Blog entries

Oracle HCM Users Group - Las Vegas 2010

John Hobart — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We're pleased to announce that we're going to head out to the 2010 OHUG Conference in Las

Vegas again this year.

We built the OHUG Website a while back and have been helping manage it ever since. Home to over 5,000 active members, it features social networking capabilities, document and video libraries, and we've recently adapted K2 to serve up all Read More...

Joomla Security Release 1.5.18

John Hobart — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Project: Joomla!SubProject: AllSeverity: HighVersions: 1.5.17 and all previous 1.5 releasesExploit type: XSS InjectionReported Date: 2010-May-13Fixed Date: 2010-May-28Description

Back-end user can inject javascript in various administrator screens.

AffecRead More...

Joomla Security Release 1.5.16

John Hobart — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Project: Joomla!SubProject: AllSeverity: ModerateVersions: 1.5.15 and all previous 1.5 releasesExploit type: information DisclosureReported Date: 2010-Feb-21Fixed Date: 2010-Apr-23Description

If a user entered a URL with a negative query limit or offset, a Read More...

Joomla! Plugin for SynergyStats is Available!

John Hobart — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:05:54 +0100

We created a customized Joomla plugin for SynergyStats.com.

Unlike typical plugins, this one is pre-configured for your site and ready for download.

All you have to do is login, download the plugin, and install it on your Joomla site.

At present you have the ability to enable or disable:

SSL between your client and the SynergyStats server (to encrypt user data); Sending the user's email address, Joomla! username, and/or full nameSRead More...

Synergy Stats Analytics Service is Live!

John Hobart — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Our real-time web analytics package is now live and available at SynergyStats.com. A short list of the features include:

An Addictive Spy MapDashboard Views of Traffic TrendsTracking for Goals & CampaignsBounce Rate AnalysisVisual Heat MapsDynamic Site Improvement TipsDirect integration with Joomla

And lots more! Give it a test drive with a freeRead More...

Changing the Default Document Directory in Plesk for a Domain or Subdomain

John Hobart — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Sometimes it's tricky to get a package installation to install exactly how you want it. Plesk uses:

/var/www/vhosts/(yourdomain.com)/httpdocs

as the default document directory from which to serve up pages. If it's a subdomain you'll find it in:

/var/www/vhosts/(yourdomain.com)/subdomains/(subdomain name)/httpdocs

This might not work for you for any number of reasons and you might need to set the default document directory to something different. Read More...

How to Restart Plesk from the Command Line

John Hobart — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

From time to time Plesk will stop responding. While this is a sledgehammer approach, sometimes the only thing you can do is restart the service.

You'll need root access to your host. Use the following command to restart Plesk:

/etc/init.d/psa restart

That should do it!

Cloning a MySQL Database from the Command Line

John Hobart — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Sometimes it's handy to make a quick copy of a database locally or on a remote machine from the command line. This is a lot simpler and more reliable than exporting it from phpMyAdmin and then importing the data into a new database, though it does require command line access.

For a simple case where you're executing the command from an SSH session on the same machine on which your database resides and have the ability to run mysqldump and mysql:

mysqldump -uUSERNAME -pPASSWORDRead More...

Using lftp to Recursively Clone Your Website File Tree

John Hobart — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The built-in functionality of your plain ol' FTP client doesn't extend to recursively parsing directories and uploading them to a remote machine. We use lftp to clone our production environment periodically to refresh our development environment. It's also really useful for migrating your site from host to host.

lftp works similarly to ftp so you shouldn't feel too lost when you fire it up.

$ lftp username@hostname

And here's where lftp really shines - you Read More...

Running a Script or Importing Data Using the Command Line mysql Tool

John Hobart — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Sometimes all you want to do is run a big script or import a database using the MySQL command line tool without echoing out tons of output. Luckily it's dead easy. If the script you want to run is called script.sql just ssh into your machine and type:

mysql -uUSERNAME -pPASSWORD DB_SCHEMA < script.sql

Substituting your username and password and the database you want to run the script against.

John Hobart is Back

Administrator — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

After a brief foray into the Oracle world in higher education, we're glad to announce John's return. In addition to returning to his position as our Tech Director he will also be spearheading development on the Synergy Stats project.

We're glad to have him back.

View the Available Positions on Any Joomla! Page

Administrator — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100

If you're using a new template in Joomla and aren't familiar with all of the various positions that are available, simply add a ?tp=1 to the end of your URL string (i.e., http://j.synergycode.com/index.php?tp=1).

Load a Joomla Module inside an Article in Joomla! 1.5

Administrator — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

There is a very neat plug-in that comes with Joomla 1.5 that enables you to embed any module inside any article.

First, ensure that the "Content - Load Module" plugin is enabled by navigating to Extensions --> Plugin Manager from your Joomla! Administration site:

Once this is enabled, you nRead More...