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WordPress 2.9.2 was just released and addresses a bug where logged in users can see trashed posts belonging to other authors. So, if you have sensitive files in the trash and multiple user accounts on your site, you should probably upgrade soon.

WordPress version 2.9.1 was just released and should fix the annoying scheduled post problem. The problem was scheduled posts weren’t being published on some 2.9 installs — including a couple of my own installs . Instead, when you looked at the list of posts you would just see errors reading “missed schedule” or something similar. There is a way of fixing the problem by editing a core file, but no need now…just upgrade to 2.9.1 and all should be well. Remember…backup, backup, backup before pressing the upgrade button–chances are you will have no problems, but if you do, will be glad you backed up.

If you have upgraded to WordPress 2.9 and are running into problems, it’s usually due to incompatible plugins or themes. If you’ve upgraded and can’t login now, you can search this site for video tutorials on how to disable the plugins. If that doesn’t work, then you can try to ftp to your site and rename the current theme you are using–this will result in WP using the default theme. If that doesn’t work, then you can contact me and I’ll look at it for you for a small fee…if I can fix your site, you pay the fee–no more than $50–if I can’t fix your site, then you pay nothing. If interested, use the contact link in the nav bar.

WordPress 2.9 has just been released as stable. I upgraded this site and all seems to be well. See the following post for some of the cool new features.

http://educhalk.org/blog/wordpress-2-9-a-video-demonstration-of-new-features/

There is a new WordPress security vulnerability that makes it very easy for anyone to launch a dos attack on your WordPress site. See the details here: http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2009/Oct/263

An upgraded version of WordPress was released today to address this problem; version 2.8.5.

This security vulnerability impacts ALL WordPress versions prior to today’s release, so if you are running WordPress an upgrade is a must.

See the following posts on this site for upgrade information:

Upgrade using auto-upgrade: http://educhalk.org/blog/how-to-upgrade-wordpress-27/

Upgrade using Cpanel: http://educhalk.org/blog/how-to-upgrade-wordpress-to-27-using-cpanel/

I just upgraded this site to WordPress 2.8 yesterday and everything went smoothly…upgraded a few other sites as well with no problems and fixed a couple of botched upgrades for clients…problems mostly related to incompatible plugins. I have noticed a couple little annoyances (for example, in the post writing window, once I switched to single column now it won’t go back to 2 columns), but no show-stoppers.

If you are upgrading, be sure to:

1. Backup you database first just in-case you have problems and need to recover.
2. If you want to be “extra safe”, backup your WordPress source code…or at least, your wp-content directory
3. Deactivate ALL plugins — this is very important. If a plugin is incompatible with 2.8, then it could break your site
4. Change to the default, Kubrick theme
5. Upgrade using the built-in upgrade feature IF you are upgrading from 2.7+. If you are upgrading from an earlier version, I would recommend that you DO NOT use a plugin to upgrade. In that case, upgrade manually.
6. Change back to your custom theme, if needed.
7. Reactivate your plugins one at a time to ensure they work.

Check out the following thread on wordpress.org for possible solutions to common problems people have been experiencing during the upgrade.

http://wordpress.org/support/topic/279132?replies=9

The following video shows a couple of nice improvements coming out in WordPress 2.8. I think the new theme uploader is going to please a lot of WordPress users.

Disclaimer: This is not any type of official release or feature notice…I am not affiliated with WordPress…I’m just a WordPress user who has installed 2.8 and am showing you a couple of features I consider to be cool improvements.

How to upgrade WordPress 2.7 Using the New Auto-Upgrade Feature

How to Upgrade WordPress to 2.7 Using Cpanel — Part 1 of 2

How to Upgrade WordPress to 2.7 Using Cpanel — Part 2 of 2