Laravel Migration Rollback fails

Most of the laravel beginners face issues with migration, mostly the migration works but the rollback fails.
Here are a curated list of possibilities and work arounds for the same.

  1. You have changed table structure manually after migration – You are never expected to do this – All changes to the db structure be only through migrations.
  2. You have changed the migration filename or classname after migration
  3. Autoload failure [Class Not found ]. Normally after creating a migration the migrate works but on rollback it will be depending on the composer autoloader which fails to load the class, so just by refreshing the autoload file you will be able to get hold of the stuff. just go to the root folder and run “composer dumpautoload” you’re good to go then!

If you have any problem with migrations feel free to ask in the below comment section.

Axis Bank Launched Secure+ Plus Debit Cards

If you have a bunch of credit and debit cards in your wallet? are you worried about their loss? No worries things are gonna hassle free with Axis Bank’s newly launched secure+ debit cards. With this you dont have to call each and every bank debit card you have to block each of them. Just call Axis Bank Secure+ customer care and all your linked cards will be deactivated on the same call. So no fear of misuse of your cards.

Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 11.21.57 pm Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 11.21.57 pm

Axis Bank’s secure+ cards are highly secure chip cards. If you loose your wallet along with you flight ticket, axis bank will make arrangements for funds for your hotel stay and flight ticket charges  or any other  immediate expenses 🙂 isnt it awesome?.

Along with Secure plus cards axis bank launched Total Control, a really cool online platform which can even switch off / on your debit cards. A user can control the shopping and withdrawal limits from the Total Control platform itself.

Axis Bank Secure Plus was unveiled to its customers by Bank’s Retail lending and payments section lead Mr. Jayaram Sridharan at an event in Mumbai.

How to disable / stop autoplay on youtube

Youtube recently introduced autoplay of related videos. As the related videos suggestion algorithm is not that effective most of the internet users are searching for how to disable youtube autoplay

Its been a problem for majority of users. If you want to disable the autoplay feature switch off the button on the right side above the recent videos

disable youtube autoplay

How to disable stop youtube autoplay videos

SEO and SEM ( is it the same ? )

In the world of online marketing these are some of the most confused terms. I have seen some of my friends being confused with these terms.
Have seen a couple of instances where they have done a lot of google advertising and claiming there was XX% hike in traffic after doing SEO.

seo

In practice the phrases SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) are similar — and sometimes used interchangeably, SEO and SEM are different services.

Both are two different tactics used in traffic generation for online businesses. Simply When SEO gets traffic from organic search ( You rank higher on search results and you donot pay for getting clicks ) where as when it comes to SEM ( its  like search advertising you advertise on popular search engines to get clicks via CPC and you are actually paying for each click you get on to your website. ).

From my experience you should have a 60-40 approach on both of these, you should concentrate more on SEO followed by SEM. SEO takes you to first few spots on organic search and its gives you consistent result and it will take time to get there but once you have the hold on that few regular updates and competitor monitoring will do the job for you. But whereas in SEM you have to spend money on advertising for spots on search pages and you will be paying a huge sum for a huge traffic. So when you wallet is empty its all finished there. But in SEO the results will be consistent and last for long. Studies proves that if you have an ad spot and a organic result on the first page of search then you have 3X more click through rate (CTR) than any other on that page as you have multiple placement and by human psyhocolgy if your website have multiple spots you have more click through rates.

SEO Whats it?

Search engine optimization (SEO) can be described as strategies and tactics used to ensure that a site is accessible to a search engine and improves the chances that the site will be found by the search engine.

The goal of successful SEO is to obtain a high-ranking placement in the search results page of a search engine (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines). Internet users often do not click through pages and pages of search results, so where a site ranks in a search is essential for directing more traffic toward the site.
The higher a website naturally ranks in organic results of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user.

SEO is typically a set of “white hat” best practices that webmasters and Web content producers follow to help them achieve a better ranking in search engine results. Some of these best practices include:
– Creating and publishing excellent content.
– Using keywords and keyword analysis.
– Link building to improve link popularity.
– Using social media links on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
– Improving your site’s navigation to provide an excellent user experience.
– Using sitemaps and internal links giving search bots a better path to identify and craw all your pages easily

SEM Whats it ?

SEM is a broader term than SEO, and is used to encompass different options available to use a search engine’s technology, including paid ads. SEM is often used to describe acts associated with researching, submitting and positioning a website within search engines. It includes things such as search engine optimization, paid listings and other search-engine related services and functions that will increase exposure and traffic to your Web site.
SEM offers you the opportunity to pay based on clicks (you pay only for each click through from the advertisement to your Web site). Ads in a successful SEM campaign will be shown to those consumers specifically looking for your products or services, resulting in a higher conversion rate.

The Difference Between SEM and SEO
SEM is a broader term than SEO. Where SEO aims to provide better organic search results, SEM uses the search engines to advertise your website or business to Internet customers and send a more targeted traffic to your Web site.
For example, when people use a search engine to query “fashion handbags”, the organic search engine results is where SEO technologies can assist your Web site in being more visible. The paid advertising, or sponsored links are the ones prominently displayed above or beside the organic search results is a product of SEM.
SEO and SEM are not competing services. SEO is considered a subset of SEM services. If you want to conduct business on the Internet you need to be visible in both organic and advertised links, which means you need both SEO and SEM.

GOSF #SayThankYou Ringtone / Video

Today Online Shopping has made our life so easy in India. Everything is delivered at our doorstep, but have your ever wondered about those who bring them to us?. Each day 1000’s of people ride across the length and breadth of this country to make this possible without even a little thank you in return. We were not cared to say thank you to them
But google did!

Like the background scores? Want to download the ringtone? Download here

 

A special salute to Google for this Human action.
It Means a lot for them 🙂 Really a smile or to say thank you, which we forget always

A #SEO Crash Course: 31 Articles in 31 Days

A #SEO Crash Course: 31 Articles in 31 Days

Thirty-one articles for the next 31 days. Read one a day and you’ll lower your learning curve on the latest developments and the enduring fundamentals in SEO.

All before Christmas.
Enjoy, and please share!

1. The Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors
http://searchengineland.com/seotable/

2. The SEO Fundamentals Pyramid
http://moz.com/blog/whiteboard-friday-the-seo-fundamentals-pyramid

3. Link Building – How to Build Links for Free
http://www.wordstream.com/link-building

4. How to Write the In-Depth Articles that Google Loves
http://www.copyblogger.com/in-depth-article-ranking/

5. How to Create Cornerstone Content That Google Loves
http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-create-cornerstone-content-that-google-loves/

6. Pop Quiz: What Makes a Great Web Writer?
http://thecopybot.com/2011/07/great-web-writer/

7. A 3-Step Process for Painless Keyword Research
http://www.copyblogger.com/content-marketing-research-4/

8. Metatags and SEO
http://www.stonetemple.com/articles/metatags-and-seo.shtml

9. The Future of PageRank: 13 Experts on the Dwindling Value of the Link
http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/02/25/pagerank

10. 3 Reasons Your SEO & Social Media Teams Need to Cooperate
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericenge/2014/11/06/3-reasons-your-seo-social-media-teams-need-to-cooperate/

11. 10 Steps a Local Business Can Take Today to Improve Search Rankings
http://www.copyblogger.com/local-seo/

12. Hummingbird’s Unsung Impact on Local Search
http://moz.com/blog/local-hummingbird-results

13. How to Perform the Ultimate Local SEO Audit
http://moz.com/blog/ultimate-local-seo-audit

14. SEO is Dead: Long Live OC/DC
http://www.copyblogger.com/ocdc/

15. Could Mobile Responsive Website Design Hurt Your SEO?
http://www.copyblogger.com/mobile-responsive-seo/

16. 5 Steps to Getting More Targeted Website Traffic with SEO Copywriting
http://www.copyblogger.com/seo-copywriting-tips/

17. FAQ: All About The New Google “Hummingbird” Algorithm
http://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816

18. 21 Best FREE SEO Tools for On-Page Optimization
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2303494/21-Best-FREE-SEO-Tools-for-On-Page-Optimization

19. 16 marketers on the metrics that matter
http://blog.raventools.com/seo-metrics-roundup/

20. Panda 4.1 Analysis and Findings – Affiliate Marketing, Keyword Stuffing, Security Warnings, and Deception Prevalent
http://www.hmtweb.com/marketing-blog/panda-4-1-analysis/

21. Google Organic Click-Through Rates in 2014
http://moz.com/blog/google-organic-click-through-rates-in-2014

22. Content Quality Score: Google’s Best Kept Secret For Rankings
http://macedynamics.com/research/content-quality-score/

23. Site Architecture & Search Engine Success Factors
http://searchengineland.com/guide/seo/site-architecture-search-engine-ranking

24. Why You Need a Seriously Fast Website
http://www.copyblogger.com/website-speed-matters/

25. 3 Myths About Duplicate Content
https://blog.kissmetrics.com/myths-about-duplicate-content/

26. A reminder about selling links that pass PageRank
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-reminder-about-selling-links.html

27. How To Fix Your Website When You’ve Violated Google’s Quality Guidelines
https://blog.kissmetrics.com/violated-googles-quality-guidelines/

28.50+ Ways to Increase the Domain Authority of Your Site
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/50-ways-to-increase-the-domain-authority-of-your-site-infographic/77281/

29. What if Author Rank Never Happens?
http://www.copyblogger.com/author-rank/

30. A Content Marketing Strategy That Works
http://www.copyblogger.com/content-marketing-strategy/

31. The Unique Relationship Between Email and SEO
http://thecopybot.com/2011/09/email-seo/

How to stop WordPress asking for ftp details when installing or updating a theme/plugin

Is wordpress asking for ftp credentials, wordpress asking for FTP username and Password when you try to install a plugin or a theme?

Why it happens?

WordPress does not have the necessary permissions to modify the filesystem directly, as its owned by the ftp user or the root user which created the files inside the wordpress directory, Thats why wordpress is asking for the FTP credentials so that it can try to do what it needs to via FTP.

Whats the Solution?

Login to ssh via putty, Run

$ ps aux
wordpress asking for ftp credentials

wordpress asking for ftp credentials

identify the user by which apache / httpd runs in latest version of apache2 the user will be www-data in some it will be other user ( do replace www-data in the below command with corresponding username, also if you are using any other directory for the wordpress installation replace /var/www with that also as well )

$ sudo chown -R /var/www www-data
 

And you are done.  Now wordpress wont be asking for ftp details while installing or updating themes and plugins or for the core wordpress update. It will do all it itsown 🙂

 

 

 

 

How to unlock idea 3g smartwifi (Huawei 8231s wingle) Usb Dongle

Its very easy to unlock  idea 3g smartwifi (Huawei 8231s wingle) Usb Dongle and use it with other networks. Bsnl 3G delivers good speed and best packages compared to other networks. After unlocking you can use any network sim in the device.

unlock idea smartwifi huawei 8231

Download the huawei update applications

Download here

First update the firmware using E8231UPDATE_22.618.01.02.910.exe

During this you will be asked for the unlock password ( flash password )

For getting the password download this software Huawei flash password generator

Screenshot_1

After Entering the password the device firmware will be updated ( Unlocked version )

Note: for this you need an active internet connection as the software downloads latest Huawei software from Huawei portal.

Once update is over, you can install the dashboard software ( present in the first downloaded archive )

This will update the web UI ( where you connect to the web change settings etc)

And you are done. Now you can use any sim in your Huawei wingle device ( Idea calls it as smartwifi 🙂 )

After unlocking am using BSNL 3G Sim in my device

its delivering good speed and Bsnl offers affordable packages while others give 3GB for 650, Bsnl has prepaid package of 5GB for 550

Screenshot_3

Perceptions of Indian E-commerce Companies About Security And Ethical Disclosures?

I am not a great hacker. But i found some flaws on ecommerce website which is very common even among the top tier ecommerce merchants in India. I have reported all the below in an ethical way to their security teams / founders. Here are the reponses from them just fYI to know how ecommerce companies in India care about their system and security.

The error

A simple error that every programmer makes, focuses on client side validation but no server side validation. Simply the shopping cart system accepts negated quantity values leading to lesser cart amount.

I have reported the same to three ecommerce merchants.

  1. Myntra – Took the issue very seriously accepted that its an issue on their system and solved on high priority. Gave me a bounty for reporting 🙂 too
  2. Snapdeal – According to snapdeal that was no issue at all. The security team mailed me saying  The orders are not fulfilled in these cases
  3. Yepme – All the reports vanished into thin air and issue still exists

Here are the responses from each

Myntra

Myntra’s security team got in touch in 10-20 mins. They asked for a clear definition of what it is. Got an email from Abhinav, the AVP – Product engineering from Myntra appreciating the ethical disclosure and assured some bounty. They solved the issues in a day. Got teh appreciation message from Myntra CTO Mr. Shaimik Sharma and he told they are always happy to hear about such disclosure which make them improve. They took it serious as they clearly understood that if its widely done then it can affect their complete stock calculations, even though their fraud protection systems will catch the very low order values of highly valued products. Also after solving the issues they cancelled the order and all cashback and points in my account was reversed with negative values which in turn pointed some flaws there too.  This is how Myntra.com dealt with it giving the error on their system an importance and solving it on high priority.

Attaching some screenshots for your ref:

1174678_576027065798509_459529598_n 1234814_576346319099917_2105096150_n 1385755_576029745798241_827949779_n 1386004_576352005766015_385497955_n 1391739_576346329099916_529183244_n 1393357_576027019131847_220627905_n

 

Snapdeal

According to snapdeal that was no issue at all. The security team mailed me saying   The orders are not fulfilled in these cases, let us know if you could have the order fulfilled. We already have checks to handle these cases.

Areeee… Yaar i was not reporting that people can purchase and the order is fulfilled i was reporting some issue which could mess up your system. Its your systems fault!. A flaw in an ecommerce system doesnt mean that you can always purchase something for free 😛

And the funny n best part is they didnt accept that as the error in their system. but they solved for it. – Aree yaar you should have admitted that,  i never demanded any chocolates from you as bounty :-p

Screenshots:

snapdeal2 snapdeal1Screenshot_14

Yepme

 

No response at all and the issue still exists

 

 An error never means that you have loss of money, data or performance. It simply means a fault in your code !

A very few accepts the ethical disclosures in India. If we do a hack and make it public then its a big deal. Owise most of them are even not cared to reply!.

So Dear XXX & YYY, It not a BOUNTY that make such reporters happy , A kind word of acceptance is something they value more.

Myntra is up with its RESPONSIBLE DISCLOSURE POLICY page for whitehat security researchers

Myntra is up with its RESPONSIBLE DISCLOSURE POLICY page for whitehat security researchers. Proud to see my reports also acknowledged there 🙂

Shyam at Myntra

Myntra says

A VULNERABILITY IN OUR SYSTEMS, AND RESPONSIBLY SHARES THE DETAILS OF IT WITH US, WE APPRECIATE THEIR CONTRIBUTION, WORK CLOSELY WITH THEM TO ADDRESS SUCH ISSUES WITH URGENCY, AND IF THEY WANT, PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR CONTRIBUTION

And i should say that’s awesome. an acknowledge of any contribution is the best tribute to the work done. :-). I think Myntra is the first to introduce such a disclosure page for white hat security researchers. It clearly defines their urge to improve their systems technically and provide a safer and better user experience to their customers. The move shows how much they care about their own merchandise and the user data stored on their servers.

I have written a post last month about “Perceptions of Indian E-commerce Companies About Security And Ethical Disclosures?” on how reluctant are the Indian ecommerce startups towards the security bugs on their website as per my experience in reporting vulnerabilities to them. Myntra is an exception from them all.

How to report a security vulnerability / bug to Myntra.

All you have to do is to shoot a mail with all the details and proof the bug / security issue (screenshot, video ) etc to security@myntra.com. Myntra’s security team will reach you shortly to know more about it. If the report found to be a bug / vulnerability definitely they will acknowledge the same.

My suggestions to the Myntra team for the Responsible Disclosure Page.

  1. It would have been great if you can make that page little more appealing. i found it very difficult to read
  2. You have missed to add the seo titles and description for the page 🙂 . It would have been great

 

All the best for myntra.com keep improving. All the very best to all whitehat security researchers as well 😉