Keep Your Systems Updated

WordPress just released a third security update to the the CMS systems this past week. This is the third security update in four weeks.

Rae Morey over at The Repository reports:

The frequency of WordPress security releases in recent weeks has the community recalibrating expectations. In Post Status Slack, Emilia Capital co-founder Joost de Valk suggested that frequent security releases were going to be “a regular occurrence for the next few years.” Automattic’s Anne McCarthy praised the contributors who worked on the release, posting, “Big props to everyone behind the scenes there. This is definitely a part of the AI world now.”

On X, Patchstack CEO Oliver Sild predicted that it was “a matter of time” before a zero-day in WordPress core is disclosed before the Security Team has shipped a fix. He pointed to reports submitted via HackerOne that have gone unfixed for years, arguing that AI is turning bugs previously considered low-priority into exploitable chains. If researchers keep getting duplicate responses without seeing fixes ship, Sild said, “they will just drop them publicly.”

This is not a WordPress isolated issue. Artificial Intelligence systems are finding security flaws and Zero-day exploits in software and Web applications faster than ever before.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

It's good when it's responsibly disclosed and patched before the exploits can be used in the wild by bad actors. It's not when the good guys don't get a chance to patch the vulnerabilities before the bad actors start using them in exploits.

Maintainers of WordPress, which powers about half the Websites on the Internet, need to be really quick to patch these vulnerability, which they have been.

So Why Use WordPress If It's Such A Target?

So many are probably wondering why even bother to continue to use WordPress? For the exact same reason. There is a HUGE community of people keeping it secure. Not to mention being very transparent with the public when issues arise.

Other systems get hacked all the time, but you don't necessarily hear about it. It's either ignored or just not publicly discussed.

This is why I'm very big on WordPress for my clients' websites... the community and support.

Now on my end as the Web designer, developer, and maintainer of my clients' sites, the onus is on me to make sure I stay on top of updates and apply the fixed versions to their sites. I do this daily for this exact reason.

If you run your own site through another CMS that might not be maintained as well, you might want to consider a migration to WordPress and working with a honest and hard working WordPress shop like... cough, cough... Goldstein Media. 😁

So, is your Website safe where it is? Maybe? Are you getting the support you need to keep it updated and secure? With AI as prevalent as it is, unpatched bugs are going to show up. It's how fast you fix them that matters.

-- Seth Goldstein

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OpenAI Makes ChatGPT Sources Less Visible

OpenAI is testing or rolling out a change to how you can click to see the sources from the ChatGPT responses. It used to be a button named “Sources” in the footer of the response, but now sometimes it is showing up within the three-dot “More actions” menu, requiring you to click more to find those sources - which very few will do.

Search Engine RoundtableBarry Schwartz

This sucks for businesses trying to get found in AI listings. Bah! 😠

OpenAI drops ChatGPT text chat limits for free users, adds new safeguards for teens - Help Net Security

OpenAI has updated GPT-5.6 Sol for paid ChatGPT users and rolled out GPT-5.6 Luna with unlimited chats for the free tier.

Help Net SecuritySinisa Markovic

Some better news out of OpenAI.

Anthropic says it will watermark text generated by its AI models | TechCrunch

Anthropic will extend support for watermarking AI generations for older models as well.

TechCrunchIvan Mehta

I have mixed feelings about this. But overall a good move.

Taxi drivers rarely die of Alzheimer’s – how complex mental maps and spatial reasoning protect your brain

Working with and living in spatially complex environments may help delay cognitive decline, though more research is needed.

The ConversationHatim Sharif

Bottom-line... use your brain. Treat it like a muscle and exercise it regularly.

Society for Hopeful Technologists

For everyone who wants technologies to work for people and planet.

Society for Hopeful Technologists

Love this in so many ways!

Twitch is Mining Peoples’ Streams to Train Amazon’s AI

Here’s how to opt out of Twitch’s new generative AI training setting.

404 MediaSamantha Cole

It was only a matter of time. There are directions in the article on how to opt-out. I suggest you do that.

Podcast: Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘Superintelligent’ AI Future That No One Wants

Zuckerberg’s anti-social future; a company offering human writing that is actually just AI; and the big switch from Flock to Axon.

404 MediaJoseph Cox

Can we all agree that Zuck is an alien? He's not in touch with reality.

Are we living in the Neuromancer Reality?

Dystopian tech-enabled realities are coming uncomfortably close to the dystopian science fiction story.

The Buzz by Geoff LivingstonGeoff Livingston

We very well might be. Science fiction and reality eventually mix.

OpenAI’s new AI smart speaker will reportedly sell for between $300 and $400 | TechCrunch

Additional details about OpenAI’s mysterious new AI device make it sound like a pricey smart speaker.

TechCrunchLucas Ropek

You'll never see that in my house.

An Android app store competitor is available in the Play Store - Engadget

A competitor to Google’s app store, Aptoide Games, is now available in the Play Store.

EngadgetSarah Fielding

Pretty meta if you ask me. Shows how litigation works. Next up, Apple App Store.

How To Make Your WordPress Website AI-Friendly — Speckyboy

AI search is changing how people reach websites. This article shows how to make WordPress more AEO friendly with robots.txt, sitemaps, agent readiness checks, Markdown output, and helpful resources.

Speckyboy Design MagazineEric Karkovack

Some clever tips here from Eric Karkovack.

Gemini is getting over a dozen new connected apps – here’s the list

Google is adding over a dozen new connected apps to Gemini, with the list including some useful integrations.

9to5GoogleBen Schoon

I keep forgetting to use Gemini. I'll have to try it more.

Reddit Preserved The Part Of The Internet We Broke

Wall Street is measuring Reddit through traffic, partnerships, and quarterly volatility. Its real value is the human validation layer that search, marketers, and AI are still trying to replace.

Search Engine JournalBrent Csutoras

An interesting take.

Flock CEO: ‘We got this one wrong’

Garrett Langley has changed his mind on the company’s policy approach.

The VergeLauren Feiner

That's nice. Too little too late IMO. 😒😠

France’s social media ban for under-15s is struck down

France’s social media ban for under-15s falls at the Constitutional Council, two weeks before it was due to start. The school phone ban survives.

TNW | Government-policyAna-Maria Stanciuc

This is the right move. This just means the parents of the kids need to be aware of what they're kids are doing. They should be doing this already.

Google Gemini Users Can Now Hide Watermarks on Their AI-Generated Media

Google is starting to roll out a new option to hide visible watermarks on media content created with its Gemini chatbot. However, that content will still have invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata.

Thurrott.comLaurent Giret

Anthropic is watermarking text. Meanwhile over at Google...

Why do I have so many Apple Podcasts plays? — Bumper | podcast data + growth

Perhaps the single most misunderstood metric in podcasting is what Apple Podcasts calls “plays.” Many podcasters believe Apple Podcasts plays are equivalent to  Spotify plays  or YouTube views.  They aren’t.  Apple Podcasts Connect defines play count

BumperDan Misener

In case you were wondering.

DeepSeek’s AI models are about to cost four times more - Engadget

DeepSeek has announced price hikes for its V4 models.

EngadgetMariella Moon

This all makes sense. But not the cheapest anymore. Interesting, especially since leading US models are coming down in pricing. 🤔

ChatGPT Already Knows Who It’ll Recommend Before It Searches — Suganthan

ChatGPT writes brand names into its own search query before it fetches a single page. I read the traffic across 60 conversations to work out when it happens, what being named is worth, and what actually gets you onto that list.

Suganthan MohanadasanSuganthan Mohanadasan

Very thought provoking. 🤔 Are we going about Citation Analysis all wrong? Still got to dig into this more.

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That's It For This Week! Keep Rocking It!

-Seth

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