| | | SecurePlacing a firewall on your Internet connection, locks on your doors and passwords on your computers all help to prevent hackers from accessing your data, but if your passwords aren't strong passwords they may not hold off an attack for very long. Microsoft have some guidelines on creating passwords here that should help delay a determined attacker. A good password policy should be enforced for all users, the weakest password is the easiest point of entry. ProtectMore and more businesses are equipping their employees with laptops or enabling them to work from home using VPN. Even with careful configuration there is a good chance that work is saved on a device and not copied to the server for backing up. To help prevent this, ensure all users are educated on where to save documents at each location and use either offline folders or software like Microsoft SyncToy to keep copies at the office. SyncToy is also useful for keeping multiple copies of home digital photographs. AutomateExcel is the preferred choice of the majority of businesses for reporting on their data. Most Excel users know of the powerful macro language (VBA) inside Excel but many stay away from using it because they feel out of their depth. Examples of how to use macros and Excel automation help to increase the comfort factor and a simple copy-paste of the sample code can save hours of a persons time. Some good sites on the Internet include Contextures and AutomateExcel. DeliverIt's very common to see corporate e-mail systems full of Excel spreadsheets and Word documents that have been sent for review. The only problem is, people lose track of which is the original and who has modified what. Another common problem is the sending of large spreadsheets so the recipient can review the final totals.
If it is not possible to send a link to the document, one quick option is to save the document as a single page HTML file from inside Word or Excel and e-mail the MHT file, these tend to be smaller and open in a browser to help prevent editing. Another option is to send the file as a PDF for reading in Adobe Acrobat Reader, this isn't a Save As option in Microsoft Office until the 2007 version but a PDF printer such as CutePDF Writer allows a document to be printed as normal but the output is a PDF that can then be e-mailed. Empower"Death by PowerPoint" is becoming a familiar phrase overheard during presentations in this world of laptops and digital projectors. Most of the complaints come from plain presentations with bulletpoints, with the presenter reading the bulletpoints out. Moving away from bulletpoints, adding colour, graphics and logos and reading from separate speaker notes instead of the screen can all help to make your presentation stand out. Microsoft have some good tips on their website here. | |
