Okay, here's what I did (if there is an easier way or better way, please correct my post):
1) Logged in to C-Panel to get access to wp-includes/comment-template.php
2) Opened up comment-template.php using the code editor in C-Panel
3) Located the function get_comment_author_link which was on line 148 in my file
4) Here is what the code looked like before I made the change:
Code:
function get_comment_author_link() {
/** @todo Only call these functions when they are needed. Include in if... else blocks */
$url = get_comment_author_url();
$author = get_comment_author();
if ( empty( $url ) || 'http://' == $url )
$return = $author;
else
$return = "<a href='$url' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>$author</a>";
return apply_filters('get_comment_author_link', $return);
}
5) Here is what it looked like after I added target='_blank'
Code:
function get_comment_author_link() {
/** @todo Only call these functions when they are needed. Include in if... else blocks */
$url = get_comment_author_url();
$author = get_comment_author();
if ( empty( $url ) || 'http://' == $url )
$return = $author;
else
$return = "<a href='$url' rel='external nofollow' class='url' target='_blank'>$author</a>";
return apply_filters('get_comment_author_link', $return);
}
6) Save the edited file in C-Panel and then preview a page with a comment on it to make sure it works.