Archive for the ‘Tips and Tricks’ Category

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5 Ways to Work Efficiently in Excel

Saturday, April 7th, 2012

Microsoft Excel 2010 is a powerful software tool, but as a computer support company we have found that most people only know the basics of how to use it.  Here are some  lesser-known Excel tricks that can help you work more efficiently.

  1. Hiding Information: There might be an occasion when you would like to hide certain data when printing an Excel spreadsheet. For example, maybe your spreadsheet includes confidential salary information. Fortunately, you can tell Excel not to print certain rows or columns by hiding them before you hit print. To hide rows or columns, click the corresponding number or letter then right-click on a highlighted row or column and click the Hide option. You can then choose the Unhide option to bring these columns and rows back into view.
  2. Timestamping: Should you wish to attach a date to your spreadsheet, you can use the Timestamp feature. Just hold Ctrl as you press the semicolon key. If you would like the current date and time hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys while pressing the semicolon.
  3. A Better-Looking Spreadsheet: Give your spreadsheet a fresh look by employing Excel’s Themes option. You will find this in the Excel Ribbon, at the top. Click it, and you’ll be given a huge selection of fonts, and color schemes that you can try first and then apply to your spreadsheet. It’s also possible to design your own!
  4. Tracking Trends: The newest version of Excel includes a feature called Sparklines. By employing this feature, you can create small charts that show trends in information. For example, you could use Sparklines to instantly determine how many software bundles each of your company’s salespeople sold in the first half of 2011.
  5. Conditional Formatting: This feature allows formatting only in cells that meet the criteria that you choose. For instance you could chose to have any dollar amount over 1,000 be a specific color.  This helps you view and analyze data faster.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Corporate Network Services can help you get the most out of your software investments.  Let us know if you need any assistance!

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Secure your data closet to protect your business

Monday, March 12th, 2012

We’ve talked a lot about data closets in this blog, and for good reason, they contain the backbone of your corporate IT services.  But we at Corporate Network Services have been concerned with something we have noticed at many customer sites—easy access to data closets. Why does this matter?  Because security threats and disasters don’t always come from tornadoes and hurricanes, they can also come from your own employees.

As a business owner, you hate to believe that employees might harm your company, but it’s true.  At one of our clients, two employees from two different locations got together to discuss how they could get around the content filter in the company’s network switch.  Maybe they wanted to buy concert tickets together on StubHub that Friday afternoon.  Maybe they wanted to look at baby pictures on Flickr.  Whatever it was, the company had already determined it didn’t want employees doing that since certain web sites were blocked.  What did these two employees do?  They took matters into their own hands.  They separately went into the data closet in their offices and physically pulled all the cables out of the firewall.  Problem solved, right?  WRONG!  This action of course took the network down! Not only were those two not able to buy tickets or look at pictures, no one was able to work.

Luckily, a CNS consultant was near one of the offices and fixed the cables within the hour.  The other office wasn’t repaired until Saturday morning (thus incurring over time charges).  Our client immediately installed locks on their server closet doors after this happened, and they instituted a new policy: any employee caught tampering with the company network will be dismissed.

How secure is your network from your employees?  If you’d like us to perform a security review for your company, let us know.

Posted by in Business Strategy, Human Resources, Technology, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »

7 Interesting People to Follow on Twitter

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

So now you are on Twitter, and you follow your family and friends, but you are sick and tired of learning about the latest restaurant your sister went to. You want to hear more interesting and worldly information.

 

Well, lucky for you, almost everyone has a Twitter now.  This can include celebrities, scientists, entrepreneurs, and legislators and you could follow them and hear what they’ve got to say.

 

Here are 7 interesting folks that will get you started if you are not sure whom to follow:

 

  1. Conan O’Brien: The late-night talk-show host happens to be one of the wittiest people around. He’s also a master of the absurd. That being said, his Twitter comments are always entertaining. You’ll be happy to know, too, that he never promotes his show through his Tweets.
  2. Marissa Mayer: You may not be familiar with Marissa Mayer, but she is the very first female engineer at Google. So if you want to get a glimpse inside the life and thoughts of a technology expert, follow @Marissamayer.
  3. Mike Massimino: Follow @Astro_Mike, if you need to get the inside scoop about NASA. Mike Massimino is an astronaut who recent made an appearance on The Big Bang Theory, which he then tweeted about.
  4. Rainn Wilson: Chances are you’ll know Rainn better as Dwight Schrute from The Office. If you find his character quirky and entertaining, you might also enjoy his tweets. Follow @Rainnwilson. Here is a recent Tweet from him: “If I had a bird, I would call it James VanDerBeak.”
  5. Ryan Penagos: Are you a comic book fan? If you are, you really should follow @Agent_M. Penagos. This is Ryan Penagos’ Twitter; he is the editorial director of Marvel Comics. He’s a lively Tweeter, updating his followers about his favorite comics and new video games that are being released.
  6. Barack Obama: You may or may not have voted for him but he is the Commander and Chief. Discover what’s on his mind on a daily bases @BarackObama.
  7. Bill Gates: Bill Gates has made an undeniable impact on the tech world. Learn what’s occurring in his life and about the charitable causes he and his wife support @BillGates.

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How to choose a good password

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Choosing a good password can be difficult to do. In fact, as a network administrator, it’s the number one thing I hate doing. As a user, there are also a myriad of rules and requirements involving capital letters, numbers, and special characters. Check out this great video for some easy tips for creating a good, secure password!

 YouTube Preview Image

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Ensure your online safety with these tips

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

The recent Playstation security breach has opened many Internet users’ eyes to the importance of online security. If the wrong person gets their hands on your information, there is a possibility that the outcome could be harmful. Luckily, there are plenty of simple steps you can take to better protect your online identity.

 

Use an encrypted connection

Using an encrypted connection is an incredibly easy way to attain greater online security. Many websites, including most social networking sites, have recently adopted more secure connections, although you sometimes need to change the settings to get the extra level of security.

 

In order to see whether or not your connection is safe, check the URL. A secure connection will have a URL that begins with “https” instead of simply “http.” Unfortunately, all sites don’t use encrypted connections, so this is not always a possibility.

 

Use strong passwords

 

Strong passwords are quite easy to create and can make a tremendous difference in online security. Using a combination of numbers, symbols, spaces and upper- and lowercase letters can help to create a strong password. If you can’t see yourself using a lot of different characters, at least be sure to use a password that can’t easily be guessed.

 

 

Also, using a unique password for each site is vital. If you use the same password for multiple sites and one of those sites is hacked, you could be opening up all of your other accounts to hackers as well.

 

Look out for phishing

 

Phishing is quite a common practice because it so often works to help hackers obtain sensitive information. It is essentially when a hacker poses as a reliable business, such as a bank, to try to get your passwords, account numbers or usernames.

 

Epsilon’s recent data breach was a great example of the possibility of phishing. Their network was hacked into and thousands of names and email addresses were exposed, making thousands of people vulnerable to phishing attempts.

 

 

These three tips are particularly easy to follow and do not take much work on your part. If you are interested in a few more tips, check out this article.

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Tips for conducting virtual meetings

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

Although many prefer face-to-face meetings, virtual meetings are a popular part of today’s business environment. It is vital, however, to consider certain things when you’re conducting these meetings.

Etiquette is the key to most meetings, and it’s no different with those of the virtual variety. This may seem rather obvious, but many people think they can be more casual during virtual meetings – and that isn’t always the case.

Below you will find several additional tips that can help your virtual meetings go more smoothly.

1. Be prepared

Preparedness is vital for any meeting, virtual or not. When you’re conducting a virtual meeting, it can be easy to forget who your audience is. You want to make sure that the information you’re presenting is appropriate for each participant.

Also, ensure that everybody invited to the meeting has the appropriate login information. If the invitees can’t actually access the meeting, the entire function is lost.

2. Engage participants

Although it might seem normal to jump right into the presentation, taking a moment to introduce participants can go a long way. This helps build relationships, and makes the meeting feel less rushed.

Although it may seem somewhat cliché, it is always helpful to give people the chance to share a little personal information – such as the highlight of their weekend, or a fun fact. It may seem awkward at first, but it will go a long way in making people feel more connected to the other participants.

3. No side conversations

Side conversations can be extremely distracting to all participants, even if you’re not on screen at the moment. Not only can side conversations grab the focus of the presenter, it can distract other attendees and deter from the point of the meeting.

These are just a few of many tips for conducting virtual meetings. If you’d like to check out even more tips, take a look at this Inc. article.

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Getting a Lot of SPAM Lately? Thank a Major Marketing Firm

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Over the past few days I’ve been monitoring a pretty major security breach at Internet marketer Epsilon. This firm is hired by many Fortune 500 companies for email marketing campaigns. While the breach only revealed email addresses, the risk for virus and spyware infection is great. In a nutshell, millions of legitimate email addresses from Citibank, Verizon, Chase Bank, Best Buy and many other companies have been released to spammers, who may now pelt you with seemingly legitimate emails that will infect your computer. To avoid this, follow the following safety guidelines:

  1. Be aware of the emails you are receiving on a regular basis. If it is not normal for your bank to email you, DO NOT CLICK A LINK IN THE MESSAGE. Rather, login to the main website and find the information the long way. You will most likely find the reason for emailing you is false.
  2. Mouse over (DON’T CLICK) the link in the email and look at the Status bar in the lower left hand corner where the link will be displayed again. Does it match? Is it going to the right company’s web site?
  3. If you do click the link and you notice the website is different than what you thought, you most likely have been infected (it can happen that fast) and you will need make sure the machine is properly cleaned using a virus and mal-ware scanner. Your best bet it to contact your IT help desk in a business or use free tools like (Avast! Anti-Virus and Malware Bytes). If you’re not sure, don’t be afraid to ask someone for help!
  4. Do not ever, EVER, E-V-E-R share any personal, financial information over the Internet unless you have typed the URL in yourself and are confident in the legitimacy of the site. Treat your logins in this same manner.
  5. Look for the Lock! Any reputable company that asks for any personal or financial information will encrypt the connection with an SSL certificate. You’ll know the connection is encrypted by the lock that appears next to the address bar, the link will change to say httpS:// and in many cases, the address bar may even turn green to show that the site is legitimate.
  6. Make sure your security software is running and updated at all times.
  7. The best advice of all – never click a link in an email from an untrusted or unsolicited source.

For more information about the breach, click here: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/market-news/epsilon-security-breach-protect-your-p/19901868/

For help cleaning your computer or any questions about the security tips above, contact CNS.

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MS Word 2010 Cheat Sheet

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Everyone needs Microsoft Office support, and as Microsoft Gold Certified Partners Corporate Network Services’ technology consultants aim to please. I recently stumbled into this great cheat sheet for working some pretty advanced MS Word 2010 features. It’s a great read and offer tips on things ranging from keyboard shortcuts to add a bullet list to using bookmarks to manage larger documents.

Take some time to read through it and feel free to contact our PROSuite help desk if you have any questions.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/cheat_sheet_10_tips_and_tricks_microsoft_word

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Change the Hyperlink Color in PowerPoint

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Does it ever drive you crazy that the color of hyperlink text is always blue in a PowerPoint slide? Who determined THAT? What if you don’t like blue?? It’s presentation season at CNS and this one always gets me. Then I saw this tip in a newsletter from our training partner OfficePro, and thought it was a great tip to share.

  1. On the Design tab, in the Themes group, click Colors, and then click Create New Theme Colors.
  2. In the Create New Theme Colors dialog box, under Theme colors, do one of the following:
  3. To change the color of hyperlink text, click the arrow next to Hyperlink, and then select a color.
  4. To change the color of followed hyperlink (followed hyperlink: A hyperlink to a destination you have visited. Once you follow a hyperlink to its destination, the hyperlink changes color) text, click the arrow next to Followed Hyperlink, and then select a color. For additional color choices, click More Colors.
  5. Click Save.

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If You Are Lucky Enough To Receive an iPad This Holiday, Read This First

Friday, December 17th, 2010

One of this year’s hottest gifts is the Apple iPad. With its first major software update and the introduction of AirPlay, AirPrint, and multi-tasking, the iPad is better than ever.

REGISTER YOUR iPAD
Before you can do anything with the iPad, you’ll need to connect it to a computer and register the device with iTunes. If you haven’t used iTunes before, this means that you’ll need to create an account. Start by going to www.apple.com/itunes and click the download link to download the program iTunes to your computer. Once it is installed, you can then plug your iPad into a USB port on the computer. iTunes will then recognize the iPad and walk you through the registration process. You need to create an iTunes account, but don’t worry, you’ll be taken through the process when you plug the iPad into your computer. Apple takes its security very seriously so you don’t have to worry about entering your personal information. It makes the registration process go much faster.

ACCESSING THE INTERNET
There are two kinds of iPads: Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi with 3G. In order to use the 3G network you have to activate the account. You do this by clicking on the setting icon on the main page and then clicking on Cellular Data menu item. Click on the View Account button and create a data account with AT&T. You’ll need a credit card handy. One great thing about accessing the 3G network is that you can discontinue the plan whenever you want. After the registration and account activation is complete you are ready to enter the world of truly portable computing.

PROGRAMS THAT WE RECOMMEND
Finally, download more Apps by clicking on the Apps Store icon and browsing for apps, games, music, movies and tv shows directly from your iPad. There are thousands of apps available, but here’s a snapshot of our favorites:

1. Flipbook – This takes social media to a whole new level. It’s a great app to play with.
2. Epicurious – tons of great recipies and perfect for the kitchen.
3. Evernote – a free note-taking app that syncs your notes from your iPad to you PC or Mac and into the cloud
4. Zappos – Shoe shopping was never so easy! Plus now they sell so many more things.
5. Washington Post – Their new iPad app is really easy to use and nicely featured.
6. Google – Get all the features of Google right from your iPad.
7. Pages – One of the few paid apps that we use, this is a great word processor for your iPad.
8. Pandora – Deck those halls with this free music service.
9. Scrabble– You can play by yourself against the computer and it doesn’t always win

The iPad battery lasts about 10 hours–enough to get you through the day! Just don’t let your family get mad at you because you won’t do anything else.

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