Many of you may have noticed the message "Please note: Due to technical reasons we have had to disable the Install from Web Service. We are working to get it back online as soon as possible. To find extensions please use the Joomla! Extensions Directory at http://extensions.joomla.org"
The Install from Web service was added to allow site builders find and install extensions from within Joomla! directly through the Joomla! backend interface. This feature helps to get more people access to the extensions listed on the JED, since many that install Joomla! are not aware of the JED site.
Unfortunately, we had to disable the Install from Web feature temporarily. Install from Web is using technology from the Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) 1.0. The JED 1.0 extensions are no longer being maintained and some extensions are outdated. When we realised this, our only concern was to protect our users. The Production Leadership Team made a decision to remove the service shortly before the Joomla 3.4 release. The feature will continue to be disabled for short period of time while we update the service. We know this is an inconvenience for project owners who install extensions from the administrator panel, and we are truly sorry.
What happened?
Essentially, the Install from Web created a server connected to the JED 1.0 database to display extensions through the backend of Joomla installations. Since the 1.0 database and any extensions listed in it are from the JED 1.0, they aren’t being maintained. This means that they are not being updated for vulnerabilities- making your website a security risk.
Because of the limited resources at our disposal, we were unable to rebuild the Install from Web before the 3.4 release. Thus we needed to act quickly to disable the feature to avoid security issues.
Action Plan Moving Forward
We care about your security and the features of the Install from Web. We are in the process of rebuilding the Install from Web using the new JED 2.0. We will be moving ahead with a new infrastructure to re-enable the Install from Web feature in the next several weeks.