MarkMaunder dot com

Blogspot security hole lets others view unpublished blog entries

If you use the “new” Blogspot interface, try saving a draft post and then previewing it. You’ll see you’re previewing it using a link that looks something like: http://example.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=<long-encoded-string>&postId=532662776851272&type=POST One would assume that Blogspot knows you are “you” because you are signed in to Blogspot and it identifies you using a cookie. So it shouldn’t […]

October 5, 2011 | Security | No comments

A peek into our Space Intelligence Community

I spent the day in a secure area on Buckley Air Force Base called ADF-C or Air Force Data Facility, Colorado. A relative of mine works there and I got an invite to a family day, which I thought was impressive so I thought I’d share some of what I saw. Walking into ADF-C we […]

September 18, 2011 | Security, Space, Technology | No comments

Has your WordPress Blog been Hacked? Email me now!

Big News [April 24th, 2012]: I’ve launched Wordfence to permanently fix your WordPress site’s security issues. Click here to learn more. If your WordPress blog has been hacked, please email me. I’m collecting data on intrusion methods and backdoors. If you’ve been hacked, I’ll examine your server free of charge, share what I find with […]

September 6, 2011 | Advanced Wordpress, Security, TimThumb, Wordpress | No comments

Rescued kitten Stix, 9 months after being found in the gutter with a broken pelvis

My wife, Kerry, went down to California last thanksgiving for a brief trip with her sister Sandy. They were driving along in Fountain Valley with my niece and spotted a kitten lying in the gutter. As they approached her she hauled herself out of the gutter in a badly injured way. They immediately stopped and tried to […]

August 30, 2011 | Friends & Family, Fun, Introspection | No comments

WordPress Security: Hardening and Malware list removal

Big News [April 24th, 2012]: I’ve launched Wordfence to permanently fix your WordPress site’s security issues. Click here to learn more. I spent some time yesterday reaching out to folks I know to try and get some input on WordPress security, avoiding getting listed as Malware and how to get removed from the Malware list. […]

August 24, 2011 | Security, SEO, Wordpress | No comments

Breaking: Google starts to block hacked WordPress blogs as attack widens

Big News [April 24th, 2012]: I’ve launched Wordfence to permanently fix your WordPress site’s security issues. Click here to learn more. I’ve had two reports in the last 12 hours of WordPress blogs that were compromised via the Timthumb hack being listed as malware by Google. If you try to visit either site, you are […]

August 23, 2011 | Advanced Wordpress, Security, Wordpress | No comments

WordPress Security: Please delete old themes and plugins

News [April 24th, 2012]: I’ve launched Wordfence to permanently fix your WordPress site’s security issues. Click here to learn more. I was contacted by another site owner who was hacked via vulnerable WordPress themes today. He had updated to the latest non-vulnerable version of his theme, but the WordPress theme installation or update process doesn’t […]

August 19, 2011 | Advanced Wordpress, Security, TimThumb, Wordpress | No comments

DeployMint: A Staging and Deployment system for WordPress

Exec Summary: Today I’m launching a Beta open source project called DeployMint. I’m using it on WordPress installations where WordPress is being used as a CMS. It runs as a WordPress plugin and allows for staging and deployment of WordPress sites along with robust version control and zero down-time during deployments. It uses the Git […]

August 19, 2011 | Advanced Wordpress, DeployMint, Wordpress | 10 comments

Two techniques to scan your WordPress installation and check if you're hacked.

News [April 24th, 2012]: I’ve launched Wordfence to permanently fix your WordPress site’s security issues. Click here to learn more. I just helped another target of the timthumb.php vulnerability to clean their machine. The method the hacker used to hide their tracks was a little different to what I’ve seen in the past. So I […]

August 18, 2011 | Security, Wordpress | 1 comment

We are centrally planned and we are vulnerable

John Robb writes an excellent post arguing that the concentration of wealth in the United States has resulted in a centrally planned economy. I wanted to expand on his writing. After World War II, there was a widely held view that Nazi Germany was the result of failed capitalism. Economists and political scientists in the UK […]

August 12, 2011 | Economics | No comments

My name is Mark Maunder. I've been blogging since around 2003 when I started on Movable Type and ended up on WordPress which is what I use to publish today. With my wife Kerry, I'm the co-founder of Wordfence which protects over 5 million WordPress sites from hackers and is run by a talented team of 36 people. I'm an instrument rated pilot and I fly a Cessna 206 along with a 1964 Cessna 172 in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado. I'm originally from Cape Town, South Africa but live in the US these days. I code in a bunch of languages and am quite excited about our emerging AI overlords and how they're going to be putting us to work for them.