Great Tool to Animate CSS Gradients

This will generate the needed code and give you a preview in a few short steps.

http://www.gradient-animator.com

vBulletin 4.xx: How to remove navigation breadcrumbs on FORUMHOME

At one time it was thought they gave an SEO boost. Current thinking says not so much anymore and many users remove breadcrumbs, in favor of the cleaner look. The comment field isn’t necessary but is always a helpful tool to find modification at a later time.

Find navbar_link and make the following change;

<!– Breadcrumbs –><vb:if condition=”THIS_SCRIPT != ‘index'”>

<vb:if condition=”$show[‘breadcrumb’]”>

<li class=”navbit”><a href=”{vb:raw nav_url}”>{vb:raw nav_title}</a></li>

<vb:else />

<li class=”navbit lastnavbit”><span>{vb:raw nav_title}</span></li>

</vb:if>

<!– Breadcrumbs –></vb:if>

Next find and make the following change in the Navbar Template

<!– Breadcrumbs –><vb:if condition=”THIS_SCRIPT != ‘index'”>

<div id=”breadcrumb” class=”breadcrumb”>

<ul class=”floatcontainer”>

<li class=”navbithome”><a href=”index.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}” accesskey=”1″><img src=”{vb:stylevar imgdir_misc}/navbit-home.png” alt=”{vb:rawphrase home}” /></a></li>

{vb:raw navbits.breadcrumb}

{vb:raw navbits.lastelement}

</ul>

<hr />

</div>

<!– Breadcrumbs –></vb:if>

That’s it. What you’ve done is wrap and if conditional for the index around the breadcrumb call.

Remove vBSEO and redirect url’s with permanant 301 redirects.

vBSEO is gone and is not coming back. Coding errors leading to vulnerabilities killed the product and new versions of vBulletin can render it useless. Unfortunately, your links are indexed under its modified URL’s and just removing it will damage your sites search ranking. We’ve tried to compile a guide to remove it and the steps to that will keep Google happy while the site is re-indexed.

First to remove vBSEO;
1)    Go to the vbseocp, turn vbseo off.
2)    Go to admincp >Plugins & Products
3)    Uninstall vBSEO, you’ll have two choices.
4)    If you may want to reinstall vBSEO on the same domain, choose Keep vBSEO data in Database
5)    If vBSEO is going for good, choose Cleanup vBSEO Data.
6)    Delete all files listed below and for now, rename the .htaccess file. We’ve listed the files needing deletion below;

Delete the following vBSEO files

Important: Delete only the listing below with file extension. If you see something like “admincp”, that is a folder listing and is where you’ll find the files below it.
admincp
admin_vbseo.php
clientscript
vbseo_ajax.js
images
vbseo
anchor.png
delicious.gif
digg.gif
facebook.gif
furl.gif
goto_linkbacks.gif
linkback.gif
linkback_about.gif
linkback_url.gif
mister-wong
pingback.gif
post_linkback.gif
reddit.gif
refback.gif
spurl.gif
technorati.gif
trackback.gif
includes
cron
vbseo_serviceupdate.php
xml
bitfield_vbseo.xml
cpnav_vbseo.xml
vbseo_urls_001.xml
vbseo_urls_002.xml
vbseo_urls_003.xml
vbseo_urls_004.xml
vbseo_urls_005.xml
vbseo_urls_006.xml
vbseocp_deutsch (du).xml
vbseocp_deutsch (sie).xml
vbseocp_dutch.xml
vbseocp_english.xml
vbseocp_russian.xml
vbseocp_turkce.xml
functions_vbseo.php
functions_vbseo_cache.php
functions_vbseo_createurl.php
functions_vbseo_crr.php
functions_vbseo_db.php
functions_vbseo_hook.php
functions_vbseo_linkback.php
functions_vbseo_misc.php
functions_vbseo_pre.php
functions_vbseo_seo.php
functions_vbseo_startup.php
functions_vbseo_url.php
functions_vbseo_vb.php
md5_sums_crawlability_vbseo.php
modcp
vbseo_moderate.php
vbseo.php
vbseocp.php
vbseocpform.php
.htaccess

To redirect indexed content to your vBULLETIN URL’s, after removing vBSEO please reeview the following rewrite rules and pick the ones that fit your current url structure. To do this first create a new

If you have your thread rewrite rules set as forum-name/threadid-threadname.html use the following .htaccess
Code:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule [^/]+/([0-9]+)-[^/]+\.html http://www.domain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=$1 [L,R=301]

If you have your thread rewrite rules set as forum-name/threadname-threadid.html use the following .htaccess
Code:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule [^/]+/[^/]+-([0-9]+)\.html http://www.domain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=$1 [L,R=301]

If you have your thread rewrite rules set as forum-name/threadname-threadid/ use the following .htaccess
Code:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule [^/]+/[^/]+-([0-9]+)/ http://www.domain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=$1 [L,R=301]

Sitemap rewrite
RewriteRule ^((urllist|sitemap).*\.(xml|txt)(\.gz)?)$ vbseo_sitemap/vbseo_getsitemap.php?sitemap=$1 [L]

PLEASE NOTE: These setting are all general recomendation and specific coding or change in your site could invalidate. DO NOT Assume they will work and thourlghy test all changes before implimention.

Google Blocks WordPress Sites Following SoakSoak Attack

Reports are that due to the SoakSoak exploit, Google has blacklisted over 11,000 infected WordPress domains, and it projected that over 100,000 sites have been affected by the malware from SoakSoak.ru.
Entering through vulnerability in the WordPress plugin, the RevSlider, SoakSoak modifies a file and loads Javascript malware. RevSlider is often used in WordPress themes, so many site owners don’t know they’re using the plugin, let alone to update it, making for a plugin that’s not easily updated.

Infected sites typically redirect visitors to a webpage that tries to download malware to their local computers. Google’s quick blocking of infected sites will hopefully prevent SoakSoak from spreading any further much beyond its current point.

To check if your WordPress site is infected by SoakSoak, contact URLJet.com or check this list of resources there is a list of resources in here WordPress SoakSoak Support  that can help you.

If all is ok, this is a refresher on the importance of keeping WordPress and its plugins up-to-date. Keeping plugins current is every bit as important as keeping WordPress updated.

XenForo Update – Media Gallery 1.0.1 Maintenance Release is Available

Media Gallery 1.0.1 adds the following  improvements to the Gallery:

• Sort media and albums by a weighted average (like the XF Resource Manager). The upgrade rebuilds the weighted average.
• Show a new/random media block in the sidebar by enabling it in Admin CP > Applications > Gallery Options > Blocks Options
• Search tags from the sidebar, even with the  content tag cloud disabled.
• Report Albums
• New permission control hard deletion of comments

Important bug fixes include:

• Fixed incorrect link used in the like summary bar after submitting a like.
• Prevent un=viewable categories from listing on album pages
• Root media URL is Always canonicalized.
• Fixed character encoding issues found when fetching media title / description from a media site
• Clean attachment properly when media items are deleted
• Gallery BB Code works better with multiple editors
• Hide features from touch devices
• Allow inline moderation of albums to apply to soft deleted albums
• Ensure media cache is rebuilt for an album once a media item is deleted
• Some display issues on some older iOS devices
• Ensure that user tagging alerts respect permissions and are cleaned up if the tag is removed
• Improvements to the rendering of GALLERY BB Code and limits on the number that can be submitted per post
• Data too long errors when importing from XFR User Albums due to using description instead of filename

To upgrade your URLJet hosted site contact urljet.com

vBulletin 5.1.4 Newly Released

vBulletin 5.1.4 Released. You can upgrade  tof vBulletin 5 Connect, 5.1.4. In this version themes is expanded are expanded to help customize your forum and  Site Builder reworked. Importantly, over 140 issues and enhancements have been resolved or addressed.. Available in Spanish, German and French languages .vBulletin 5 Connect sites should upgrade to this vBulletin 5.1.4 at your first opportunity.  More detail can be found here: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-announcements/vbulletin-announcements_aa/4205364-vbulletin-connect-5-1-4-is-now-available

vBulletin Optimization, Provide a Better User Experience

Here at URLJet, we host forums of all sizes, from startups to long established forums with data base’s over 100GB and we’re often asked how to optimize vBulletin to lower server load and render pages faster.   The following how-to includes steps to enhance the user experience in forums of all sizes. We started with admincp basics and move to steps than should be taken as your forum grows.

1. Optimize admincp settings;

• Cookies and HTTP Header Options > At URLJet, turn GZIP off – It’s enabled by default and setting it twice actually slows things down. This is not true at all hosts so check first.
• Cookies and HTTP Header Options > Remove Redirection Message Pages – Turn this off to reduce unneeded page loads and bandwidth.
• Enable All AJAX features – Set to allow all AJAX Features. Ajax helps reduce server load by not reloading pages where AJAX is called. Quick Reply is an example > General Settings -> Disable AJAX Features and select Enable All Ajax Features.
• Server Settings and Optimization Options > Cached Posts Lifespan –10 days, depending on disk space available is a good setting. When set don’t forget to rebuild your Post Cache under Maintenance > Update Counters
• Server Settings and Optimization Options > Update Thread Views Immediately – Set to No. By default threads will update hourly via a cron. You can change the frequency by editing the Scheduled Tasks > Thread Views to a different time.
• Server Settings and Optimization Options > Update Attachment Views Immediately – Set to No.
• Message Posting and Editing Options > Quick Reply – This makes posting faster possibly leading to a more active community, also uses Ajax and prevent additional page loads when making a post.
• User Listing & Profile Viewing > Show Last Post on Profile Page – Very server intensive process, set this to no, if you’re having load issues.
• Message Posting and Editing Options > Quick Edit – Turn this on to prevent a new page load when someone simply wants to edit a post.
• Message Searching Options > Minimum Time Between Searches – Set this to some value mainly to avoid an attempt to use the search to harm your server.
• Forums Home Page Options > Display Logged in Users? – If you have issues with server load you can turn this feature off.
• Forum Display Options > Show Users Browsing Forums – If you have issues with server load you can turn this feature off.
• Thread Display Options > Show Users Browsing Threads If you have issues with server load you can turn this feature off.
• Forum Display Options > Maximum Displayed Threads Before Page Split – Too many threads on a page loads more data and slows page load. Best to set the value between 20 to 40.

2. Limit Search Spider Activity

A robots.txt files will save bandwidth and cut requests. Include any file or folder in it that you don’t want indexed in search. Keep in mind this file can viewed, meaning that if listed pranksters can get the folders and files you may not want them to see. Below is an example

User-agent: *
Disallow: /admincp/
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /modcp/
Disallow: /attachment.php
Disallow: /search.php
Disallow: /newreply.php
Disallow: /newthread.php
Disallow: /editpost.php
Disallow: /profile.php
Disallow: /register.php
Disallow: /login.php
Disallow: /subscription.php
Disallow: /private.php
Disallow: /report.php
Disallow: /sendmessage.php
Disallow: /memberlist.php
Disallow: /misc.php
Disallow: /moderator.php
Disallow: /postings.php
Disallow: /sendtofriend.php
Disallow: /threadrate.php
Disallow: /usercp.php
Disallow: /showgroups.php

3. Reduce HTML use for guests and users.

Cutting HTML can help render pages faster and reduce server load.

1. Disable who is online for guests – Find the usergroup “Unregistered / Not Logged In” ( Admin CP > Usergroups > Usergroup Manager ) and set “Can View Who’s Online” to off.
2. Disable Template Name in HTML Comments– More comments in HTML means more time to download and render the html. Ensure the template name in html comments turned off. Admin CP > vBulletin Options > vBulletin options > General Settings > and select No for Add Template Name in HTML Comments.
3. Disable Posting Rules – Displaying posting rules on every thread and your forum pages really only adds to amount of HTML rendered. It cannot be disabled in admincp and you’ll need to edit one template to remove posting rules. You can disable for guests only or competly.. To disable for guests; edit the forumrules template by adding the following <if condition=”$show[member]”>, at the top of the template. At the end of the template add </if> That will display Posting rules to members only and not guests. If you empty the template Posting Rules will not show to anyone.
4. Disable Forum Jump Menu – Disable forum jump completely from Admin CP. Experiment here, turn it off and if no one reports it, assume no one cared about using it either. Forum jump causes the server to work harder generating the menu and increases bandwidth by displaying it on each page load. Change forum jump options from Admin CP > vBulletin Options -> General Settings -> Use Forum Jump Menu.
5. Disable username menu for guests on showthread pages – Showthread page shows posts and each post has a username, clicking a username loads a popup menu and that menu is rarely of use to guests as vBulletin, by default restricts email and PM to members only. Turn it off for guests DBSEO give this option.

4. Move Attachments and Images from the Database to the File System

By Default vBulletin stores Attachments / Images / Avatars all in the databasee. Move them to the file system to reduce load and speed rendering

1. Admin CP > Attachments > Attachment Storage Type
2. Admin CP > User Albums > Album Picture Storage Type
3. Admin CP > Avatars > User Picture Storage Type

3. Move CSS StyleSheets From the Database to the File System

Again by default vBulletin renders the CSS in head part of HTML, this increases the size of each page. Storing CSS in files does 2 things; it reduces the code from each page and it enables the CSS files to be cached..

5. Compress Output (GZIP)

vBulletin provides compression for HTML output but I prefer to get it done through Apache via mod_deflate. Disable Zipped output in vBulletin. vBulletin Options -> Cookies and HTTP Header Options -> GZIP HTML Output And add the following lines to your httpd.conf file in Apache.

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>

SetOutputFilter DEFLATE

# file-types indicated will not be compressed

SetEnvIfNoCase Request_URI \.(?:gif|jpe?g|png|rar|zip|pdf)$ no-gzip dont-vary

<IfModule mod_headers.c>

Header append Vary User-Agent

</IfModule>

</IfModule>

Restart Apache web server. Additionally you should also use Apache to cache static content. Refer article by coderzone on How to Decrease Web Page Loading Time especially caching of static content.

7. Full Text Search Type

You can use this option to greatly reduce server load when a search query is used on your server. Admin CP > vBulletin Options > Search Type. This change is a server intense process as it needs to alter the vBulletin post and thread table. If you don’t have many searches, this isn’t a needed change

How To Personalize your vBulletin Forum

OK, vBulletin is installed, how you make it look like your site and not vBulletins. Head for the Administration Control Panel (ACP) and Style Manager. Style Manager is where you can modify and change everything about vBulletin, from the logo and header image to font color to the pixels width separating different elements, or to change the overall background image.

Intimidating at first glance, it’s really pretty simple to use. To illustrate, the following few step will totally change the look of vBulletin.
Best Practice: Create a New Style
DO NOT modify the default style; instead create a new style in Style Manager. This will allow you to always be able to return to the default style, should you need to test functions later on and users can continue to use the old style while you develop the new one.

Change the Logo

First, let’s change the vBulletin logo to something more relevant. You’ll need to upload the new logo to the images folder. The default location of the logo image is public_html/images/misc/

Best Practice: Add a folder for your new style.
Add a new folder in your forums image directory to store the graphics for your new style. Trust me, files will be much easier to find if you need to make changes later.

With the new logo uploaded, login to the ACP and navigate to Style Manager. Click the dropdown list next to the style you’re editing and select “StyleVars”.

In the variable list on the left, scroll to StyleVars “titleimage” under the header “ImagePaths”. In the title image box on the right, enter the path for the logo and save. vBulletin uses relative paths so as long as you uploaded the new image to the images/misc/ folder, just replace the vB logo with yours. The header will automatically resize to fit. This is a good time to visit your forum to check your work. TIP: To quickly find the variable you’re looking for; use the search function in the upper left hand menu. Enter the name of the StyleVar you’re looking for and vBulletin finds it for you.

Change the Header Background

So, your new logo is in place, but it doesn’t go with the background and you want to change the background to match the header. Repeat the steps used to change the vBulletin logo, but instead of choosing the “titleimage” StyleVars, pick the “header_background” under the “Header” section.

The URLJet logo is a mix of blue and red and adding a white background makes it pop. In the background color box change the Hex color to white (#FFFFFF). This link will take you to a handy hex color picker. http://www.color-hex.com. If your background is more complex, you can also build one with the appropriate dimensions, upload it to your new style folder, then call out its location in this window.

Change the Background of the Tab Bar

Say you want something other than the vBulletin green here. Like the header background, vBulletin uses a repeating gradient image here as well.

We made a black gradient. After uploading it to the style folder, head back to the Style Var Editor, look for the NavBar section and select “nav_tab_background” and save.

Time to practice….Check back and well have more tips on a vartrity of sujects from vBulletin to XenForo and WordPress

Google Updates

Seems Google has rolled out some new updates with specific importance to forums owners and managers. We’re getting feedback the newest update focuses on inbound links and DMCA compliance. Other recent changes; Google wants access to *js and possiably css. Any robots blocking for *js should be removed. As always, check you disabvow list too.
Starting 10/17/2014
Penguin Update – Ongoing
Expected to impact Impacts under 1% of English queries. However it may impact other languages in different degerees.
Reported to help sites recover from earlier Penguin updates that changed link profiles.
Sites most at risk are ones with poor link profiles.
Starting 10/1/2014
Google adds depth to the in the news box. Google confirmind their In The Nes box has expanded to cover more than traditional news sites. Blog Post, videos, Reddit and other content form non-news sites may appear.

Google Chrome and SHA-1 SSL Certificates

chrome degraded ssl

Please be aware of the upcoming changes that affect how websites using SHA-1 SSL’s Certs are
displayed in the Chrome browser.

SHA-1 is no longer considered to be sufficiently secure and will be completely phased out in
the next few years. To encourage prompt adoption of more secure algorithms, Starting with
Google Chrome 39, Google start to degrade websites using SHA-1 certificates. The changes start
November 2014.

Initially, the warnings is limited to a “Secure, but minor errors” icon, in the form of a lock
with a yellow triangle. Later versions will display a red crossed-out lock.

SSL Users can prevent a downgraded user experience by following these steps:

– Check which algorithm your SSL Certificate uses.
https://sslcheck.globalsign.com/en_US
Is one checker that works

– If the website uses a SHA-1 SSL Cert expiring after 12/31/2015,
the certificate will need to be reissued to SHA-256.

To prevent a degraded user experience its important to take prompt action. Please do not
hesitate to contact us at: urljet.com