12 WordPress Crowdfunding Options

1. Startup Idea - is a simple yet modern crowdfunding theme based on WooCommerce platform which you can easily use for your WordPress website. It is very minimal in its approach so that visitors cannot be distracted from visiting your website since it utilizes a free WordPress Crowdfunding plugin wherein you can use major payment processors for your web store.
2. Unity - is a WordPress theme with its origin from the Easy Digital Downloads which you can also use for your web store since it supports WooCommerce. It has a live them editor to easily customize your website without the need to have a strong knowledge in coding although it was built for developers and Sass support system.
3. Born to Give is a WordPress theme which is entirely focused on Crowdfunding activities. It has a built-in event manager which is free for usage aside from being compatible with WPML. It is based on Twitter Bootstrap 3x framework making it readily available for any screen size. You can also use the Charitable WordPress plugin with this theme.
4. Fundingpress is a WordPress minimal theme that has a built-in Crowdfunding feature which you can use for collection of funds for your website crowdfunding activities. It has a feature of Layer Slider and a 1-5 star rating system which you can utilize for any other services your website needs. 
5. Backer is a minimalist WordPress theme that has a free WP Crowdfunding premium plugin which you can use for designing your website. You can use the Elementor page builder which is already included in the theme so you never have to worry with any strong coding skills. 
6. 500 Classic is part of the 500 frameworks of the IgnitionDec which is a company that developed many themes specially designed for Crowdfunding purposes. It incorporates a crisp typography features with simple layout design that has dark highlights which is very useful for anyone with a tight budget. 
7. Crowdfunding for WooCommerce is a free plugin designed for crowdfunding purposes. It utilizes 30 plugins in the WordPress repository and it was developed by Algoritmika Ltd.
8. InFunding is another WordPress plugin that is free to use for creating your own charity and donation website. It was developed by InwaveThemes with easy shortcodes, responsive, and customizable layout.
9. Give is a WordPress plugin created by WordImpress. It features single page forms for hassle-free donation programs, reporting features for tracking your website goals, free Paypal payment features, and additional premium add-ons for everything else including Zapier, Stripe, and Zapier.
10. WordPress Fundraising is a WordPress plugin created by WPMU Dev which integrates Multisite and BuddyPress for creating a crowdfunding website. This plugin comes with a price monthly price which you can just check out at the WPMU Dev website. 
11. IgnitionDeck is a popular Crowdfunding plugin for any WordPress developer since it can be used on any WordPress theme. AppThemer and Ignition Deck already has a history of working together to develop crowdfunding WordPress themes. You can use it for free or you can also purchase its premium version. 
12. WP Crowdfunding is a WordPress plugin that is very well-known in the WordPress crowdfunding website solutions. It was created by Themeum and can easily integrate with WooCommerce. You can use it for its free features such as user registration, pricing options, reward system, and options for updating projects but you can also choose to avail its premium paid version for additional features. 

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-38uPkyH9vI
https://kinsta.com/blog/crowdfunding-options-wordpress/

12 Atari Historical Highlights

1. Atari Incorporated was born on 27 June 1972.
2. Atari hired Allan Alcorn as their first engineer who designed Pong which was a test game, at first.
3. Pong was Atari's first shipped product which began on 30 November 1972 at a price of $1095.
4. The first in-house graphic designer of Atari was George Opperman who designed the Atari logo which was known as "Fuji" for its resemblance to the Japanese mountain, although the design's origins are unrelated to it.
5. Atari created its own competitor, Kee Games, in 1973 to break deals with exclusive distributors and released its first game title Tank. 
6. It was in January 1980 that Space Invaders which was the first licensed title for the 2600 game console was released.
7. It was in July1981 that Atari Centipede became the first coin-op to be Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Approved.
8. The game Yars' Revenge was released on Atari 2600 in May 1982 which was named by the programming by reversing the first name of Ray Kassar who was the CEO of Atari that time.
9. It was in July 1982 that "Atari Adventure Center" became the first arcade amusement center of Atari at California's Marriot Great America theme park.
10. "The Graduate" which was also known as "My First Computer" was announced on February 1983 which was an enhancement to the Atari 2600 game console that turned it into a basic computer system by adding a computer keyboard on top of the console.
11. The first home version of Galaga and Xevious was included in the 12 launching titles of Atari when it introduced their Atari 7800 Prosystem gaming console on 21 May 1984 giving the company its much-needed gaming console industry boost.
12. Atari launched on April 1985, their first update to the Atari 65XE which is an 8-bit computer.

References:

https://www.atari.com/history/1972-1984-0
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4376157/Atari-is-established--June-27--1972
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari
https://www.phase3.net/1972-june-27th-atari-was-born-launching-the-video-game-industry/
https://www.wired.com/2012/06/atari-40th-anniversary/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl5P_Rc0zjo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHjL2KtX4g

12 Tips in Using Screencast Software

1. I've learned a lesson for today, 08 September 2017 5:32 AM. Never USE VLC Player to screencast or save your desktop activities. It took around 435GB of hard drive or hard disk space from the laptop that I am using.
2. Use other software in capturing or grabbing desktop activities especially videos.
3. Check your hard drive or hard disk space before capturing your desktop activities in order to avoid hassles when you are converting your raw video file into a movie file already.
4. Enable Storage Sense by turning it ON under the Settings - System - Storage module of your Windows 10 PC or Laptop.
5. You can use YouTube
6. You can use Screencast-O-Matic
7. You can use the Built-In Screencast Recording Tool of Windows 10 by pressing Win + G and then press Win + Alt + R which is part of Xbox integration known as Game Bar
8. You can use Ezvid
9. You can use CamStudio
10. BUT  I've used BB FlashBack Recorder which is my personal preference
11. A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration.
12. The term screencast compares with the related term screenshot; whereas screenshot generates a single picture of a computer screen, a screencast is essentially a movie of the changes over time that a user sees on a computer screen, enhanced with audio narration.

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ok_9Ek7Xo
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-storage-sense-free-space-automatically-windows-10-creators-update
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screencast
https://www.nextofwindows.com/6-best-free-screencast-recording-tools-for-windows
http://www.nextofwindows.com/windows-10-screen-recorder
http://www.jihosoft.com/free-utilities/free-screen-recorder.html

12 Website Traffic Detection and Predicting Tools

1. SimilarWeb – monthly visits
2. Compete.com – total monthly visits
3. SEMRush – monthly search visits
4. Quantcast – monthly visits
5. SimilarWeb – global rank
6. Alexa – Alexa Rank
7. Moz – Domain Authority
8. Facebook – Likes
9. Google AdWords – # of monthly searches for brand name
10. Moz – Linking Root Domains
11. Twitter – Followers
12. SEMRush – Ads

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKzUtjoBv-c
https://moz.com/rand/traffic-prediction-accuracy-12-metrics-compete-alexa-similarweb/

12 Tech Tools Productivity Experts Can’t Live Without

• Slack
• Android Wear
• Post-it Plus
• Uskape
• Sunrise
• Jamie's To Do
• Noisli
• Eternity Time Log
• Timeful
• Alarmed
• Skitch
• PaperKarma

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym8WgHuXzMI
https://www.fastcompany.com/3036631/12-tech-tools-productivity-experts-cant-live-without

How I Removed Mcafee Security Center in Windows 10

Uninstallation of McAfee Security Center from my Windows 10 as of 12 July 2017 which I do not need anymore since I already have another licensed anti-virus.

1. Click Settings button.
2. Select Apps.
3. Scroll down until you see McAfee Security Center.
4. Click McAfee Security Center and click Uninstall button. 
   
5. This app and its related info will be uninstalled will appear.
6. After clicking Uninstall button, an error will occur. 
   
7. Download the MCPR tool.
8. Double-click MCPR.exe.
9. McAfee Software Removal window will appear.
10. Click Next and click Agree on the End User License Agreement.
11. A security validation requiring input of characters is needed. 
    
12. Wait until uninstallation process is finished. 
    

References:

How to remove McAfee products from a PC running Windows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpOizmLBBnI
http://us.mcafee.com/apps/supporttools/mcpr/mcpr.asp

12 Free Cloud Storage Offering More Than 5 GB

These are the Top 12 Cloud Storage offering more than 5 GB of free space as of 12 July 2017 in no particular order.

1. Google Drive - 15 GB
2. Degoo - 100 GB
3. hubiC - 25 GB
4. MEGA - 50 GB
5. pCloud - 10 GB
6. Symform - 10 GB
7. Yandex.Disk - 10 GB
8. MiMedia - 10 GB
9. MediaFire - 10 GB
10. Syncplicity - 10 GB
11. ASUS WebStorage - 8 GB
12. Box - 10 GB

References:

http://www.backupreview.com/best-free-cloud-storage/
https://www.thebalance.com/free-cloud-storage-1356638
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsKIpLKo8AE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzl4Wud_Bp0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCF7Q1eArxU&t=4s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utDgoT9P1Tw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ-2gYd1Ces

World Password Day 2017

1. The Registrar of National Day Calendar has designated the first Thursday of May of each year as World Password Day.
2. World Password Day is a celebration to promote better password habits. Passwords are critical gatekeepers to our digital identities, allowing us to access online shopping, dating, banking, social media, private work and life communications. 
3. Security researcher Mark Burnett first encouraged people to have a “password day,” where they update important passwords in his 2005 book Perfect Passwords.  Inspired by his idea, Intel Security took the initiative to declare the first Thursday in May World Password Day in May 2013.  Submitted by Big Monocle in 2016, Password Day is meant to create awareness of the need for good password security. 
4. Strong passwords, according to the World Password Day website, have at least eight characters, with a mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letter, numbers, and symbols. They also avoid the use of personal information, such as birthdays or middle names.
5. Using a different password for each online account is important because, if you share passwords across accounts, one compromised password can be used to log into another account. This is especially important regarding online banking and financial accounts.
6. Password managers, like LastPass or 1Password for example, can help you store multiple passwords, often in an encrypted manner, for easy access. Typically, they will require one master password with additional layer of authentication to access the stored passwords.
7. Multi-factor authentication adds an additional layer of security on top of your standard password. For example, an app may require you answer a security question, input a unique code, or use a fingerprint scanner on top of using your password. Check the security settings of your favorite apps and passwords to see if multi-factor authentication is available.
8. Identity theft is one of the world’s fastest growing crimes, but adding strong authentication to your password can prevent it. Whether you’re protecting your bank account, your email, or your social media, put the brakes on ID theft by layering up!
9. Layering up your login means to enable a free feature called multi-factor authentication (also known as two-factor authentication) in the settings of your favorite email, bank, or social media apps and websites.
10. This will add one extra step to your login process (scanning a fingerprint on your phone, or typing a PIN that’s sent to your phone) but gives you powerful protection against cybercrimes like identity theft and social media account hijacking.
11. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an additional layer of protection beyond your password. It significantly decreases the risk of a hacker accessing your online accounts by combining your password (something you know) with a second factor, like your mobile phone (something you have).
12. A group of dedicated supporters keep an up to date list of all websites that offer MFA at www.twofactorauth.org.

References:

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2017/05/04/world-password-day/

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/on-world-password-day-here-are-4-tips-to-keep-your-online-accounts-secure/

http://mobileidworld.com/world-password-day-005044/

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3194394/security/its-world-password-day-but-passwords-may-be-headed-for-extinction.html

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/world-password-day-first-thursday-in-may/

https://www.passwordday.org/

12 Tips For Improving OSCommerce Security

This is a post that caught my attention when I was browsing for security-related information for the OSCommerce platform. This is from the website Codemehappy

1. Rename your Admin folder 
   – Edit the admin/includes/configure.php file. Find and replace all instances of /admin/ with /’your new admin name’/
   – Rename the Admin folder with ‘your new admin name’
2. Delete the files ‘admin’/file_manager.php and ‘admin’/define_language.php
3. Don’t reveal the new name of your ‘Admin’ folder
   – Remove any reference to the ‘Admin’ folder name from catalog/robots.txt.
   This file is readable by anyone at anytime. So anything entered here can be used to map your Store.
4. Limit access to ‘Admin’ and remove old or unused ‘Admin’ accounts
   – htaccess rules can be used here. If your Apache server allows local htaccess files to ‘override’ its default settings (check with your host) then you can create an .htaccess file in the ‘admin’ folder and add the following: 

   01	# deny *everything*

   02	<FilesMatch ".*\..*">

   03	Order Allow,Deny

   04	Deny from all

   05	</FilesMatch>

   06

   07	# but now allow just *certain* necessary files:

   08	<FilesMatch "(^$|^favicon.ico$|.*.(php|js|css|jpg|gif|png)$)">

   09	Order Allow,Deny

   10	Allow from all

   11	</FilesMatch>

   
   This snippet above will only allow certain file types to be run (as specified in the list php|js|css|jpg|gif|png.) Simply add more extensions with a pipe | to broaden. If you want to lock access to the ‘admin’ area to a range of Ip addresses you use, try:

   1	# allow only your IP addresses

   2	<FilesMatch ".*\..*">

   3	Order Deny,Allow

   4	Deny from all

   5	Allow from 123.123

   6	Allow from 456.456

   7	</FilesMatch>

   
   Note the above rule uses only the first two groups of numbers from two Ip addresses. This is because many people are on dynamically assigned IPs which although they do change (infrequently), they often don’t vary that much. If you have a static or dedicated IP address when you connect to the Net, you won’t have this problem.
   – set permissions on all folders to 755, all files to 644 (or 444 read only if configure.php). There are some exceptions here: ‘admin’/backups and ‘admin’/images will require write permissions of 757. These may be able to be protected using htaccess rules however.
   – delete old ‘admin’ accounts, especially ‘demo’ or ‘guest’ accounts or those created for temporary users.
5. Change ‘Admin’ passwords regularly and password protect your ‘admin’ folder
   – to make a tough password, use a password generator like the PCTools Security Password Generator and store them in a password vault like KeePass
   – many control panels (like cPanel and Plesk) offer a simple ‘Password Protect Folder’ utility. This is a good idea, although it does mean you will have to log in twice to the ‘admin’ the first time (once in the popup, then again in the actual login.) However if you have cookies enabled for the session, you only have to do this once while the browser is open. If you don’t have access to such a utility, here are the steps to create your own password protected folder:
   Add your version of this to your ‘admin/.htaccess file (making sure you change the values in lines 2 & 3 after AuthName and AuthUserFile):
   

   1	AuthType Basic

   2	AuthName "whatever you would like it to ask you"

   3	AuthUserFile /absolute/path/to/your/new/.htpasswd

   4	Require valid-user

   
   (I’d recommend putting the .htpasswd file in a folder inaccessible from the web, with its own .htaccess file containing:)
   

   1	<Files *.*>

   2	order allow,deny

   3	deny from all

   4

   </Files>

   
   Use an htpasswd generator to create and encrypt your password – like this one at dynamicdrive.com
   Copy and upload/save the .htpasswd file in its ‘hidden from the web’ location. Done!
6. Don’t reveal the name of your ‘Admin’ folder on printed invoices, packing slips
   – If you print invoices or packing slips, switch off printing the url path on the page.
   For Internet Explorer: File >> Page Setup >> remove this two character combination: “&u” from the header or footer text box.
   For Firefox: File >> Page Setup >> Margins & Header/Footer >> set all of the drop downs to –blank–.
7. Set up ‘Admin’ under another domain or subdomain
8. Use secure Usernames and Passwords
   – If you have work done by a developer or coder who needs access to your admin, use a temporary username and password that you delete afterwards. Use a password generator (like the PCTools Generator mentioned above) and store them in a password vault (like KeePass)
9. Check access dates in the database
   – If you do have developers etc access your ‘Admin’, use phpMyAdmin and browse the admin table for the admin id row of the account, looking at date_modified. This will show the last access date of that account. Ideally though issue temporary admin access to developers. Many versions of oscommerce-based carts (including zen-cart and oscommerce 2.3.x) now have admin logs so you can see a record of logins (and login attempts.)
10. Be security conscious when accessing your ‘Admin’ account
    Not best practice to :
    – access the Admin from a public use computer or public wireless hotspot
    – write login details on a piece of paper stuck to the computer or wall in front of you
    – use ‘password’ as your password (lol)
11. Don’t advertise the version of the Store software you’re running via the ‘admin’
    – Even if you’ve renamed your ‘admin’ folder (as mentioned back at the top of this post eh), there’s not a lot to be gained from advertising which version of the software you’re patched to:
    
    If a security fault was discovered in this version, why advertise you may not have patched? In this example using Cre Loaded, remove around line 135 -137 from ‘admin’/login.php:
    

    1

    <tr>

    2

    <td></td>

    3	<td align="left" style="font-size: 11px; color: #444;"><a href="http://www.creloaded.com"target="_blank"><?php echo PROJECT_VERSION;?></a></td>

    4

    <td></td>

    5

    </tr>

     
12. When using the ‘admin’ panel …
    – use only one browser tab to access your admin area
    – avoid visiting other sites when your browser has an active admin login session enabled, even in another tab
    – always log out of your admin when not using it

References:

https://www.codemehappy.com/2010/10/12-things-improve-oscommerce-based-admin-security/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb2sWFWMQZk