You took the leap and installed WordPress to host your own blog because you want complete control over how it looks and works. Now, it's time to power it up, lock it down, and make your blog completely yours.
What You're In For
With all the hype around cloud computing and no-configuration-required hosted services, you don't hear about the joys of running great software on your own server very much. The fact is, if you're just a casual user who doesn't know if you'll stick to blogging over the long haul, or if you don't want to spend a little time maintaining WordPress, you should sign up for a hosted blog at WordPress.com or Blogger or TypePad. (Also, this tutorial is not for you.)
But if you're willing to keep WordPress updated religiously, you get access to a whole world of WP plug-ins that add features to your site, the opportunity to create and tweak custom WordPress themes, and a huge sense of accomplishment. In version 2.8 and greater, keeping your installation up-to-date is a matter of clicking a link when you get notified to do so.