Code it

As a programmer or developer, the importance of creating secure applications cannot be overstated.

 

Software security deals with the management of malicious attacks by identifying potential vulnerabilities in software and taking the necessary precautions to guard against them.

 

Software can never be 100% secure because a developer can overlook a bug, create new bugs in an attempt to fix existing cases, or create new vulnerabilities through updates.

 

However, there’re two key practices that all software developers can employ to ensure that they create secure software

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• writing secure code in the first place, and
• efficiently testing your code.

 

Software Security Is a Crucial Skill For All Developers

Developing good software is synonymous with ensuring that your software can withstand any malicious attack. This is only achievable through the writing of secure code, the continual testing of an application, and maintaining control of who has access to your data.

 

 

read more at

https://www.makeuseof.com/software-security-skill-all-programmers-should-have/

 

To upgrade WordPress to PHP 7, the process itself is easy.

 

In this article, we'll teach you how to make the switch and upgrade WordPress to PHP 7 the right way.

 

If you have full privileges on your server, you can upgrade WordPress to PHP 7 using your command line. On the other hand, if you’re on shared or managed hosting, you’ll probably have to ask your provider’s support team to upgrade your site manually.

 

In either case, the actual process is straightforward. The problem is that if you don’t take any precautionary measures, you run the risk of breaking elements of your site that don’t play nicely with PHP 7. That’s why we’re partial to a different approach that enables you to eliminate most of the risk involved.

 

Step #1: Back up your website

Step #2: Create a local staging copy of your site

There are plenty of ways to create a staging copy of your website, Try Local by Flywheel because it’s easy to set up. Plus, you don’t need to be a Flywheel customer to get the app. Just go to the website, fill out a short form, and download the tool.

Step #3: Test your staging site

Step #4: Upgrade your live site to PHP 7

There are two ways to approach it, depending on your host:

 

1. If you use a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or any other hosting option that gives you full control, you can upgrade WordPress to PHP 7 from the command line.
2. If your host doesn’t give you this level of access, you can ask them to upgrade you to the latest version through their support system.

 

When you’re done, be sure to test your site’s performance again (just to be safe). 

 

references:  

 

https://themeisle.com/blog/upgrade-wordpress-to-php-7/

 

https://wpengine.com/resources/upgrading-to-php-7/

 

 

 

 

According to statistics from W3Techs, roughly 78.9 percent of all Internet sites today run on PHP.

 

But on December 31, 2018, security support for PHP 5.6.x will officially cease, marking the end of all support for any version of the ancient PHP 5.x branch.

 

This means that starting with next year, around 62 percent of all Internet sites still running a PHP 5.x version will stop receiving security updates for their server and website's underlying technology, exposing hundreds of millions of websites, if not more, to serious security risks.

 

If a hacker finds a vulnerability in PHP after the New Year, lots of sites and users would be at risk.

 

"This is a huge problem for the PHP ecosystem, While many feel that they can 'get away with' running PHP 5 in 2019, the simplest way to describe this choice is: Negligent."

"To be totally fair: It's likely that any major, mass-exploitable flaw in PHP 5.6 would also affect the newer versions of PHP," Arciszewski added.

 

"PHP 7.2 will get a patch from the PHP team, for free, in a timely manner; PHP 5.6 will only get one if you're paying for ongoing support from your OS vendor.