures).
Upgrading to this version of the blogging engine and making many of the changes we have were driven by a series of attacks directed at HSB over the last couple months. People really are actively attempting to spam, damage and cause problems for HSB. From robot-driven account creation (hundreds of accounts in a few hours) to automated comment posting (over ten thousand in a mere 3 days), the vulnerabilities inherent in an unsecured system are significant. The previous system lacked a number of critical checks and security features, making it more vulnerable to attack. If we do not implement these security changes, we *will* suffer from an attack like one of the MySpace worms. And all of our members will become victims of it.
We do understand that it is frustrating and inconvenient for something that did work for you before to no longer work. We know that many have used JS for everything from counters to blogrolls to making snow fall on their backgrounds. JavaScript can be very helpful and give advanced features that are not available with HTML alternatives to some of these items. However, we cannot ignore the fact that a system-wide attack could possibly bring the whole system down and then nobody would have anything at all, let alone their JS applications. Our goal is to have a secure site where it is safe for you to blog that also has enough bells & whistles to keep it fun and customizable enough for some creative expression, if you so choose.
There is a partial solution in the works for commonly used JS codes, such as those used for visitor counters, no-right-click codes required by some graphics providers, feedburner links and the like. We may be able to allow certain scripts and will be trying to get those added back to the system so you can use them. When that happens, I will post the information you need here on this blog. In the meantime, you will need to either find an HTML alternative (most visitor counters do provide this code) or just not have the item on your page anymore. It will NOT save to your entry or template code, even if it shows up in the preview. The system will let you preview these items but will not actually save them to the server where it can potentially do damage.
We will not be allowing every JS code that everyone is currently using. Each one we do add has to be checked, verified for safety and hand-coded into the software by our programmer. It just isn't feasible to add every little bit of code that anybody wants to add. We will, however, try to get the most commonly used ones added so that most will have the JavaScript features that are most important to them.
We hope you will understand that this change has been made for the 'greater good' and hope that you appreciate the fact that security is an extremely high priority here at HSB.
Jodi
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January 4, 2007
Friends Page issues
I've had a lot of questions regarding the Friends page. If you've tried to access yours, you have found that it is currently not available. We are working on getting it back again, but this is going to take some time and programming. We don't know for sure that it will be back or when, but work is being done to get it functional again if possible.
In the meantime, I suggest you investigate the option of using an RSS feed reader. You can check the FAQ page for more information about this (through the Help link at the top of your blog manager pages). You may find you like using a reader better because you don't have to 'catch' posts before they fall off - they will be saved for you so you won't miss any.
Also, please check your blog settings to make sure you have your RSS turned on so that others can read your posts through a reader. This can be found under blog Settings, then Site Feed. Change Public Site Feed? to "yes" and Publish with HTML? to "With HTML" and save the changes. The site defaults this to off so you do need to go in and change the setting manually. This will make it possible for your interested readers to keep up with all of your blog entries as you post them.
Again - we are working on getting the Friends page back and understand that this is a greatly missed feature, but cannot give you a timeframe without knowing how long it will take or if it will work as it should. The only other similar option available is using an RSS feed reader and the blogs you want to monitor must have their RSS feeds turned on. Ask anyone who doesn't have theirs on to activate it, and you can send them to this post for instructions. Keep an eye on this blog for updates; I will post here with further information when I have it.
Jodi
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January 3, 2007
Problems with "Friends Only" posts
If you have been posting entries using the "Friends Only" option, nobody can read them, not even your friends. This is because that feature is completely broken. The blog software update had a big problem in this area and will have to be totally reworked to get it functioning. For the time being, please mark your entries for "Registered Users" only as the next best option.
We apologize for this inconvenience. We were not aware of this problem with the update ahead of time. If the "Registered Users" option is not secure enough for you, you can also use the private message feature to contact your friends, although you will have to do it one person at a time.
Jodi
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December 21, 2006
Having trouble adding links to your sidebar?
I've had a couple questions about this lately, so I'm posting the directions. It's the same as it was before the update, but the Links are now on their own screen.
After logging into your account, click on the Settings link for your blog. At the top of the screen, in the second row of links, the 3rd one over is . Just click on that to get to the familiar Links area.
Follow the directions listed there:
If you want to include some links to other websites on this weblog, enter them below. When providing each link's address, you must provide the full URL (including http://). For example: http://www.somelink.com
Put the text you want to be on your page in the first field and the actual link in the second field. Hit the Save Links button to add. You can only do one at a time, so to add more just go back to the screen and repeat.
That's it!
Jodi
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December 17, 2006
Double-spacing paragraph breaks
I've had reports that some users are having problems inserting double line breaks between paragraphs when typing in an entry. I'm not sure what is causing this problem, but I think I have a solution. It's worked for others, anyway.
When you are wanting to create a double line break between paragraphs, hold down the shift key while hitting the Enter button twice. This should force 2 line breaks, which will give you the double line break that you are looking for.
I'm sorry I don't have a more 'automatic' solution, but at least you should be able to get your posts laid out the way you want them this way.
Jodi
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December 16, 2006
I'm really into -63-, how about you?
Yes...something went haywire with what I like to call the 'common interests' field. If you had filled in a list of your interests on the profile page before the update, you may have noticed that your text has now been replaced with numbers. The link is active - you can find out everyone else who is interested in -63-. Trouble is, nobody knows what that is!
This appears to be one area that did not move over from the old system in tact. This is kind of a fun feature, so you may want to go in and fix things back. This is the first Interests field on the Profile page. Once you add this to your blog, you can click on the names of your interests and it will show you other bloggers who filled in the same interests. Neat, huh? Make sure you put a comma between each interest so it is in the form of a list (the other Interests text box is meant to be filled out in paragraph form). E.g.; homeschooling, tae kwon do, chocolate, woodworking
So remove all your -63-'s and -132-'s and get your real interests entered back in that field. Then use this field on your own profile page to click and find some like-minded folks; you may be surprised at the new blogging friends you will find this way!
Jodi
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December 16, 2006
Where, oh where have my comment notifications gone?
Some of you may have noticed that you are not receiving emails notifying you of new comments. It looks like the system defaulted back to 'no' for that option with the upgrade. To make sure you are emailed when somebody comments on your blog, do the following:
- Log in to your account.
- Click on the Settings link next to your blog name.
- Click on the Comments link (in red at the top).
- Go down the list of comment options until you find this:
Comment Notification
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Yes, email me each time a comment is posted. |
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No, do not notify me |
- Change this to the Yes option.
- Check all other options on the page to make sure that they are set as you like them.
- Save the new settings.
You should now receive an email every time somebody comments on your blog, barring server downtime while upgrades are still being worked on. In order for this to work, you MUST have your correct email address listed on your account.
I hope this will help to save some frustration.
Jodi
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