Another new feature of Microsoft Excel 2010 highlights trends and patterns in data entered into spreadsheets.  This analysis-friendly capability saves a lot of time and increases productivity when it comes to number crunching.  Here’s more about these features.

Sparklines creates tiny charts in a cell alongside the data the user enters, making it possible for trends and anomalies to appear even while the spreadsheet is being created.  Slicer functionality can filter large amounts of data making it easier to analyze PivotTables and PivotCharts.

You can read more about Excel 2010 on its Website. To learn more about any business-enhancing software and how to incorporate it into your organization, contact us.

A new benefit of Excel 2010 is its mobile accessibility utilizing a couple of mobile features.  These features allow people to access their Excel workbooks anywhere, anytime and make updates and changes to them.  Two elements make this accessibility possible.

Microsoft Excel Web App
This easily downloadable app allows users to view and edit their spreadsheets from a web browser.  The app will work on multiple types of mobile devices.

Microsoft Excel Mobile
Users with a Windows Phone 7 device can also use it to access Excel workbooks.  Users can view charts and formatting as well as sorting and filtering lists. It’s an almost full-featured solution.

To learn more about how Excel 2010 can benefit your business, contact us.  We’ll tell you all about it and can upgrade your business’s systems.

 

How destructive can computerized attacks be?  Just look at the recent news about a computer worm suspected to have originated from a U.S. and Israeli project that dealt Iran’s nuclear program a crucial setback.

The worm, called Stuxnet, attacked the centrifuges Iran uses to enrich uranium, which is essential for developing nuclear weapons.  Although the worm wasn’t completely successful, it took out one-fifth of Iran’s centrifuges, and both U.S. and Israeli officials recently stated the program has been set back several years.  There is also speculation that the worm left seeds to allow future attacks.

Although this is an extreme example of cyber attacks, it demonstrates the need for all organizations to implement the appropriate security and monitoring for their computer networks.  To learn more about how we can help you accomplish this, contact us.

  So you may or may not be aware of the Gwaker Media hack and theft of passwords this week but basically Gwaker's websites were hacked and the user logins (email addresses) and passwords were taken. 

Gwaker says the file containing the passwords is encrypted but it seems from the messaging that Gwaker is promoting that they feel it is a matter of time until the passwords are compromised.

Gwaker Media includes the following sites:

Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Gawker, Jezebel, io9, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Deadspin, and Fleshbot

Unfortunately even the best of us got hit by this one and goes to show there isn't a thing you can do about it!  I love Lifehacker and Gizmodo and knowing I have accounts there, I checked on my email to see if it was in the list.  It was. 

Oddly enough I got an email from Hint.io the other day regarding this but disregarded it as SPAM turns out that according to Lifehacker Hint.io is trying to be "digital good samaritans", emailing users at addresses included in the leaked database to warn them of the leak. The links in their email were questionable so I didn't bother clicking on them to stay safe and we recommend staying cautious just in case.

Luckily, I use a "throw away" password for many of the generic sites that I log into BUT the down side is that I use the same password at all of these sites and more.  Since many of them use my email as the login, these hackers now have access to all of the other sites that I sign up for!

I still think that having a three password approach is adequate for my needs though:  

• One that only I know for my business, banking, investments, and such. 
• Another that I use for semi-secure items (e.g. personal email, facebook, etc)
• And finally a password that I really don't care about for sites that I really don't care if someone gets into.

Regardless, I'll likely pick out a new throw away password and get to changing them on all the sites that I can remember!  My concern isn't that someone gets into my accounts but that they start posting information as me on these sites!  In today's connected world it is more a matter of reputation than information!

BTW here are some links to details as well as the tool I used to look up my account!

Tool to see if you got "Gawkered": http://www.didigetgawkered.com/
Lifehacker FAQ regarding details on the breach: http://lifehacker.com/5712785/#2

 - Steve