PhotoWalkPro

photo by chego101

You may have noticed that my blog has been the target of MalWare (Malicious Software) hacks as of late. The thing is that it’s not just my blog that has been attacked, but numerous blogs and websites spread out across different genres. The hacks have not actually added any spam or malware to the sites, rather they redirect your browser to another site that is hosting the malware.

Often times, your browser will alert you to the presence of a re-direct and put up a warning screen that won’t let you proceed without first agreeing.  Sometimes though, it will slip by and you will end up visiting the “bad” site.  So here’s what you should be doing to protect yourself.

First, make sure that you are running up to date virus software.  Even though these are not technically viruses, they can sometimes be stopped by a good virus software.  Run a malware/spyware checker on your computer and have it monitor every now and then.  I use Spybot Search and Destroy on my Windows machine and it does a fantastic job.  It’s also free so the price is right (although they do accept donations).

If you visit a site and see that it is trying to re-direct you to a different site, close your browser window and don’t wait for it to finish.  Here’s the deal though, I have several domain names that all point to this blog. There’s photowalkpro.com, jeffrevell.com, revellphotography.com/blog, all ending up here at this very spot so if you type in www.photowalkpro.com and notice that your browser is pointing to revellphotography/blog, don’t be alarmed.  It’s supposed to do that.  But, if you see my blog page come up and then it goes away and some other site is starting to load, that’s when it’s time to pull the plug.

Finally, if you do get a re-direct, you should run your virus and malware software first, just to make sure nothing bad has happened.  After that, you should try and contact the site owner, me in this case, and let them know that there is a problem.  Many times the owner of the site won’t know they have been hacked for several days, especially if they don’t update their content on a daily basis. If you don’t know the email address to report the problem you can often times contact via Twitter or Facebook.

You can get ahold of me be emailing admin(@)photowalkpro.com (remove the parenthesis around the @ symbol first) or send a message to @photowalkpro on Twitter, or leave a message on my Facebook fanpage

I want you to know that I try very hard to keep this site clean so that you are protected. Hopefully my hosting provider (GoDaddy) will be able to fix the security problems and this type of thing will just be an unpleasant memory from the past.

Photo by jayneandd

Hey Gang, I’m staring at the finish line for my latest book so I’m spending the day trying to wrap up some chapters and get this thing finished on schedule.  I’ll be back tomorrow though, hopefully with a little less on my plate.  In the mean time, check out the great work of photographer Adam Barker and have a great Wednesday!

It used to be that showing your work on the Internet meant creating a website with lots of complicated programming.  Enter the blog.  Once a tool for sharing thoughts and opinions, blogs are quickly becoming the primary method for displaying portfolios and content with the World. Today I will share a few resources that you can use to jump into the world of photo-blogging using what is possibly the most popular blogging platform in the Internet, WordPress.  I’m not going to teach you how to create a WordPress blog, just point you to some good resources to get you started.

Handbook for Photographers -

This first one isn’t about WordPress but blogging in general.  The folks over at PhotoShelter are offering up a free 36 page book called The Photography Blog Handbook.  It is full of helpful hints like: What should I write about?, Compelling Content, Blogs & Social MediaStrategy, and more.  There are even case studies using actual photography blog sites.  This handbook will be a great primer for you to start thinking about how you want to actually use your new blog.  You can get your copy of the handbook at PHOTOSHELTER.

Online Training -

If you are completely new to the world of blogging and aren’t even sure how to get started I highly recommend that you get some top notch training first.  And I can think of no one better than my buddy RC Concepcion.  RC has two fantastic classes on Kelby Training called WordPress basics for Photographers Part I & II.  Int he classes RC will guide you through the complete process of setting up a WordPress blog, from finding a host provider to changing themes, to using Lightbox (that cool plug-in that makes your images show up on top of the blog when clicked on).  I am a pretty experienced WordPress blogger but when I get stuck, RC is the guy that I turn to.  You can find his classes over at Kelby Training.

A Change of Theme -

One of the great things about WordPress is the ability to use themes to change the look and feel of your site. Many of them are very customizable so that you can tailor them exactly to your needs.  There are also a lot of themes that are made to showcase photography. Some of these are pay-for and some are free.  Here’s a pretty cool list of some themes you can purchase that were developed for photographers.  If you aren’t keen on buying a theme, there are plenty of free ones to choose from as well such as this nice offering from Graph Paper Press.

Plug It In -

If Themes are the best part of WordPress, plug-ins run a close second. There are all sorts of plug-ins out there to help add capabilities to your blog, including some that are specifically for photo galleries on your blog pages. Here’s a list of 10 cool plug-ins along with links to see them in action.

Don’t forget your Flickr Photos -

If you already have a large collection of images over on Flickr you can incorporate those into your blog.  There are a bunch of different ways of doing this using plug-ins.  Here’s a link to a tutorial showing just how to make it happen.

I have just scratched the surface when it comes to resources for creating your photo blog but this list should certainly get you started.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I am extending mine thanks to the President’s Day holiday.  If you are lucky enough to have the day off today, I hope you enjoy your extra day of rest.  If you do have to work, make it a good one and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for sure.

Hi everyone.  I am extending my weekend in observance of Martin Luther King Day.  Who am I kidding, I just wanted a day off.  But I’ll be back tomorrow so enjoy the holiday if you are lucky enough to have the day off.  If not, well, thanks for doing that thing you do.  See you tomorrow.