To manage security properly, we need to pass-on visitors real-IP to backend-nginx. In backend-nginx, WordPress do some stuff based on user-ip.

First, a portion of Nginx config from front-end proxy:

proxy_set_header        X-Real-IP       $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header        X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;

With this config, backend-nginx receives extra HTTP  Headers which are passed to fastcgi upstream (PHP/WordPress in our case).

If you see output of phpinfo() you will see extra headers as highlighted below:

The problem with above setup is that fastcgi app running behind backend-nginx, uses REMOTE_ADDR value whenever it needs to deal with visitor IP address.

A solution would be check existence ofHTTP_X_REAL_IP and use that value instead. I think WordPress does this for itself but one of our custom plugin was not already doing that. We could either fix it in PHP code, but rather than modifying every piece of PHP code which rely on REMOTE_ADDR, we added following lines inside backend-nginx conf:

location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_param REMOTE_ADDR $http_x_real_ip;
        #...other rules
}

With this change phpinfo() shows correct user IP forREMOTE_ADDR value.

Now any piece of code, which depend onREMOTE_ADDR value will work as it is!

Nginx’s HTTP Real IP Module

If you want to do some real-user IP-based stuff in backend, it will NOT work.

Nginx itself will not see real-user IP. Only application/codes behind fastcgi will benefit from above change.

For Nginx, you can simply use variable $http_x_real_ip instead of IP-address.

Below is an example of $http_x_real_ip usage to emulate allow/deny functionality:

        if ($http_x_real_ip != 115.115.82.210) {
                return 403;
        }

There are cases when a workaround using $http_x_real_ip may not be possible. In those caes, we can use Nginx’s Http Real IP Module.

You can fix real-ip andREMOTE_ADDR by adding a line like below to your backend nginx-config:

        set_real_ip_from   192.168.122.1;

Make sure you replace 192.168.122.1 with REMOTE_ADDR value that was being received originally. It is IP of proxy-nginx as seen by backend-nginx.

Advantage of Http Real IP Module is that it sets correct IP for nginx config as well as fastcgi backend app in one go. Apart form this, it is secure also.

You can use earlier way if your Nginx is not built with --with-http_realip_module option.

If you have any questions, feel free to check our Nginx support forum.

Link: WordPress-Nginx Tutorials Series

As part of the dual celebrations, we are very pleased to announce a review contest for BuddyPress Media. If you are someone who has used BuddyPress Media and it’s useful addons, we’d like you to share your views of it. In return, we are offering great rewards.

How to participate?

It’s pretty simple. Just do the following to participate in the contest:

1. Write a blog post reviewing BuddyPress Media and/or its addons. You can write a tutorial also if you are using BuddyPress-Media differently.
2. Post a link in the comments section below.
3. Wait till 27th May when we celebrate WordPress’s 10th anniversary and announce the prizes.

Prizes

Below is list of prizes. There are total 6 prizes to grab as of now. But if we get better response than anticipated, we will increase number of prizes.

Good things about prizes:

1. All the credits can be used either on rtCamp Store or to use the newly launched Encoding Service.
2. These credits are transferable. So, you can pass on the addons and/or encoding credits to your friends, readers or users.
3. Flexible coupons. You can request your prize to be divided in coupons so that you can control distribution.
4. No Expiry! You and/or your friends & readers can use coupons in parts till they last. There is no expiry date to for remaining balance.

Review Criteria:

There are just four criteria that we’ll be looking at:

1. Originality: Please avoid copying-pasting content as it is from other web sources like this and this.
2. Correctness: The review needs to technically correct. If you are not clear about any aspect of BuddyPress-Media, please ask us for explanation rather misleading people.
3. Presentation: Since its all about multimedia, reviews with clear presentation, e.g. screenshots will earn bounty points.
4. Influence: How many people does your post reach is also an additional factor. So, tweet, share and spread your words away. Please do not spam people!

Judge

Aditya Kane, is the chief editor of our popular tech blog, Devil’s Workshop. He would be judging the reviews on the criteria above.

Important Dates

So, grab your keyboards and start writing!

Useful Links

• BuddyPress Media
• Live Demo Site
• BuddyPress Media Addons
• Encoding Service
• Support Forum
• Github Repo

Many bloggers who migrated from blogger.com to self hosted WordPress, were facing issues while redirecting via the mobile template. The URL ends with ?m=1 (for instance, http://example.blogspot.com/test-post.html?m=1).

This issue has been fixed with the new release. You just have to take the following steps on blogger.com:

• Copy the code generated by plugin and paste it into your blogger.com template, as usual.
• Disable mobile template.

Useful links:

• Download Blogger To WordPress plugin.
• Our free support forum.
• Blogger to WordPress DIY article.

In case, you had to support other formats, they had to be converted to mp3 or mp4. Till now, we had two popular addons for this, the FFMPEG addon and the Kaltura addon. However, the FFMPEG addon required a private server. Sites on shared hosting could not avail of such a conversion, unless they used the Kaltura addon.

Encoding Service for audio/video

We conducted a survey and based on user feedback, we’ve just launched an audio/video encoding service. BuddyPress Media 2.13 adds support for this encoding service. Now, even sites hosted on shared servers can get audio and video from other formats converted to mp3 and mp4.

Plans and pricing

The plans, pricing and other details can be found here.

How does it work?

Once you opt for this service, your users will be able to upload audio and video in different formats. These will be sent to the encoding service. It will then convert these into a standard mp3/mp4 file. This will be sent back to your server and saved. This will go on till your quota is valid. Once it is used up, the uploading will go back to the mp3/mp4 only default.

Who is this for

Anybody can use this service to support audio and video uploading in multiple formats. However, it’ll be most useful for sites hosted in a shared environment with limited permissions and resources.

Coming soon

We’ll be expanding and improving upon this model to provide more services apart from encoding:

1. Webcam recording and upload for videos
2. Amazon S3 support
3. HD profiling

If you have any suggestions or queries, do contact us on our support forum.

Service or Addon

If you have the right resources (a dedicated server) and the permissions (to install media node and FFMPEG), you should opt for our FFMPEG addon. Since all the conversion happens on your own server, there are no bandwidth and or size constraints.

If you are not using a dedicated server, for whatever reason and/or don’t have a high volume of videos, you should opt for the encoding service.

Links: BuddyPress Media | Demo | Encoding Service details

Featured Media

This release adds support for setting an uploaded piece of audio, video or a photo as featured for a user. This featured media can then be displayed on the user profile using a simple template tag bp_media_featured(). The documentation can be found here.

What you could use this for

1. Display a featured photo/video instead of the latest update
2. Create a cover (like facebook) by adding the template tag and the right css
3. It’s especially useful, if you have activities disabled!

Basically, it’s just another media associated with the user. So, whenever you need another video or photo, say for a portfolio, you can use this nifty feature.

All thanks to Henry

Henry Wright contacted us on our support forum for such a functionality for a similar purpose. We have been saying that if a feature is required for your project. So much so that you are willing to hire someone, sponsor the development instead. Henry very kindly did that.

Thanks to his sponsorship, we could push this feature out for all of you very quickly! Plus, he vetted the functionality before it was released. So, if this feature is useful for you, do send a ‘Thank You’ to Henry. You can find him @henrywight on twitter or on his about.me page.

Links: BuddyPress Media | Demo | Featured Media Documentation

BuddyPress Media and Activity component

A lot of functionality and features of BuddyPress Media is tightly integrated and heavily dependant on the activity component of BuddyPress. So, the meta buttons that exist for each media (favourite, delete, etc), are actually from an associated activity. The comments are actually comments on the activity. So, if the activity component was disabled on a site, none of this functionality would work, nor would any of the buttons show up.

Decoupling BuddyPress Media from activities

With 2.11, we removed some more of the dependence on the activity component. BuddyPress Media 2.11 onwards, users can download, edit, set media as album cover and delete media even when the activity component is disabled. Although commenting is still dependent on the activity component, we are exploring alternatives so even this can work in the absence of activities.

Fixing comment posting

The comment posting form on the lightbox was having a few glitches and sometimes, a user wasn’t able to post a comment. This would happen if the lightbox was called on the activity stream. This also has been fixed with this version.

Links: BuddyPress Media | Demo

Tag self, tag friends

Users can now tag themselves and their friends. Tagging is enabled on the users’ own photos or photos uploaded by their friends.

(Photo Credit)

Tagging Notifications

The moment a user gets tagged, they receive a standard BuddyPress notification in the admin bar.

In addition an email is sent to the tagged user, if they haven’t turned it off in the settings.

Upcoming Features

In the next few releases, we’ll add tagging support for groups and a moderation feature by which a user can okay a tag before it is published. If you have any more suggestions or feature requests, let us know in our support forum.

The tagging addon is another step in creating a rich social experience for the members of your BuddyPress Media powered community. Now, apart from an advanced image editor, your users can tag each other and apply interesting Instagram like effects to photos. Uploading and sharing photos has become much more fun!

Pricing and Availability

The BuddyPress-Media Photo Tagging addon is available on the rtCamp store at a nominal price of $19.

Head there to get your copy!

Links: Buy BuddyPress-Media Photo Tagging | Live Demo