Wordpress Have you faced any issues because you didn't upgrade to the latest version of wordpress?

[crumblepie]

One of my wordpress blogs got hacked in the past because it was using an old version of Wordpress. I was curious to know how common this is. Have you ever faced any issues, including but not limited to getting hacked, because you didn't update?

[Nathan]

How many updates were you behind? I have some currently that are not on 3.3.1 just because some plugins are not compatible with them yet.

[SpikeTheLobster]

Apart from the really annoying "You have one upgrade to apply" notification, no problems whatsoever. That said, I keep up to date with most installations because I don't use a great big pile of plugins or adjust the template settings manually. When it comes to WP, I like to keep my adjustments to a minimum (i.e. through the interface) for precisely this reason!

[androidz]

I've had one major issue because I didn't upgrade my WordPress. It got hacked. They were able to insert a code snippet in an important file and somehow they were able to spam the website. Lesson learned. This event has made me more prudent when it comes to updates.

 

Do remember of course that when you upgrade your WordPress installation, you must also upgrade the rest of your components that needs upgrading -- t might stop working altogether. And remember to make backups of your data and files just in case you need to restore your site.

[Nathan]

Do remember of course that when you upgrade your WordPress installation, you must also upgrade the rest of your components that needs upgrading -- t might stop working altogether. And remember to make backups of your data and files just in case you need to restore your site.

 

Yeah I've had this happen as well. The easiest fix when it crashes from an update is to go rename you plugin folder via FTP. Your site will then come back up and you can decide what plugin isn't compatible.

[Shole]

Never had a problem with world press but I had with SMF. I got hacked and the guy had my site down for a week or so . All my passwords were changed everything was changed.

[Creaky]

Thankfully never had this sort of problem, I do tend to do updates fairly quickly though

[dojo]

Not all 'hacks' have to deal with YOUR scripts. sometimes it's a server attack, that will mess up all scripts, whether paid or free. I had VBs put down just as I had an oscommerce or wordpress installation. ALWAYS keep backups and prepare for the worst. If it's online, it's vulnerable.

 

On another hand though, do keep your scripts updated. It's better to have them use the latest patches and codes than something outdated.

[bryce12]

I think I am the odd man out here, I usually do not upgrade my Wordpress installations immediately. I remember once my website stopped functioning because a particular plugin was not compatible with the latest version of Wordpress. So I had to revert back to an older version to get it working again which was quite a hassle. So I usually read about the latest Wordpress updates and if necessary test it on a dummy website before upgrading my main websites.

[crumblepie]

How many updates were you behind? I have some currently that are not on 3.3.1 just because some plugins are not compatible with them yet.

 

It was a blog I'd bought a couple of years ago, maybe in 2008? I don't remember the version but it must have been pretty old.

 

I think I am the odd man out here, I usually do not upgrade my Wordpress installations immediately. I remember once my website stopped functioning because a particular plugin was not compatible with the latest version of Wordpress. So I had to revert back to an older version to get it working again which was quite a hassle. So I usually read about the latest Wordpress updates and if necessary test it on a dummy website before upgrading my main websites.

 

That is the exact same reason why I was so reluctant to update. I know some sites are super difficult to upgrade because of the massive amount of customizations made to them... but now that we all know what happens to outdated versions, I think we should try to stick to the basics in the future like what SpikeTheLobster is doing. Thanks for the great advice STL!

[SpikeTheLobster]

That is the exact same reason why I was so reluctant to update. I know some sites are super difficult to upgrade because of the massive amount of customizations made to them... but now that we all know what happens to outdated versions, I think we should try to stick to the basics in the future like what SpikeTheLobster is doing. Thanks for the great advice STL!

 

You're welcome.

 

I should point out two things, however:

 

1. that my main site is a version behind because I'm loath to update (afraid of losing my theme options that took me frigging HOURS to set up when my WP freelancer bugged out on me at the last minute).

 

2. that I only use the basics because I don't have time (*cough* and too lazy *cough*) to learn any new stuff. I have enough on my plate trying to get stuff set up (12 blogs last weekend!) without farting around with some SEO plugin that's 23 pages long and full of crap I don't understand or really need.

[godarm]

Not all 'hacks' have to deal with YOUR scripts. sometimes it's a server attack, that will mess up all scripts, whether paid or free. I had VBs put down just as I had an oscommerce or wordpress installation. ALWAYS keep backups and prepare for the worst. If it's online, it's vulnerable.

 

On another hand though, do keep your scripts updated. It's better to have them use the latest patches and codes than something outdated.

 

I agree with dojo. You site got hacked does not mean it's due to the older version of Wordpress. There may be many other factors. Anyways always upgrade Wordpress and all your scripts and plugins in order to be on safe side.

[wjack2010]

I've never faced any issues when I forgot to update or anything, I tend to keep updated as much as I can, but sometimes updates are released when I cannot access the computer or I am away so using the computer would cost hefty amounts of money which are not simply worth it for one simple update. To the point, I haven't faced any problems as of yet.

[crumblepie]

You're welcome.

 

I should point out two things, however:

 

1. that my main site is a version behind because I'm loath to update (afraid of losing my theme options that took me frigging HOURS to set up when my WP freelancer bugged out on me at the last minute).

 

2. that I only use the basics because I don't have time (*cough* and too lazy *cough*) to learn any new stuff. I have enough on my plate trying to get stuff set up (12 blogs last weekend!) without farting around with some SEO plugin that's 23 pages long and full of crap I don't understand or really need.

 

LOL everyone of us has some laziness when it comes to this stuff - but if we were content enough with owning just 1 website I think we would be more diligent. It's doing the same thing x 12 that puts us busy bees off

[farmer333]

One of the early sites I worked on gave me almost an opposite problem to this, I ran into problems due to the updates. My fault entirely as it turned out and probably a classic newbie mistake. I had adapted my template by directly changing the stylesheet, and had made quite extensive changes. I had got to the point where I felt happy with it but then one day it updated to the next version and all my changes were overwritten!

 

It was a lesson I quickly learned and from then on have used custom CSS to make my changes and have even disabled automatic updates just to be sure. Since then I have optional updates, mainly just to make me feel more secure I think.