[wp-hackers] "The Matrix Has You" easter egg

Ryan Bilesky rbilesky at gmail.com
Sat Oct 23 19:43:52 UTC 2010


calling it a "frightening easter egg" is a bit overkill, i mean its just
plain overkill.  The point of the idea is this, if you manage WP installs
for someone, you can add the javascript so they won't ever see it.  IMO
anyone who is able to install and manage WP by there own should have no
problem with that, it would only cause a problem maybe for some horribly
non-technical person, like my parents.  In which case there is probably
someone with some technical ability who runs the site handles upgrades, ect.

Plus the javascript can be added in via a plugin so really if someone writes
the plugin its a simple as installing a plugin.

On Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 9:43 AM, Chris Williams <chris at clwill.com> wrote:

> Thanks to the incredible evangelism of WP a relatively new and
> inexperienced web master sets up a WP blog.  It has the "famous 5-minute
> install".  Couldn't be easier.
>
> Then as we saw with the OP, he or one of his users stumbles upon a rather
> frightening easter egg, and he/they become alarmed that they've been hacked.
>  WP's reputation as a reliable and easy platform is sullied as they spend
> time searching the internet to find a resolution.  Only to find that it was
> "a joke", installed as part of the program from the original bona fide
> sources.
>
> Your solution is to suggest they write javascript to disable this?  Really?
>  How was this person to know about this risk in the first place?  How many
> more potentially scary and alarming easter eggs do you expect them to
> magically know about and prevent?  What level of Computer Science expertise
> is required to manage a WP install, beyond the "5-minute install"?  And
> isn't your solution like locking the barn door after the horse is gone?
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ryan Bilesky <rbilesky at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [wp-hackers] "The Matrix Has You" easter egg
>
> If you don't like the easter egg use javascript to prevent both radio
> buttons for any given revision from being selected at the same time.
> Problem solved.
>
>
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