You might remember than WordPress installation you did a couple of years ago and that you’ve been ignoring the “upgrade now” message for almost as long. This “Ready for 2010” message is sponsored by the “Get Your Software Up To Date” foundation.
Before starting down this road, it could be a good idea making sure your backups work. :-)
Yes. You should do these things all year around, but at least this should be a perfect occasion to take the time to check out that old server you installed just to test stuff at home, the server where you’re hosting your private blog, your mail server, etc. We geeks have some sort of weird ability to contract a couple of servers in strange places, forgetting them – but still using them for something on a daily basis.
Update and Upgrade Your Distribution
Spend a couple of hours getting the distribution up to date. For Linux-based servers this usually involves using the package systems update manager, such as apt-get or aptitude on debian or Ubuntu-based servers, up2date on Red Hat, the SUSE update manager etc. On Windows-based servers you’ll be running the update manager, getting all the recent fixes and patches into the core library of tools.
If you’re feeling a bit adventurous you should also consider upgrading your distribution to a newer version if one is available. This will make newer versions of the software you’re running available, get new features into your applications and other Good Things. It might however break a few existing features, such as the layout of certain configuration files, new default values for some settings and other, small stuff. Be sure to set aside a couple of hours for this, so don’t do this just as you’re leaving the country for a couple of months.
Find – and Upgrade – Installed Web Applications
It’s very important to keep Web applications you’ve installed, such as WordPress, up to date. As their nature makes them available through the internet, they’re often a preferred vector for automatic attacks against your server. As soon as a remote exploit has been found, you’ll start noticing attempts to break your server in your web server’s access logs. Usually the attacks require some sort of mitigating factor that requires a particular configuration, but there’s always someone who get in trouble because of just that factor. That might be you!
WordPress (and several other web applications) also contain an automagical update mode, where you can update the software simply by clicking a link in the admin interface. Be sure to spend half an hour getting the automagical update to work where it’s available, and do it now!
Upgrade Embedded Software
Our lives are filled with devices that run any sort of embedded software. Your mobile phone, your digital camera, your wireless router, your TV, your media player, your game consoles, your network attached storage disk (NAS), etc.
Check out the manufacturer’s website for the different devices (or if you’re a nerd like .. well, me, you might have exchanged the firmware with alternative firmwares) and check if there are any updates available. Several devices are also able to update themselves, so be sure to just log in to the device (and discover that you don’t remember the password you set a couple of years ago) and check if you can just click a button to make everything go Happy Happy Joy Joy.
You might also have several applications installed on your mobile phone – check for updates and any critical fixes. You do not want your mobile phone to leak private details out onto the world wide web or through Bluetooth.
Any other issues one should be sure to cover when doing this? Leave a comment below!