So, what does that mean, exactly? It means that instead of http:// for the address, it is now https:// If you’ve got a direct link from your website to the Tutor Agent site, please change this to https. If you’ve directly linked to your ad from somewhere, please update this to https.
But that’s not really what it’s all about. https gives an added level of security, encrypting everything between you and the site so that there is less chance of someone hacking your data transmission.
Due to the amount of denial of service attacks, spam and more, it’s been necessary to do this to keep the site running.
Another thing that I fixed was that the WordPress dashboard was still showing for users. Users should only have been able to see the ad dashboard, not the WordPress one. This created the confusion of some thinking that access to the blogs from the WP dashboard meant that they could post ads in there instead. The blog is just for me, sorry. So, this access has now been disabled. When you login you’ll only see your ad dashboard.
I’ve also added the updated recapture from Google for logins. This has dramatically reduced the amount of robot signups that this site used to get. Of course, I had other systems installed to prevent them, but this updated check has reduced the strain on the server considerably.
Recently an overactive search engine scanned the entire site in 2 seconds, copying 1200 tutor ad pages, and causing our hosting provider’s systems to shut the site down for an hour while I investigated the cause. I was able to trace it to a single IP address in Hunan, China. This is just one example of some of the things I need to deal with to keep the site running.
Just thought I’d update you!
If you’ve ever found Tutor Agent useful in the past, please consider buying me a drink! It’s a non-profit site which has been running in various forms for over 10 years now, barely scraping through each year on costs.
