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The New Joomla Security Strike Team Attacks
The Joomla Project is pleased to introduce a new team focused solely on managing and improving Joomla security-the Joomla Security Strike Team-and their new home at the Joomla Security Center (http://developer.joomla.org/security.html). The JSST replaces the previous Joomla Security Team by assembling a top-notch group of Joomla experts (http://developer.joomla.org/security/jsst-members.html), complemented by security talent recruited from outside Joomla. Together, part of their goal is to investigate and respond to security matters. JSST leader Anthony Ferrara (http://developer.joomla.org/security/jsst-members/38-jsst-members/2-ircmaxell.html) is excited about what this means for Joomla security. "We're already well into our first mission-a low-level code audit and a deeper look into every reported vulnerability since 1.5.0 alpha." The new JSST will call the new Joomla Security Center (http://developer.joomla.org/security.html) their home base. The Security Center provides a public presence for security issues (http://developer.joomla.org/security/news.html) and a platform for the JSST to help the general public better understand security (http://developer.joomla.org/security/articles-tutorials.html) and how it relates to Joomla. The Security Center also offers users a clearer understanding of how security issues are handled. There's also a news feed (http://feedproxy.google.com/JoomlaSecurityNews), which provides subscribers an up-to-the-minute notification of security issues as they arise. "The Joomla Core Team has been planning a new security team for a few months now in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The previous team worked in relative isolation, but the new Strike Team will have a strong public-facing presence," said Ferrara. But the JSST won't stop there. They fully expect the Joomla community to do its part in reporting vulnerabilities and have created a form for such reports (http://developer.joomla.org/security/contact-the-team.html). For each verified security issue reported, the JSST will send the user a free Joomla t-shirt (http://shop.joomla.org/). Ferrara said, "Security is a perpetual process. We're going to make Joomla even better than it already is."
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JSST Is Coming...
We over here at Joomla are preparing a new team... The first letter of the name is obvious (Joomla!)... The second stands for "Security"... The rest will be left for the official announcement which should be sometime this week if all goes to plan. We (Joomla!) do take security VERY seriously, and have always taken it seriously. However, events of late have really proved what we have known for a long time; That we need a dedicated team just for handling core security. The wheels are in motion, and more information will be available as the steps unfold. So for now, suffice it to say that JSST is coming...
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Hosting providers - Isn't it time?
Time for what? PLEASE read this: http://au2.php.net/register_globals (http://au2.php.net/register_globals) - read the part in RED.I've finished yet another posting spree trying to help users with security and performance issues and I am still SHOCKED at how many hosts still have register_gloabls ON serverwide. Come on hosting providers, isn't it time you you kept up? Isn't it time you closed this security hole that only you as a host can close, and help prevent cross server file compromises? What about running suphp (or an equivalent)? Why are so many hosts STILL not running a 'more secure' environment for their users? I am sure all hosts understand (they should!!) what I am talking about, but for the users, who I suggest take this and pressure your hosts, let me try to explain these two things in laymans terms:1. With register_globals ON serverwide even if you as a user disable them (via a php.ini or .htaccess directive) under certain circumstances your site can still be compromised if another user account on the server is compromised or is used maliciously. It's that simple, and it happens day in and day out, people posting on the Joomla Forum making it apparent that this was the reason their site was compromised.* Disclaimer: It's true, your host may have a method of working around this huge security hole, but even still, I ask "WHY?" register_globals has been off since php 4.2 by default, and we are well into the php5 world now.2. suphp (or equlivalent). Running Apache/php via this method means permission problems for you users are a thing of the past (almost). Under this environment when php writes a file (ie installing a template for example) the files are owned by your user account. Files that are 644 are writable by your user (ftp), and yet other users on the same shared server cannot write to them. Again, why would you not want this simple extra layer of security, as well as making it so much easier for your users to mange their Joomla (and any other php script) website?* Disclaimer: Again, there are circumstances when suphp is not efficient (dedicated server possibly, and extremely high load possibly), however at the least, check with your provider and ask them what methods they use and why. .. anyway.. that's if for now. PLEASE, do your users, and by extension yourself a favor and consider my comments. Oh, and I guess it goes without saying, since php4 is now EOL all hosts should be running php5 now.
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A New Look for Joomla.org
You may have noticed the new look of Joomla.org and it's just the beginning of our new facelift. Not only is it a new and pretty face, but deeper changes as well. Here are just a few of the highlights of the new design overhaul: More user-centric design: The top portion of the home page focuses on directing users in Joomla's three primary user groups: Beginner, Intermediate Advanced. These are three top-level "funnels" for quickly getting users to relevant content. Consolidation of resources: As the previous sites grew, the architecture became more convoluted and pages with redundant resources were created or, conversely, related information was strewn across several pages. A consolidation of information should help users more logically find what they need. More resources brought up to the home page: The previous home page gave users Joomla news and not much more. The lower portion of the new home page brings forward content from many of Joomla's most important aspects. Repeat visitors can get the latest information from a multitude of sources all at a glance. More overall integration: Each of the Joomla sites has differing approaches to resolving unique informational and navigational aspects. When taking into consideration the evolution and overall growth of our group of sites, we have taken a hard look of the complexities and how to resolve those in a manner to give the best user experience. Compliance with W3 standards: Joomla template pages validate according to the XHTML 1.0 Transitional standard. Check it out (http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joomla.org%2F). The new design of the main Joomla.org site is the first in a series of upgrades to all the Joomla Web sites. The planned rollout will consist of: Joomla Shop at shop.joomla.org (http://shop.joomla.org) - Update planned by next week. Joomla Demo at demo.joomla.org (http://demo.joomla.org) - Update planned by next week. Joomla Community Portal at community.joomla.org (http://community.joomla.org) - Coming soon. Joomla Developer Network at developer.joomla.org (http://developer.joomla.org) - Coming soon. Joomla Extensions Directory at extensions.joomla.org (http://extensions.joomla.org) - Coming soon. Joomla Discussion Forums at forum.joomla.org (http://forum.joomla.org) - Coming soon. Joomla Documentation Wiki at docs.joomla.org (http://docs.joomla.org) - Coming soon. If you'd like to share your feedback and comments on the new look and functionality, visit our Sites Infrastructure Forum (http://forum.joomla.org/viewforum.php?f=7).
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Why you should upgrade to Joomla 1.5.6
This morning, Joomla.org was defaced a few hours after releasing our new design. This is not a new security issue, but only poor system administration practices on our part. When we updated our Web sites with the Joomla 1.5.6 security fix released yesterday (http://www.joomla.org/announcements/release-news/5199-joomla-156-released.html), we simply forgot to update one of our small, non-public development sites. Now, we could offer many excuses why it was overlooked-we were focused on fixing this vulnerability, creating the packages, and getting the word out. But the truth is, there is no excuse. This is an obvious and sobering reminder to the Joomla Project that staying current with upgrades is the most important step towards protecting your Web site. Nothing but good will come of this experience. There's nothing like first hand experience to remind us of the trust our end user community places in us and the importance of working harder and smarter towards improving security. Please, upgrade to Joomla 1.5.6 now (http://www.joomla.org/download.html), if you have not already done so. In retrospect, we wish we'd followed our own advice more diligently.
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