310: Removing and Reinstalling extensions in Joomla 2.5

As with all programs, there comes a time when you need to upgrade them. These upgrades may either provide bug fixes, additional features, or security updates.

Why is this article being written?

Over the last couple weeks, the Joomla community has seen quite a few Joomla websites hacked due to vulnerabilities in the JCE component. This extension has been upgraded, but for those webmasters using older versions of JCE, you need to upgrade the version of JCE running on your website.

While we reference the JCE extension above, the general idea behind this article applies to most other Joomla extensions as well.

How do I upgrade an extension?

Unless your extension provider is offering a patch and directions on how to apply it, the easiest way to upgrade extensions is to simply uninstall the older version and then reinstall the new version. Keep in mind when uninstalling the extension you will lose any settings previously saved, so it can be a good idea to either write down your current settings or take screenshots of the settings as you may need to refer to them at another time.

1. Uninstall the current extension
2. Reinstall the extension