Previously I posted about how to make WordPress permit additional file types to be uploaded. (My approach still works as of this writing.) Recently however I discovered some files that *should* be allowed via this method were still triggering “Sorry, This File Type Is Not Permitted For Security Reasons” errors anyway. After 3 hours of digging through WP core code to find the problem, it turns out to be a deficiency in the way PHP itself detects MIME types. I present my solution to you here, in case you find yourself in the same situation.
Author: admin
Fuck you Upwork
Upwork is Bullshit.
My business has been growing (hence the recent dearth of posts here on this blog… sorry!), and it’s time for me to hire some more help. I decided to give Upwork a try. I created an account, posted my job, and 23 minutes later they permanently banned me from the site. Really.
How to remove WordPress’ “PHP Update Required” nag box
WordPress recently introduced a scary “PHP Update Required” nag box on your WP dashboard. “Your site is running on an insecure version of PHP” they say. Isn’t that lovely? Well, no WordPress, just because my PHP version is “old” does not make it “insecure”. Fuck you.
Fortunately it’s easy to remove. Just add the following to your functions.php:
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Time Etc Virtual Assistants Review – It’s a Scam
My startup tech business has been growing, and I decided it was time to bring in some help to keep up with things like emails, customer service, and so on. I’m not successful enough yet to hire an employee outright, so I started looking into getting a Virtual Assistant.
I read reviews about a company called Time Etc, and decided to give them a try. Now looking back, 3 months later, I wish I hadn’t. I can sum up my experience with Time Etc in one sentence: It’s a Scam. Once they get your money — and you have to pay them up front — they do everything to avoid actually doing the work you’ve paid them for.
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[DEVELOPING] Possible Email DDOS attack exploiting MailPoet (WordPress plugin)
This is a developing issue happening right now, please check back on this page for any updates over the following days.
Last updated 2018-03-29
Starting around March 25, 2018, I started seeing an unusual amount of bounces from my email server. The emails bouncing were the double-opt-in “please confirm your subscription” messages automatically generated by the WordPress plugin MailPoet. This happens from time to time if, for example, somebody accidentally mis-types their email address. But now, suddenly they were coming in repeatedly for the same handful of addresses, including ones like support@linode.com and abuse@linode.com. So out of curiosity I headed over the Linode Status page, and saw this:
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Fix “Sorry, This File Type Is Not Permitted For Security Reasons” Error in WordPress
So you’re trying to upload an otherwise harmless file into WordPress, and you keep getting a “Sorry, This File Type Is Not Permitted For Security Reasons” error. Sure you could just upload the file via FTP, but it wouldn’t be attached to anything in the WP database. Now what do you do?
There are probably many ways to solve this, but here is the approach that worked best for my particular use case. I’ll share it here in case it helps someone else too.
The Dumbest Customer I’ve Ever Encountered
Ever deal with someone so stupid, you wonder how they even remember to breathe? On top of that, rude and obnoxious too? Recently I’ve been dealing with just such a customer… so jaw-droppingly stupid, it amazes me how she has survived into adulthood.
Review: Canadian Cloud Hosting (CACloud.com)
Programmer Bear is back online… no thanks to Canadian Cloud Hosting.
Trying new cloud providers has become something of a pastime for me, over the last couple years. In that spirit, last September I moved this very site (programmerbear.com) to a server hosted at Canadian Cloud Hosting (CA Cloud). In the end, I wasn’t very impressed. Now that I’ve finally gotten around to moving this site somewhere else, I feel free to write honestly about my experience at CA Cloud.
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Fuck you Yahoo Mail
I have an email address at Yahoo Mail that I’ve had for at least 10+ years, although nowadays I use it only very occasionally (maybe once every few months) as a “throwaway” address — you know, for those times you have to give out an email address and don’t want to get spammed later.
Well, I should say “had”, because Yahoo just randomly decided to fuck me over today. Even though I know, without any doubt, my correct username and password, they just won’t let me login. Isn’t that nice?
Saying “no” to Yahoo
Recently I was flattered to receive a message on LinkedIn from a recruiter at Yahoo. It’s a nice ego-boost to think an iconic Silicon Valley company might be interested in little old me (even if they are a company on the brink of bankruptcy and/or takeover).
But I politely said “no”.