Many of you might have noticed that DotNetNuke Corporation has released version 4.8.1 to the general public as of this morning.  In the first hours of release I have found a forum post that references an issue that I would deem somewhat critical.  You can see this post DNN 4.8.1 Script Error.

As soon as I am able to validate that this version is "stable" I will work on updating all installation/upgrade guides to work with DNN 4.8.1.

If anyone is aware of any other issues with the most recent version of DNN please let me know.  Be sure to check my blog here on a regular basis for the most current information as I have it!

The topic of choosing a hosting provider for DotNetNuke is something that I see appear on a regular basis on the DotNetNuke forums and here on my forums as well.  The way I see it the selection of a hosting provider isn't just about the price, it is something that requires a much more detailed look at what services you get and what services you really need.  You can then balance those to find the right hosting provider for your needs.  As many people are aware I typically direct people towards 3Essentials or PowerDNN. In this article I will walk you through my decision process on the items that I look for in a hosting provider, and why I might choose over the other.  Consider this my approach towards Shared Hosting solutions.  These statements in no way are considered offical, and you MUST take the time to do your own research to form your own conclusions before making a decision.  Moving hosting providers is not all that complicated, but it is a somewhat complex and time consuming actiivity and something that you don't want to do unless you have to. 

A few weeks ago Tom Kraak of Seablick Consulting made a blog post regarding modifications to the core Breadcrumb skin object to prevent the last page in the tree from rendering as a link.  I created two different solutions for him, the first was simply a modification to the core breadcrumb object and was not necessarily the best solution.  THe second solution I provided was the creation of a custom skin object, based on the core, but isolated so that it will not be prone to issue with an upgrade.  This tutorial is the promised "overview" of how to create a skin object.  I will not discuss the techical aspect of the modifications that were made to the breadcrumb, but just a general overview of what you actually have to do to create a new skin object.

I have found that many people that work with DotNetNuke sites are often unfamiliar with the various scheduled tasks that are implemented within DotNetNuke.  Is this a bad thing?  It depends, by default the configuration of scheduled tasks will work just fine, but as your site grows there are specific tasks that can become problematic due to the size of the site, resulting in increased resources being used or worse site failure/errors.  This article will discuss each of the default tasks that are included in DotNetNuke, I will describe the function of each and discuss the default schedule and when you should change the schedule.

I am proud to announce the release of DNN Guestbook 03.00.00.  This release of the DNN Guestbook marks a large improvement in security and functionality, it is strongly recommended that all users of the DNN Guestbook prior to version 03.00.00 upgrade to this version as soon as possible due to the improved module security.  Remember best practices include testing of the upgrade before applying it to a production site.

Below is a detailed listing of new and improved features with this release.

• Migration to the C# WAP development model to allow for better code management
• Improved module security methods to secure against injection attacks
• Addition of a module configuration to deny posting rights to un-authenticated users
• Addition of a module configuration to include a Captcha as a required input field
• Addition of configuration options to make the following fields hidden (Email, Location, Rating, Website).  Each is a simple checkbox to toggle on and off
• Addition of a configuration option to allow e-mail notifications to be sent after a guestbook entry has been received.

For full information on the DNN Guestbook 03.00.00 module please visit the product information page.