WordPress Security Checklist: 15 Checks for a Safer Website
Each check says what to do, where to find it and how to tell it's really done, starting with the ones that close the most doors.
Saeed Shahriar
Articles by Saeed Shahriar 44
Bing Splits AI Training From AI Search Grounding
Microsoft's new controls will let you block AI training and still appear in AI answers, but the dates matter as much as the settings.
ChatGPT Ads Turns On Ad Rewrites by Default: Check Your Setting
Advertisers gain more markets and a wider ad format, but ChatGPT can now rewrite your ads unless you opt out.
Google plans to support one robots.txt rule for AI training opt-outs
A shared policy token would set broad AI training preferences alongside company-specific rules, with Google aiming to support it in 2027.
AI Overviews Estimated at 0.9% CTR in One Opt-Out Test
Barry Schwartz says he hasn't seen anyone else publish data like it, and the organic result is the part to watch.
Gemini Seems to Have Dropped UTM Tags From Cited Links
Before you blame Gemini for a traffic drop, check your Direct channel and your server logs.
Apple's Safari block pushes ad tech server-side, WPP pitches InfoSum
Ad tech firms like ID5 are moving identity work onto publisher servers, while WPP argues its data business barely feels the change.
Instagram reportedly offers YouTubers up to $500,000 for Features
Meta says it's "too early to share a long-term monetization model", while Instagram has approached "select" YouTubers with offers up to $500,000.
Reddit is moving to logged-in pages as search traffic falls
Reddit's search referrals dropped by more than 1 million on average per week in October, and the company now wants people to sign in.
Amazon Ads hits $19.6B in Q3 as it bets on its AI Ads Agent
Simpler buying is the pitch, but the real question is how much you can still see once Amazon's AI makes the calls.
Vercel Lets Sites Control AI Crawlers and Assistants Separately
You can block bots collecting content while letting assistants fetch pages to answer users.
YouTube: Living Room TV Viewing Accounts for One-Third of Ad Revenue
The earnings figure points to a bigger role for living room viewing in YouTube's ad business.
Google Lets Restaurants Control Ordering Links in Business Profiles
Restaurants can now switch off individual ordering providers from their Google dashboard.
Discord Will Put Some Public Server Chats in Search Results
Some public Discord server chats are heading into search results, and server admins have until November 16 to decide what's public.
Google Expands AI Mode Ads as Search Revenue Growth Slows
More AI searches are bringing new ad placements, but Google's Q3 remarks gave no figure for traffic to websites.
ServiceNow Puts Its Workflows Inside ChatGPT With an MCP Plugin
The ServiceNow MCP plugin is available now; voice, security and Codex features are slated for 2027, with richer plugin features due by the end of 2026.
YouTube Tests a $20 AdSense Payout Threshold
The test changes when eligible creators can collect revenue, not who qualifies for the YouTube Partner Program.
WordPress 7.1.4 Security Release Fixes an Updater Flaw and More
Fixes are being backported to eligible security branches, currently through WordPress 4.7.
WordPress Targets 7.3 for Built-In AI Agent Access
Agents did better through WordPress's built-in API, because the MCP Adapter doesn't yet bundle the abilities they need.
Google Previews a Platform for Outside Apps in Gemini and Search
For SaaS and service businesses, it's a new way for customers to use your service without visiting your site.
TikTok Adds Must Eat, a Restaurant Guide Built From Videos
For restaurant owners and local marketers, TikTok is making the path from food video to booking easier to follow.
Freshworks Buys Robusta to Add AI Incident Investigation
Freshworks' Robusta uses AI to investigate outages and identify root causes, and it is being brought into Freshservice alongside FireHydrant.
Guidewire to Buy Hyperexponential for $1.7 Billion
The deal shows how established SaaS companies can use acquisitions to add AI to products built for a specific industry.
Googlebot Must Now Follow Redirects to Find Your Favicon
John Mueller says Google rewrote the line so AI tools could debug missing favicons better.
WordPress 7.2 Beta 2 Is Out: What to Test Before December 8
The admin no longer bundles its scripts, and that change can trip up old firewall rules and image plugins.
Semrush Confirms Poisoned Google Results Are Hitting Rank Trackers
If a keyword dropped for no reason in the last two months, check Search Console before you change anything.
YouTube Pushes Microdramas With Members-Only Episodes on Mobile
YouTube says it is developing more monetization pathways for microdramas, and members-only episodes on mobile get a new viewer experience.
Google Search Central Docs, Late October: Spam, URLs, Controls
Three Search Central documentation changes in Google's updates log are dated October 21, 23 and 26.
OpenAI Releases GPT-6.1 Terra at Half the Price of Sol
The cheaper model is built for screen work like forms, drawings and video edits, and it's aimed squarely at cost.
YouTube Shopping Adds Amazon in the Gulf, Egypt and India
Gulf and Egyptian creators can join from 500 subscribers and Indian creators can tag Amazon too, but nobody has published commission rates.
Moonshot Releases Kimi K3.1 Pro, With Open Weights Due November 4
Moonshot's new model scores close to Claude Opus 5.5 on a coding agent test at about half the token price.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Winter '27 Puts Campaign Agent in GA
The Salesforce overview marks Campaign Agent GA now, but CGC Agency says Salesforce's Dreamforce recap gave no availability dates.
Azoma Raises $11.2M to Track Products in AI Shopping Agents
Azoma's $11.2M Series A, led by Puma Growth Partners, sells brands software to track how AI shopping tools show their products.
Claude API 2026-10-21 Drops Temperature and Other Sampling Controls
Your old integration keeps working until you upgrade the SDK, which is exactly when it can break.
Substack Previews Podcast Ads and Brand Paywall Formats
Brands are testing paid access for your free subscribers, and dynamic ad insertion for podcasts is open for early access sign-ups.
Anthropic Previews Claude Duet, an Agent That Messages You First
It's built for professionals and small business owners, and every send, payment or deletion still needs your approval.
PHP2Shell: Two Critical PHP Flaws Every Site Owner Should Check
Your dashboard can look fully updated while the PHP underneath is still open to attack.
Salesforce Agrees to Buy Braze at $47.50 a Share
Closing is expected in Salesforce's fiscal 2028, starting February 2027, and needs Braze shareholder and regulatory approval first.
AliExpress Joins YouTube Shopping Affiliate in Four New Markets
Creators will be able to tag AliExpress products, but no commission rates have been published and no go-live date has been set.
UpdraftPlus Breach: Check Every Site Ever Linked to UpdraftCentral
The plugin update cuts the old keys, but it won't remove a backdoor that's already on your site.
Rank Math PRO 3.0.123 Shipped With a Backdoor for 11 Hours
Rank Math says to clean up before you install 3.0.124, so check your sites against the download window first.
Meta Adds Product Browsing to Existing Facebook and Instagram Ads
A tap on your ad may now open a Meta page first, and each ad has its own on/off switch.
Google Moves Inline Links Higher in AI Mode and AI Overviews
More links, placed higher, but still no click data to tell you if they send visits to your site.
Klaviyo Opens Its Composer AI Marketing Agent to Every Customer
The agent now works while you're logged out, so the question is what you let it touch.