Akeeba Backup 3.5.a1

Akeeba Backup 3.5.a1 (alpha - testing) just released.

We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of Akeeba Backup 3.5.a1, the first alpha (testing) release in our new 3.5 release cycle.

Akeeba Backup 3.5.a1 is rewritten using FOF, the framework which is already in use by Akeeba Subscriptions and Admin Tools. This new version only supports Joomla! 2.5.1 or later. If you have one of those older versions of Joomla! you can download and install the appropriate version specified in our version compatibility chart. Akeeba Backup 3.4.3 will continue being supported on Joomla! 1.5 up to and including August 2012. After that we will completely drop support for Joomla! 1.5 as we have been saying for months in our release announcements. As we have already been saying, we no longer provide support for Joomla! 1.6 and 1.7; they are obsolete and terribly, utterly, mind-blowing insecure versions of Joomla! which should under no circumstances whatsoever be used on a live, production site by any sane person who doesn't want his site hacked in five minutes or less.

IMPORTANT UPDATE NOTES FOR PROFESSIONAL SUBSCRIBERS:

DO NOT USE JOOMLA! 1.6/1.7/2.5's EXTENSION UPDATE TO UPGRADE AKEEBA BACKUP. The Joomla! extensions update was never designed to update component which need to supply authentication credentials to the download server. We have applied a workaround, but it's still in experimental stage and may not work properly. At best, you'll just get an error message. At worst, you will not be able to access the Manage Extensions page, in which case you'll have to remove the plugins/system/plg_srp directory. Please use Live Update from Akeeba Backup's Control Panel page or install the 3.4.1 package through Manage Extensions without uninstalling the previous version, i.e. exactly as per our documentation instructions.

We are now applying a workaround which will allow users of Akeeba Backup Professional 3.5.a1 or later to be able to upgrade to future versions of Akeeba Backup Professional using Joomla!'s Extensions Updater.

Getting Akeeba Backup and receiving support

As always, you can download the free version, Akeeba Backup Core, from our Downloads page without any charge. If you are a Professional subscriber you can download the Akeeba Backup Professional release from the same page; just make sure you are logged in before visiting the download page. Alternatively, you can use the integrated Live Update feature of our software to update it automatically on supported server environments.

Since July 7th, 2011, support is provided only to subscribers. We have created a cheap (7.79€) subscription, MINISUPPORT, which gives you access to our Support Ticket System for eight days, with the same priority as all subscribers to any subscription level. If you already have an active AKEEBAPRO subscription you already have access to the support ticket system; you don’t need to buy an extra subscription. Moreover, if you have an active AKEEBADELUXE or SUPPORT subscription, you can get top priority, confidential support by selecting the Private ticket visibility option when creating a new ticket.

Do you want the best backup solution for Joomla! without spending a fortune? Akeeba Backup Professional can do that, with a flat cost of 40 Euros – or just 30, if you bought an ATPRO subscription the last three moths. An AKEEBAPRO subscription allows you to use the component on as many sites as you want, for as long as you want (even after your subscription expires) and receive updates and support for a whole year. For the price of a dinner for two you can get the best backup solution all your Joomla! 1.5, 1.7 and 2.5 sites. Go Professional today!

Supported versions

Our support policy is to provide support only to the latest published stable release of Akeeba Backup, as well as to the latest published preview (alpha, beta or release candidate) release, if one is available.

Moreover, we only support the Joomla! versions officially supported by the Joomla! project. Due to the plethora of active Joomla! versions, we have consolidated the support terms for different Akeeba Backup and Joomla! version combinations in the table below: 

* Only the latest Akeeba Backup 3.5.x release is supported.

** If a new Akeeba Backup series (i.e. 3.6) is released before August 2013, Akeeba Backup 3.5.x will cease being supported, per our support policy stated above.

*** Akeeba Backup 3.4.3 is still supported on Joomla! 1.5 only, until August 2012. After that date, we will cease all support for Joomla! 1.5. Please note that after this date the Joomla! project will also cease supporting Joomla! 1.5, making its prolonged use insecure.

Akeeba Backup 3.5.x requires PHP 5.2.7 or later to work (5.3 recommended; 5.4 support is currently deemed experimental). If you have an earlier version of PHP, please ask your host to upgrade it immediately. PHP 4, 5.0, 5.1 and 5.2 are end-of-life products, abandoned over a year ago by their developers, containing known security vulnerabilities. If you are stuck on a host using PHP 5.1.6 up to and including PHP 5.2.6, you can use the (unsupported) Akeeba Backup 3.2.7 release to back your site up in order to move it to a host with up-to-date software. Likewise, if you have a Joomla! 1.6-based site, please use Akeeba Backup 3.2.7 to back it up and upgrade to Joomla! 2.5 as soon as possible, for security reasons.

Changelog

New features

• Akeeba Backup is now using FOF, the framework already used by Akeeba Subscriptions and Admin Tools
• Overhauled backup engine
• You can now add the Joomla! version in the archive's name using the [PLATFORM_VERSION] tag
• Making sure you won't forget to enter your Download ID
• Configure button next to profile's name in Profiles view
• You can now override the site's root and/or database connection details, allowing you to backup any accessible on the server
• #368 SugarSync integration
• #396 Google Storage integration
• New backup archive naming variable: [SITENAME]
• #326 Added SRP support to the JSON API

Miscellaneous changes

• Automatically update the XML update stream in Joomla! 2.5 to make use of the Download ID in the Pro release
• ABI: Remove J! 1.5 support

Bug fixes

• Accessing Akeeba Backup without adequate ACL privileges would cause an infinite redirection loop
• ABI: No progress bar shown in database restoration
• Functions, procedures and triggers were not being backed up correctly when their definition contained comments