In our recent post on pimping the wp-config.php file, we explain that using strong Security Keys is an important part of securing your WordPress installation. In this post, we want to zoom-in on Security Keys and look at what they are, how they work, and how to use them to greatly improve the security of your site.

It’s here! Digging Into WordPress Version 3.0 is here and it’s packed with lots of awesome WordPress goodness, including an entire new chapter on WordPress 3, plus lots of updated core content, and a super-sleek new cover that I think is a huge improvement. You’ve got to check out the book’s sweet dark/black cover, expertly crafted by Chris:

Easily, the most important file in your WordPress installation is the wp-config.php file. It serves as your site’s base configuration file, controlling key aspects of WordPress’ functionality and enabling WordPress to do mission-critical stuff like connect to the database. Without wp-config.php, WordPress simply won’t work. So whenever you install WordPress, one of the first things to do is pimp your wp-config.php with some custom WP configuration tricks.

Here are some sweet SQL code snippets for easy comment management. Sometimes it’s easier to modify comment status and delete unwanted comments on a sitewide basis. Using a program like phpMyAdmin makes it so easy to do stuff like remove spam, close/open comments on old posts, enable/disable pingbacks for specific time periods, and so on. Just remember to backup your database before running any queries (just to be on the safe side).

We have been working diligently on updating Digging Into WordPress and finding the best print-on-demand solution. As we’ve covered before, the on-demand options we looked at previously left a lot to be desired. But thanks to your suggestions and ideas for book printing, there were many additional options to check out. So after sizing things up, we’re pleased to announce the following:

Configuring your WordPress permalinks is simple and only takes a second, but understanding what they are and how they work is key to setting up the best permalink structure possible. Your site’s permalinks are like the street address for your site’s web pages. They help both people and robots understand your site’s structure and navigate its contents. There is no “one magic permalink recipe to rule them all,” but keeping a few tips in mind makes it easy to optimize your WordPress permalinks. This DiW article shows you how..

It looks like Media Temple WordPress installs have been hit with a WordPress Redirect Exploit¹. We got hit here at DigWP.com, but have cleaned things up and are taking steps to prevent it from happening again. This post briefly explains the hack, and provides some steps that you can take to remove the payload and get back on track.

This article is split into two parts for ez reference. First some information on the evil WordPress “Pharma Hack”, and then a recipe for protecting your site with a solid security lockdown. Choose your own adventure:

Congratulations to the following three winners of our July 4th Book Giveaway:

In celebration of the 4th of July and our one-year anniversary, we are giving away three copies of Digging into WordPress! To enter, just tell us what you would like to see in the upcoming version 3.0 of the book. We are working on the new version right now and will be updating the book with new information plus everything you need for WordPress 3.0. It’s gonna be awesome!

What’s up with no more printed copies? We completely sold out of printed books a few weeks ago. We’re currently looking into print-on-demand solutions to make more of the printed copies available to those who want them.

The problem is that the book is over 400 pages and full color. And POD is pretty much pay-per-use type of thing, so the book would be even more expensive to print than before. So again, we’re currently looking into solutions for this, and want to ask if anyone knows of a decent, reasonably priced POD service. “Reasonably priced” because quality is important.

One of the nice things about using WordPress’ new post-thumbnails feature is that they provide tons of flexibility in terms of where and how you display your post thumbnails. By design, post thumbnails are not included within post content, so they will not be displayed in your blog posts unless you call them specifically with the proper template tag: