[Updates] Joomla! Outlook

Joomla! recently released version 3.0 of their popular CMS product. You can read more about Joomla! 3.0 at it’s release notes. With the release of Joomla! 3.0 I thought it might be a good idea to give an outlook on the different versions of Joomla!

Currently there are only two versions of Joomla! that are being supported by the Joomla! developers:

• Version 2.5 – Latest version as of October 8, 2012 2.5.7
• Version 3.0 – Latest version as of October 8, 2012 3.0.0

Technically speaking if you are using any version of Joomla! that is not one of these versions, then you are running an unsupported version of Joomla!

I know there are a lot of users that are still using Joomla! 1.5. Please understand Joomla! no longer supports this version and you really need to be updating to Joomla! 2.5. If you are using Joomla! 1.5 then you should consider reviewing the instructions for migrating to Joomla! 2.5. I can understand the reluctance to upgrade Joomla! because it may not be an easy process. However, please understand that if you continue to use an outdated piece of software, it puts your website and the web server in general at risk. A security hole in Joomla! 1.5 will not be patched because the Joomla! developers are no longer maintaining Joomla! 1.5. If you have questions or concerns about the upgrade process for Joomla! I strongly encourage you to ask these questions or voice these concerns at the Joomla! Forums.

While AMS Computer Services cannot provide any direct support for Joomla! As of today, October 8, 2012 we are allowing the following versions of Joomla! to run on our servers:

• Version 1.5.26
• Version 2.5.7
• Version 3.0.0

Note that this is including the latest version of Joomla! 1.5, even though it is not supported by the Joomla! developers. This just means that we will not disable any Joomla! sites that are using any of these version (1.5.26, 2.5.7, or 3.0.0). However, please note, we will not be able to allow Joomla! 1.5 indefinitely, eventually we will have to stop allowing Joomla! 1.5 on our servers, which is why all Joomla! 1.5 users need to be looking at upgrading to Joomla! 2.5. Please consider this fair warning regarding Joomla! 1.5.

If you are not using one of these versions, then your website may be susceptible to attack and as a result we may have to disable or suspend your hosting account. For example, if you are using Joomla! 1.5.22 note that this is an outdated version, you need to, at the very least, upgrade to Joomla! 1.5.26 and ideally upgrade to Joomla! 2.5.7. If you are using Joomla! 1.0.12 then you need to upgrade to either Joomla! 1.5.26 or (ideally) Joomla! 2.5.7.

Failing to keep the scripts on your website up to date means that you will be targetted for abusive attacks by malicious users.

As for Joomla! 3.0 note that this is really more of a beta release. Joomla! 3.0 is a short-term release, meaning that it is going to go through many updates over the next few months. This is not really ideal for live, production level websites. For production level sites, there is nothing wrong with staying with Joomla! 2.5 at this time, however I would encourage you to begin looking at Joomla! 3.0 and getting involved with that project because you will eventually need to upgrade to Joomla! 3.5, when it becomes a long-term release. I would stress that I really don’t recommend upgrading to Joomla! 3.0 at this time, but just that you need to be made aware of it’s existence and upgrade paths.

Steven