The popular WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin (version 1.7.3.3 or earlier) has been struck with a blind SQL injection vulnerability which affects all users.

The plugin was quickly patched and updated to address the issue so make sure to upgrade your website to version 1.7.4 ASAP.

It’s been a while since our last blog post so we wanted to give everyone some general updates on our business.

First of all, we’ve been working on a complete site redesign which will give us a more modern feel. The site hasn’t been updated since we launched back in 2010 so we’re long overdue for a new coat of paint.

Yesterday, Google published a post that exposes a flaw in Web encryption standards. It’s similar to the Heartbleed bug exploited earlier this year but not nearly as serious.

It’s called POODLE (Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption), which exploits yet another vulnerability in one of the Internet’s basic security protocols (SSL more commonly known as https in your browser) that could potentially give an attacker access to your sensitive online account information.

Introducing our latest WordPress application theme, Taskerr! This powerful new theme enables site owners to build their very own micro jobs marketplace. You connect people needing jobs done with others willing to do them.

This underserved niche enables any business imaginable to list their service for a fixed price (which they set). Sites like Fiverr and TaskRabbit are perfect examples of how this amazing new “gig economy” successfully works.

Work has begun on a new escrow system which means HireBee and Taskerr will be able to offer percentage-based fees (in addition to fixed fees). This has been the number one requested feature of both themes (even though Taskerr hasn’t even been released).

We’ll initially roll out PayPal Adaptive Payments — the most globally accepted escrow gateway option. Next in line will be an up-and-coming escrow service called, Balanced Payments. Both are powerful solutions that any site owner should consider to maximize their sales.

WordCamp Europe is fast approaching and we’re super excited about it.

Not only will the majority of the AppThemes team be there, it’s the first time we get to meet each other in person! Yes, you’ve heard right. We’ve been a global company from the start and have never all personally met each other.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, there are two main WordCamps every year. WordCamp San Francisco and WordCamp Europe. The European venue changes annually and this year it’s being held in Sofia, Bulgaria. If you’ve never been to one before, these are the ones to attend (San Francisco is in Oct 25-26).

Not far behind the release of HireBee, we’re just about ready to roll out another app theme. Before doing so, we wanted to leak out this little teaser prior to the official launch later this month.

Taskerr allows you to setup and monetize your own micro jobs website. Match job listers with sellers so they can get small things done at an unbeatable value. You make money by taking a fee from each job. Earning passive income is really that easy!

We’ve been busy working on a couple of awesome new themes and we’re proud to announce the release of HireBee!

HireBee is a WordPress freelance marketplace theme that will enable site owners to connect small businesses (known as “employers”) with freelancers, offering every business service imaginable, allowing you to monetize any niche. Sites like Elance, oDesk, and 99designs are perfect examples of this type of successful crowdsourcing model.

With HireBee you can create your own freelance niche site targeting work on a specific country, or remote work. We’ve worked to include all the major features that make these sites incredibly useful for those who are looking for work and those who need to complete work.

Today we are proud to announce the launch of Pay2Post! Pay2Post is a free plugin that allows you to turn any website, using any theme, into a user-generated content site by charging users to submit posts, pages, or anything else you can imagine.

It’s easy to setup and works like this:

• install Pay2Post as a plugin
• insert the Pay2Post shortcode into a page