Tag Archive for microsoft

Microsoft Excel 2010 short-cuts & Free training

If you use Microsoft Excel quite a lot in your day to day job then you will find using various short cuts speeds up everything you do which can only be a good thing.

You will also find it a lot easier than reaching for the mouse all the time to do a small task or flick to another sheet or workbook.

There are a few links at the bottom to some free excel training.

CTRL+SHFT+( Unhides any hidden rows within the selection. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+& Applies the outline border to the selected cells. +       –
CTRL+SHFT_ Removes the outline border from the selected cells. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+~ Applies the General number format. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+$ Applies the Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers in parentheses). +       –
CTRL+SHFT+% Applies the Percentage format with no decimal places. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+^ Applies the Scientific number format with two decimal places. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+# Applies the Date format with the day, month, and year. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+@ Applies the Time format with the hour and minute, and AM or PM. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+! Applies the Number format with two decimal places, thousands separator, and minus sign (-) for negative values. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+* Selects the current region around the active cell (the data area enclosed by blank rows and blank columns). In a PivotTable, it selects the entire PivotTable report. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+: Enters the current time. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+ Copies the value from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar. +       –
CTRL+SHFT+Plus (+) Displays the Insert dialog box to insert blank cells. +       –
CTRL+Minus (-) Displays the Delete dialog box to delete the selected cells. +       –
CTRL+; Enters the current date. +       –
CTRL+` Alternates between displaying cell values and displaying formulas in the worksheet. +       –
CTRL+’ Copies a formula from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar. +       –
CTRL+1 Displays the Format Cells dialog box. +       –
CTRL+2 Applies or removes bold formatting. +       –
CTRL+3 Applies or removes italic formatting. +       –
CTRL+4 Applies or removes underlining. +       –
CTRL+5 Applies or removes strikethrough. +       –
CTRL+6 Alternates between hiding and displaying objects. +       –
CTRL+8 Displays or hides the outline symbols. +       –
CTRL+9 Hides the selected rows. +       –
CTRL+0 Hides the selected columns. +       –
CTRL+A Selects the entire worksheet. If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet. When the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula, displays the Function Arguments dialog box. CTRL+SHIFT+A inserts the argument names and parentheses when the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula. +       –
CTRL+B Applies or removes bold formatting. +       –
CTRL+C Copies the selected cells. +       –
CTRL+D Uses the Fill Down command to copy the contents and format of the topmost cell of a selected range into the cells below. +       –
CTRL+F Displays the Find and Replace dialog box, with the Find tab selected. SHIFT+F5 also displays this tab, while SHIFT+F4 repeats the last Find action. CTRL+SHIFT+F opens the Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected. +       –
CTRL+G Displays the Go To dialog box. F5 also displays this dialog box. +       –
CTRL+H Displays the Find and Replace dialog box, with the Replace tab selected. +       –
CTRL+I Applies or removes italic formatting. +       –
CTRL+K Displays the Insert Hyperlink dialog box for new hyperlinks or the Edit Hyperlink dialog box for selected existing hyperlinks. +       –
CTRL+L Displays the Create Table dialog box. +       –
CTRL+N Creates a new, blank workbook. +       –
CTRL+O Displays the Open dialog box to open or find a file. CTRL+SHIFT+O selects all cells that contain comments. +       –
CTRL+P Displays the Print tab in Microsoft Office Backstage view. CTRL+SHIFT+P opens the Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected. +       –
CTRL+R Uses the Fill Right command to copy the contents and format of the leftmost cell of a selected range into the cells to the right. +       –
CTRL+S Saves the active file with its current file name, location, and file format. +       –
CTRL+T Displays the Create Table dialog box. +       –
CTRL+U Applies or removes underlining. CTRL+SHIFT+U switches between expanding and collapsing of the formula bar. +       –
CTRL+V Inserts the contents of the Clipboard at the insertion point and replaces any selection. Available only after you have cut or copied an object, text, or cell contents. CTRL+ALT+V displays the Paste Special dialog box. Available only after you have cut or copied an object, text, or cell contents on a worksheet or in another program. +       –
CTRL+W Closes the selected workbook window. +       –
CTRL+X Cuts the selected cells. +       –
CTRL+Y Repeats the last command or action, if possible. +       –
CTRL+Z Uses the Undo command to reverse the last command or to delete the last entry that you typed. +       –

Want to learn more about using Microsoft Excel? Here are some useful links from Microsoft:

Downloadable training content adapted from the training course, “Get to know Excel 2010 – Create your first spreadsheet,” in PowerPoint format

 

Downloadable training content adapted from the training course, “Get to know Excel 2010: Create formulas,” in PowerPoint format.

 

Save time by creating and running macros in Excel 2010

Take the next steps in improving your Excel skills

 

Quick Overview of Excel

11 reasons to consider upgrading to Windows Server 2012

So Microsoft bounce in with another brand new server product. Generally we find new versions of Microsoft server products are better than their predecessors and certainly much better than their desktop operating system counterparts which has a few people excited but a lot more nervous and awaiting the inevitable service pack 1 release.

Having had a play with the release preview of Windows Server 2012, we have discovered some interesting things about the new server to share with you. The new interface has a few people sceptical, formerly known as Metro, but with more emphasis on Server Core and the Minimal Server Interface, the UI is unlikely to be the deciding factor when deciding to upgrade. More important are the big changes and new capabilities that make Server 2012 better able to handle your network’s workloads and needs.

Here are 10 reasons to give serious consideration to upgrading to Server 2012 sooner rather than later.

1: Freedom of interface choice

A Server Core installation provides security and performance advantages, but in the past, you had to make a choice: If you installed Server Core, you were stuck with it with only the command line as your interface. However, this changes with Windows Server 2012.

Microsoft realized is that the command line is great for some tasks and the graphical interface is preferable for others. Server 2012 makes the GUI a “feature” — one that can be turned on and off at will, therefore saving resources when the server is simply being a server. You do it through the Remove Roles Or Features option in Server Manager.

2: Server Manager

Regarding the Server Manager, even many of those who dislike the new (metro) tile-based interface overall have admitted that the design’s implementation in the new Server Manager is brilliant.

Figure A

Server Manager

One of the best things about the new Server Manager is the multi-server capabilities, which makes it easy to deploy roles and features remotely to physical and virtual servers. It’s easy to create a server group — a collection of servers that can be managed together. The remote administration improvements let you provision servers without having to make an RDP connection.

3: Server Message Block 3.0

The SMB protocol has been significantly improved in Windows Server 2012 as well as Windows 8. The new version supports new file server features, like SMB transparent failover, SMB Scale Out, SMB Multichannel, SMB Direct, SMB encryption, VSS for SMB file sharing, SMB directory leasing, and SMB PowerShell.  It also works beautifully with Hyper-V, so that VHD files and virtual machine configuration files can be hosted on SMB 3.0 shares. A SQL system database can be stored on an SMB share, as well, with improvements to performance.

4: Dynamic Access Control (DAC)

Microsoft has shifted the focus from separate security products to a more “baked in” approach of integrating security into every part of the operating system.

Dynamic Access Control is one such example, helping IT pros create more centralized security models for access to network resources by tagging sensitive data both manually and automatically, based on factors such as the file content or the creator. After that, claims based access controls can be applied.

5: Storage Spaces

Storage is an interesting topic in the IT industry these days. We are still a long way off storing everything in the cloud (many organizations are still concerned about security and reliability). There are myriad solutions for storing data on your network in a way that provides better utilization of storage resources, centralized management, and better scalability, along with security and reliability. SANs and NAS do that, but they can be expensive.

Storage Spaces is a fantastic new feature in Server 2012 that lets you use inexpensive hard drives to create a storage pool, which can then be divided into spaces that are used like physical disks. They can include hot standby drives and use redundancy methods such as 2- or 3-way mirroring or parity. What’s great is that you can add new disks any time, and a space can be larger than the physical capacity of the pool. When you add new drives, the space automatically uses the extra capacity.

6: Virtualization

Virtualization was the biggest thing before the cloud hit the IT industry and it is still the thing to do when it comes to servers. Hyper-V is Microsoft’s answer to VMware / XenServer. Microsoft’s virtualization platform is liked by a lot of IT Pro’s and wither each new version Windows hypervisor gets a little better, and Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 brings a number of new features to the table. One of the most interesting is Hyper-V Replica.

This is a replication mechanism that will be a disaster recovery godsend to SMBs that may not be able to deploy complex and costly replication solutions. It logs changes to the disks in a VM and uses compression to save on bandwidth, replicating from a primary server to a replica server.

You are able to store multiple snapshots of a VM on the replica server and then select the one you want to use. It works with both standalone hosts and clusters in any combination.

7: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Windows Terminal Services was renamed Remote Desktop Services and has since expanded to encompass much more than the ability to RDP into the desktop of a remote server. Microsoft then launched a centralized Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution in Windows Server 2008 R2 and now some significant improvements have been made in Server 2012.

You no longer need a dedicated GPU graphics card in the server to use RemoteFX, which vastly improves the quality of graphics over RDP. Instead, you can use a virtualized GPU on standard server hardware. USB over RDP is much better, and the Fair Share feature can manage how CPU, memory, disk space, and bandwidth are allocated among users to stop certain users stealing all the bandwidth.

8: DirectAccess

DirectAccess was supposed to be Microsoft’s “VPN replacement,”. It allowed you to create a secure connection from client to corporate network without the performance drain and with a more transparent user experience than a traditional VPN. Administrators get more control over the machines and the ability to manage them even before users log in. Group policy is utilised to control the machines as well and there is no hassle of setting up a VPN connection.

So why hasen’t DirectAccess taken off? Two main reasons, it can’t be virtulized and its  dependent on IPv6. However in Windows Server 2012, DirectAccess now works with IPv4 and lo and behold it can run on a Hyper-V virtual machine. It also comes with a new wizard to help make configuration a lot easier.

9: Resilient File System

NTFS has been around since 1993 and its been a long and well needed replacement for a while. There was speculation early on that a new file system would be introduced with Windows 7, but it didn’t materialise.

Windows Server 2012 finally brings us our long-awaited new file system, the Resilient File System. While it supports many of the NTFS features, a few have been abandoned, i.e. file compression, EFS, and disk quotas. However, instead we get data verification and auto correction, and it’s designed to work with Storage Spaces to create shrinkable/expandable logical storage pools.

Maximum scalability is the key drive behind ReFS, supporting up to 16 exabytes in practice. ReFS supports a theoretical limit of 256 zetabytes (more than 270 billion terabytes). That allows for a lot of scaling and a whole bunch of cloud storage!

10: Easy licensing

Microsoft and easy licencing don’t really go in the same sentence. However Microsoft have actually listened this time and Windows Server 2012 is offered in only four editions: Datacenter, Standard, Essentials, and Foundation. The first two are licensed per-processor plus CAL, and the other two (for small businesses) are licensed per-server with limits on the number of user accounts (15 for Foundation and 25 for Essentials). See the chart with licensing details for each edition below:

11: The New Active Directory

In todays business environments, data is nto always stored on the customer’s server due to the utilisation of cloud technology. In addition data is accessed by staff on various different devices like phones, laptops, desktops and other removable devices.

To address these new challenges, organizations have to change how they approach identity and security. Windows Server 2012 contribution to helping with this challenge is the introduction of Dynamic Access Control, and it brings with it exciting new capabilities and deployment options for DirectAccess. This means you will be able to better manage and protect data access, simplify deployment and management of your identity infrastructure, and provide more secure access to data from virtually anywhere.

Have you used the new Windows 2012 yet? What do you think?

Best practices for network security

While i think a lot of companies hide their head in the sand when it comes to understanding and deploying network security, it is something that will eventually bite you in the bum and can have severe consequences.

Securing the modern business network and IT infrastructure requires an end-to-end
approach and a clear understanding of vulnerabilities and how to protct against them.

While such knowledge cannot prevent all attempts from hackers, it can empower network engineers to reduce your risk by eliminating certain general problems and  quickly detect breaches. With the ever-increasing complexity and number of attacks, a keen approach to security in both large and small enterprises is critical.

Having a good think and strategy about your security policies can significantly increase the security of a network. While policies can be very complex and generally annoying to end users, it is often the simple aspects that prove most useful.

A centrally managed anti-virus update system should now be common place but consider adding a host scanner facility to detect new or out of date systems and have complete control of all your assets on the network.

In general, policies and automatic enforcement tools help reduce the obvious security flaws so that network engineers can concentrate on the more complex issues.

Here are some ideas of what a security policy should consist of:

• Scan and lock down unneeded network ports on all network devices, turn off unnecessary services

• Centrally managed anti-virus software on entire network

• Utilize central security updates, i.e. Windows Update Server

• Secure central authentication for example, Radius, Windows/Kerberos/Active Directory

• Firewalls at all public-private network transit points

• Version controlled and centrally deployed firewall rule sets

• Set-up DMZ protected zones to protect externally facing servers

• Password policy (i.e. must change every 3 months and must be “complex password”

• Proactive network scanning for new and out of date hosts

• Network monitoring systems for suspicious activity

• Incident response procedure (policies, process, etc.)

• Web Browser protection from malicious software downloads

The above list represents the key items one should have in your security policy. There are probably a lot of other items one could have in a policy. It’s important to balance factors such as company size, risk analysis, cost and business impact when determining the items to include in a security policy.

Start with understanding what exactly is on your network (especially mobile devices accessing files and email) and then what you actually need. You could have an extremely locked down and secure network but one old Windows 2000 computer that lets hackers directly into your internal network in 2 minutes flat.

Every company regardless of size should have a security policy as all computers are a potential target for a security breach.

Do you have any policy ideas to add to the list?

a day in the life of a network engineer…

I thought it may be interesting in writing a blog about what we actually get up to. The kind of things we deal with on a day to day basis. I am sure other network engineers out there will have some interesting comments to make of their own experiences?

Issues range from people having viruses on their laptop computer. We will get rid of the virus for them, clean up the computer of any additional spyware or software that shouldn’t be installed, install premium and authentic anti-virus software and make sure the laptop is completely clean and virus free. In addition we will advise if they need to upgrade their laptop’s memory for example or if they are running out of disc space. We also ensure they are backing up their precious documents and photos so they don’t lose anything if the hard drive crashes.

We have recovered data for clients where their hard drive has crashed but they need vital documents. Even if we have to send it off to a 3rd party data recovery specialist, we handle the whole process for them. Arranging collection and delivery and putting the customer’s data back on their laptop. We will also install a new hard drive and set up their system again for them.

We manage client’s whole network of computers and server. We had a call yesterday where the client in Coventry could not access any of their servers. After much looking round we discovered a small network switch was not working. It wasn’t quite as simple as turning it back on but through our knowledge and problem solving skills, they were all back up and running.

We had another client who was not receiving email. More specifically whenever they reboot their router their IP address changes so they don’t get their email delivered. It is a bit like constantly changing your address and expecting the postman to find you. In this instance we called up the internet service provider and ordered them a permanent address so regardless of the router rebooting, they will always have email.

We have had more technical challenges where email stops working on a client’s server. We have a look for a specific error message in the event log and then do some research on this event and how to resolve it. It is not always the error you first see but may be a totally different error which is having a knock on effect so you have to think out the box. It is always satisfying and a relief when everything starts working again after successfully resolving an issue. Obviously failure is not an option so we need to utilise all our resources to quickly resolve issues which in turn reduce downtime for the client and save them money.

We are very strong advocates of everyone who has a computer firstly backing up their data and secondly having good anti-virus protection. If you use free anti-virus protection, don’t be surprised if a virus gets through and destroys your computer. Not only do we sell a product called Trend Micro which we have found to be the best in the market but we also install it for our clients and make sure they are fully protected. We don’t even charge for this. We often install the anti-virus remotely on a client’s computer which saves time for both us and them.

We also sell an online backup product at only £5 a month for unlimited data. We set this up for clients remotely as well, making sure the relevant files are all selected for backing up and it is actually working. It is pointless installing and paying for a backup solution when it is not actually backing up your critical data.

After all the work we do, here is some feedback from a few of our clients

Darren Rawlinson – “For Colin, providing IT solutions isn’t just solving a problem you may have come to him with first; it’s about providing knowledge, support and guidance as well as extremely personable and professional approach, which works well with small and larger clients. Colin is also professional enough to see the value in working in partnership to achieve common goals and greater future value for all.”

“Colin is impressive in his quiet confidence in his skills and abilities and in his commitment to work and causes. So far we have collaborated outside work; Colin supports Cord, the international peace building charity, strongly in various ways. I recommend him as someone who takes the initiative, thinks around a situation to find the best way of tackling it and delivers 100% reliably on what he says he will do. A very good guy to work with! Kit Lawry, Cord”

Peter O’Donnell – “Colin understands what a business needs, not just what they think they want. He designs, delivers and support all his projects and systems with great professionalism and enthusiasm. And he works all the hours of the day to get it done. A professional IT supplier and terrific person.”

PS – Pictures are for fun and not representative of actual customers!

What is a Raspberry Pi

Just when you thought another ‘fruit-based’ piece of tech would be more than the market could bear, up pops the Raspberry Pi. Never heard of it?  Let me enlighten you. The Raspberry Pi is best described as a mini PC about the size of a credit card and what does it cost?…. about 25 to 30 quid. Yes, that’s right, £25 to £30 for a fully operational PC. To make it work you will need a TV/monitor, keyboard, micro USB cable and SD card but with its 700MHz Arm processor and 256MB it is capable of running Linux, full screen video and office applications.

The ground breaking Raspberry Pi has been developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation which is a Cambridge based charity. It has been developed to promote the study of computer science in UK schools and inject some fun back into computing. The idea is to make IT a cool thing to do and be involved with and to encourage youngsters the sort of skills that will serve them well in an ever changing hi-tech world.

There is something quite retro about the Raspberry Pi which is very appealing. Similar to what the BBC Micro and the Sinclair Spectrum did in the 1980s, the Raspberry Pi is hoping to re-engage kids with the world of computing not just as a user but getting behind the scenes to see how a computer works, is built, and needs to be programmed.

It’s not just for kids though, IT enthusiasts all over the world are embracing the Raspberry Pi, especially web developers. The Raspberry Pi is capable of running web servers, browsers and text editors so it contains the environment that any would-be web developer needs. The Raspberry Pi is also the type of kit that you can experiment with and adapt for various IT functions ….. any computer enthusiast finds that hard to resist! Such was the demand for the Raspberry Pi when it launched back in February that the initial 10,000 units sold out in minutes and the Raspberry Pi online shop crashed.

the rasberry pi

So these are exciting times for the UK computer industry. Other countries have stolen a march on the UK in the computer industry since the 1980s but it is hoped that the Raspberry Pi will help create the developers and programmers of tomorrow and give the UK a new competitive advantage in the computer industry.

the rasberry pi logo

The Importance of Being…..Social

Social Media has changed the world… a cliché but true. Wouldn’t it have been fascinating if social media had existed back in history? You can just imagine what Oscar Wilde would have done with Facebook or Twitter, though I guess the number of characters would have been frustrating for him.

I still like to think he would get more followers than Justin Bieber though!  And what about the great industrialists of the time? Isambard Kingdom Brunel might have tweeted something like “just finished designing the Clifton Suspension Bridge, please like my page.”  It amuses me to think how historical figures may have used social media but just how important is social media to your business?

It wasn’t so long ago that it didn’t even exist and businesses still managed to trade with each other so what’s the big fuss? That’s true, but the mere fact that it exists means that there are now extra channels available that you can use to promote your business and if you don’t do it, you can be pretty sure that your competitors will be.

The word social suggests that these are tools for building relationships and keeping your friends/colleagues/associates aware of what you have been up to. All of this is true but don’t under estimate the power that social relationships can have with helping to build and grow your business.

This doesn’t mean that you cynically litter your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts with promotional messages. People will soon get tired of that and before you know it you will find yourself unfriended!! There is a balance to strike here and how your business manages its social media output is important in terms of the image that you want to convey to both your friends and your customers.

Like it or not (see what I did there!) social media is here to stay and everybody from big businesses to small business owners are using social media as part of their marketing strategy. So what are the benefits? Here are a few for you to think about;

  • Through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc you can start to differentiate yourself from your competitors through your profile and the type of posts that you make
  • You can share content through blog posts, articles and videos which help demonstrate your expertise in the field that you are in and make you the go-to person for that product or service
  • You can connect with people across the world sharing your ideas, building friendships and creating trust so that people will want to do business with you
  • Through the creation of fan pages you can showcase your business and target your audience effectively

All very good I hear you mutter but when am I going to find the time to do all this? This is a problem that most businesses face and this is where Colins-IT can help you.

Ever since the launch of social media Colins-IT has been monitoring its trends, understanding its impact and measuring what works and what doesn’t. We have helped several businesses by managing their social media so that they can concentrate on what they do best…running their business.

We have helped businesses grow their numbers of followers, showcase their products and services, and helped them generate more traffic to their websites and get new sales leads. Don’t just take our word for it. Here is what one of our customers has said about our social media management service;

“Colins-it has been managing my social media for a few weeks now and I have seen my numbers of followers on Twitter increase dramatically over this time. Having Colins-it manage your social media for you is a massive time saver and the articles that they source and post for you definitely add to your credibility and show you as an influencer in your field. I would recommend this cost effective service to anyone who wants to use social media effectively as part of their marketing strategy.”

We can manage your social media for as little as £58 +VAT so call us now on 0800 107 7782 and, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, get to understand ‘The Importance of Being….Social’

Click here for more info - http://www.colins-it.co.uk/Social-Media-Management.html

<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://twittercounter.com/embed/?username=colinsit&amp;style=bird”></script>

<noscript>&amp;lt;a href=”http://twittercounter.com/colinsit”&amp;gt;Colin Durrant on Twitter Counter&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</noscript>

A cost effective server for small businesses

It’s been a pretty hectic couple of weeks. We are currently installing Small Business Server 2011 for clients based in Leamington Spa and Nuneaton.

The Small Business Server 2011 is a great option for a small business whether you are looking to have your first server or if you are looking to have an upgrade. Small Business Server 2011 will help protect your business, enable on-site or cloud expansion and enable you and your staff to work better together.

Here are some of the benefits that our clients in Leamington Spa and Nuneaton will receive by installing Small Business Server 2011;

1. It is a comprehensive all-in-one solution that is designed for small businesses and is introduced at a price point which is attractive to smaller businesses.

2. It will simplify IT management by managing common IT tasks and deal with technical issues before they happen by having a single view of the health and security of their computers and servers from one administrative console.

3. They can stay connected to their business by having constant access to email, voicemail, instant messaging etc

4. They can get 24/7 access to their files, calendars, tasks and contacts from virtually anywhere.

5. They can easily migrate their business information to Small Business Server 2011 because of its enhanced migration tools, comprehensive pre-migration checks and easy to follow guidance.

6. They can backup their data very easily through automatic backups and recover accidently deleted files. With easy to use interfaces and backup capabilities they will have greater control of their data, PCs and network, especially in the event of a disaster.

7. They can keep their network healthy and up to date by producing “green check” reports that give a quick view of PC and Server status, anti virus status, Microsoft software updates and backup progress etc.

If you are a small business and are looking to install your first server or upgrade to a new server then Small Business Server 2011 could be the simplest, most cost effective solution for you. There are options for up to 25 users and up to 75 users. To find out more about having a server installed or upgraded then please contact 0800 107 7782 or email sales@colins-it.co.uk