Silence Is Golden – The Blank Pages Issue

This past week our server was attacked by an annoying virus. Seems that one version of WordPress, the blog software I use on several sites I manage, was released with a security hole. This issue was quickly addressed and a new version released.

Unfortunately, I was preoccupied with real life and blissfully unaware.

Then I began hearing that some sites I manage loaded with empty index pages. When I investigated I found that these sites contained a file called index.php. This seemingly blank page overrode index.htm.

When I examined the php file I found that it was a basic php file that included the words ‘Silence Is Golden’.

Now, if I were a paranoid sort I might conclude this was aimed directly at my site with a warning to stop expressing my not-always-so-popular views. Being slightly more practical I loaded the file into Google and quickly found out about the WordPress security issue. Apparently the Silence Is Golden bug had spread like wildfire across the Net.

I am writing about this for two reasons: If your site has loaded with a blank page, this is likely the reason.

If you use WordPress, you need to make sure you are using the latest version.

Since I’m away from home this week, with no WiFi, reduced to working off an old laptop hooked up to my Blackberry, I’m a bit limited. Still, I’ve taken several steps to resolve the situation.

All the same, if I am hosting your site and a blank page returns, please contact me at once. I will need to dig deeper to remove the problem. I’ll be back home and in my office Sunday evening,

As those of you who use WordPress probably know, the open source software was developed and continues to be developed and improved by dedicated volunteers. This is very stable software and when the problem arose, they addressed it quickly. I am very grateful to the people who give so much of their time to make this software available free of charge. It truly is a worthy endeavor and I will continue to be a loyal user.

Silence is not always golden. Sometimes it is plain-out annoying,