Formatting tables in Joomla

We have been using the JCE editor with Joomla. Even though it offers more capability than the TinyMCE editor that comes with Joomla, we still had difficulty working with tables.

An interim solution is to simply copy to the table to MS Word, format it, and then copy it back to the Joomla article.

It can be a ltttle tricky to select the table using the JCE Editor in Joomla. Instead of a blank line, put a line of text before and after the the table. You can use a SHIFT-CLICK to select those text lines and the table in between.

Secure Google Search

Google has released a secure search in beta (test mode). This will, to some degree, hide your search terms and results from third parties on your network. This will help hide your searches from your boss at work, other visitors at a hotel or at school.

Keep in mind that this is in a test mode at this time. Also, once you click on one of the search results it is quite probable that the URL and page data would be visible. Another factor to consider is that google will store your search queries.

Is it worth the trouble? For home use, probably not. Most schools and corporate IT departments will still be able to figure out if you are using the internet inappropriately. However, in cases such as working on sensitive projects while traveling and/or using guest internet connections, it would probably be worth the effort. Currently the encrypted version of google search can be accessed by https://www.google.com.




For more information, see the google article

Joomlatwork free set patch and FTP settings

We are working with a new site and uploaded the Joomlatwork free SEF patch for 1.5.17. Depsite a couple of tries, we were not seeing the SEO tab in the configuration manager.

It turned out that we had Filezilla set to 'overwrite if newer'. Some of the 1.5.17 Joomla files were newer than the SEF patch files resulting in an incomplete upload of the patch.

Once we changed the settings to "Overwrite" and re-uploaded the SEF patch, things worked great. we could now see the SEO tab and the field for inputting Title information in the Article manager

Filezilla - 425 Possible PASV port theft, cannot open data connection. error solution

We were getting the following error on our netbook using our Sprint Cellular Wireless card


425 Possible PASV port theft, cannot open data connection.
Failed to retrieve directory listing

It appears that simply switching from Passive to active mode allows us to access our servers properly via FTP

Joomla install - pages and fields missing

We were installing Joomla 1.5.17. After the first install, we could not log into the admin panel because the input fields were missing. We re-uploaded Joomla and tried agaain. This time the Menu creation pages were missing in the backend.

A couple of more tries including re-downloading Joomla and Re-uploading it yielded similar results.

I took a second look at Filezilla. I found that about 100 files were listed in the 'failed' tab. What was happening was that files were not being uploaded for some reason. I had failed to check the 'failed upload' tab so files were missing from the Joomla install.

The solution was simply to go back to the failed upload tab and retry the upload until all of the files are successfully uploaded.

Copiers and your privacy

Most office copiers today have an integral hard drive. If your copier is returned or sold and the hard drive is not cleared then you are at serious risk of exposing personal and sensitive data.

The video below show just how easy it is to find sensitive information on copiers that have been resold.

If you have a business that uses these copiers, you need to be aware of the risk and ensure that the machines are completely cleared of data before disposal.

Joomla, Artisteer and graphical buttons for the top menu

We use Artisteer to create templates for our Joomla projects. It does a great job overall.

We were trying to create a top menu and it was rendering as text, not as a graphical menu.

I finally dug throught the documentation and found that the trick is to set the position of the top menu to user3.

With that simple change, the top menu now renders as a graphical menu.

A nasty ransomware trojan

There is a trojan that tricks people into entering their data. Meanwhile it grabs your browsing history. After it gets the info, it publishes your personal information and browsing history to the web. It then notifies you that you have to pay to have it removed.

However, they don't just use your credit card information, they sell it which means a stolen credit card and possible identity theft. More information is available at the BBC.

There are a couple of things that people should keep in mind to protect themselves.

1. Many of the new antivirus applications will provide indications of sites that are malicious. You should be surfing with those enabled.
2. Before you purchase any product or service to remove a recently aquired virus or, in this case, to 'remove your listing', be aware of the very real possibility that it is ransomware.
3. Many people use one credit card soley for online purchases. With the availability of prepaid credit and debit cards, one can use these when there is the slightest doubt as to the legitimacy of a site offering software or services.