Last week the Joomla Security Strike Team issued another high severity alert for Joomla version 1.5. This is hot on the heels of a moderate alert in April. All 1.5.x installs prior to and including 1.5.17 are affected.

joomlaUpdating Joomla is not especially difficult but streamlining the process is worthwile if you look after more than just a few sites! Hosting tools such as cPanel and Installatron can help automate this process for you but it can take a few weeks for the updates to be made available via these tools.

The best way to do updates is to use the excellent (and free) Update Manager from Sam Moffatt you can find this extension on the Joomla Extensions web site: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/core-enhancements/installers/9332

Before doing any changes, make sure you have a recent backup of your website!

Install Update Manager (you only have to do this once):

  • Go to: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/core-enhancements/installers/9332
  • Click on the "Download" button and download the com_jupdateman_151.tgz file to your local machine
  • Log in to the back-end of your Joomla site www.yourdomain.com.au/administrator and click on Extensions -> Install/Uninstall
  • Browse to the com_jupdateman_151.tgz file on your local machine and click on "Upload File and Install"

Update Joomla to latest version:

  • Go to Components -> Update Manager
  • Click on "download the update file >>>"
  • Click on "Patch Package"
  • Once downloaded, Click on "you can proceed with the install >>>"
  • If all is well, you will see the message, "You have successfully upgraded your Joomla! install! Congratulations!" and your update is complete

Depending on how big the latest patch is (and how far behind you are), updates can now be done in a few minutes or even a few seconds.

How do you keep your Joomla sites up to date?

Update: Admin Tools from Akeeba also has a "one click" update process that is very easy to use.

Website Health Check

To find out how well your website is configured, order a Website Health Check for $90.

The Health Check includes:

  • check CMS and third party extension/plugin versions
  • check Google is seeing the website as responsive
  • check website page load speed
  • check robots.txt
  • check free space
  • check backup is enabled and suitably configured
  • check web hosting configuration and suitability
  • recommendations on how best to address any discovered issues

Note that no changes are made to your website during the Website Health Check without consulting you first.

The cost of a Website Health Check is refundable if you purchase a 12 month Website Maintenance and Backup Subscription within 30 days of the check.

Website Maintenance and Backup Subscriptions

  Economy Business Enterprise
Monthly Cost $39 per month $69 per month $99 per month
Annual Cost $390 per year* $690 per year* $990 per year*
Third party extensions up to 10 extensions up to 20 extensions up to 30 extensions
Monthly Report Yes Yes Yes
Free initial security audit (valued at $220) Yes Yes Yes
Monitor new CMS and third party extension/plugin updates Yes Yes Yes
High priority CMS updates installed within 24 hours Yes Yes Yes
High priority third party extension/plugin updates installed within 24 hours Yes Yes Yes
Non-critical CMS and third party extension/plugin updates installed quarterly Yes Yes Yes
Monthly off-site backups Yes Yes Yes
Non-critical CMS and third party extension/plugin updates installed monthly No Yes Yes
Installation of web application firewall (e.g. Akeeba Admin Tools Pro) No Yes Yes
Weekly off-site backups No No Yes
Monthly malware scan No No Yes

* Pay 12 months in advance and get 2 months free.