Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Windows Thin PC Preview!


Microsoft has released a community technology preview (CTP) of its Windows Thin PC product.
 
Windows Thin PC (WinTPC) is a new version of Windows 7 designed specifically for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) customers. Windows Thin PC is a smaller footprint, locked down version of Windows 7 designed for virtualized environments to rebuild their existing PCs as thin clients. PCs with WinTPC will not require the VDA license that regular thin clients will need to access VDI desktops according to Microsoft.
 
http://www.winrumors.com/windows-thin-pc-beta-download-now-available/

- Bob Reinsch, Microsoft Exchange/Windows 7 Expert; MCT, MCITP LinkIn with Bob

Bookmark and Share

Monday, March 21, 2011

Help yourself!

Next time you get stuck with how to do a specific task in Microsoft Office, try searching one of the following web sites:


Microsoft training site with step by step “how to” guides:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx?CTT=97x

Training videos on a multitude of software topics:

Google and YouTube have lots of other good web sites and videos that will step you through whatever you  are stuck on!

- Irene Heckert, Microsoft Office Expert; CTT, MCAS, ITIL Certified, MOS LinkIn with Irene

Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Excel - Right the wrong range

When you begin a function, sometimes Excel does not automatically select the appropriate range of cells, as in the example below. The moving border indicates the range of cells included in the selection.




In this case, the range selected includes the Team Total in cell B15, which should not be included in the results when trying to calculate the average!

How to quickly fix it?? If you have not already completed the function, using your mouse, click and drag to select the appropriate cells. A moving border will indicate the newly selected range. Touch the Enter key to complete the function and view your answer!



But what if you have already completed the function before you notice the error?



Click into the formula bar next to the function. This will show a solid blue border that indicates the range of cells included in the result.



The range can be adjusted by using your mouse. Hover over any corner of the range box to find the sizing handle which appears as a double headed arrow (↔). Now click and drag to adjust the range border and correct the selection.

By the way, if you see a 4 way arrow, you will be moving the selection box instead of re-sizing. This also comes in handy at times! 

Touch the Enter key to complete the function and see your adjusted (and hopefully correct) result!



When editing any formula or function, if you run into trouble selecting the appropriate range, use the Esc key to avoid reference errors and start over. Keep in mind when working in Excel: just because you get an answer doesn't always mean it is the correct answer. Examine the results to be sure!


- Irene Heckert, Microsoft Office Expert; CTT, MCAS, ITIL Certified, MOS LinkIn with Irene

Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

CISSP Exam: March 12th - Kansas City

The ISC2 CISSP exam is schedule for March 12th 2011 in Kansas City. Usually the Kansas City area schedules this exam twice a year. Well it’s that time, most people have been studying for a few months for this exam date and are now coming down to crunch time. Here are my 5 tips for success for the exam.


1. In the last few weeks of studying you should be going over the questions on the CCCure Quizzer. You can either do the free questions or pay $39.99 for the 6 month subscription. The pay option is well worth it.

 
2. Create a testing plan that will allow you time to take little breaks in between questions. You have 6 hours for the exam with no scheduled breaks and all breaks count against your test time. Using all of you allotted time is beneficial. Allowing yourself a 5 or 10 minute break after so many questions allows you to keep on schedule and not get behind or go to fast. Also remember to bring little snacks and something to drink which you can put in the back of the room during your breaks.

 
3. Do not cram the night before. In fact put all of your studying aside and have a quiet evening doing something you enjoy. Go to bed early and get a good night’s rest.

4. The morning of the exam, don’t drink a lot of caffeine and eat a little something for breakfast for energy. You do not want to waste too much time going to the restroom several times during the exam.

5. Remember to bring your certification ticket and two forms of ID. You will not be allowed in with any of these items.

 
Good luck on the exam.

- Tom Pruett, Cisco & Security Expert; MCT, CTT+, CISSP, CWNA, CEH, CHFI, CCSI, CCNA, MCSE LinkIn with Tom

Bookmark and Share

Continuing Exploration: IIS 7.0 and 7.5

I'm continuing my exploration of IIS 7.0 (Windows Server 2008) and 7.5 (Windows Server 2008 R2). These implementations of IIS are a serious departure from the legacy versions 6.0 and earlier. Microsoft's clearinghouse for IIS information is http://www.iis.net/.

There are several things here that will engage both the serious IIS admin and the casual web hobbyist. Obviously, if you want to supplement what you pick up in the 6427 IIS Administration course, explore http://www.iis.net/. Lot's of FAQ's and "not so frequently asked questions", as well.

After you're done there, you can explore the forums and the blogs of the IIS team.

A couple of other things that I'd ask you to check out. The first one is the Microsoft Web Platform Installer (http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx). This tool makes it very easy to install any number of different extensions and web apps to IIS.

The other I'd like to mention in this installment is FastCGI. Here is the link (http://www.iis.net/download/fastcgi) for the latest FastCGI install for IIS 7.0 (links for IIS 6.0 and 5.1 is available here as well).


- Bob Reinsch, Microsoft Exchange/Windows 7 Expert; MCT, MCITP LinkIn with Bob

Bookmark and Share

News: CEH v7 Release

Centriq Training, in conjunction with EC-Council, is pleased to announce the release of Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) v7.
The line of EC-Council CEH products immerses students in an interactive environment where they learn to scan, test, hack and secure their own systems.

According to EC-Council, “The new version is a breakaway from earlier releases with more emphasis on techniques and methodologies, which attackers may use to carry out possible attacks against networks.”

For more information on CEH v7, visit https://eccouncil.org/cehv7.aspx. For questions, upcoming dates or course information, visit http://www.centriq.com/Pdfs/Courses/Security/CEH-100v7.pdf or contact your account executive at 913-322-7000.

- Jessica Oliver, Director of Operations LinkIn with Jessica

Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Public WiFi - You are not alone...

One of the concepts I teach in both my consulting business and the classroom is when you are using free public WiFi access you have to take precautions because you are not alone. Public WiFi access is free but the security is not. Here is a scenario.


You are at your favorite coffee shop that offers free WiFi. You connect your laptop and surf out to Facebook or you go check your email. Now unbeknown to everyone in the coffee shop is a hacker that is "sniffing" the wireless network. Since you have no security protocols and access does not require any type of password or key, all of the wireless traffic can be recorded on a packet sniffer such as Wireshark, Cain & Abel, or NetResident. A packet sniffer is software that captures packets on a wired or wireless network. The packets captured show the network or internet traffic that a person is creating by surfing on the internet or while using the network. These packets will contain usernames and passwords that you type into a web browser as well as the location of all the sites you are browsing too. If you put any PII (Personal Identifiable Information) on the internet, the hacker can capture this information and sell it on the internet which would create "Identity Theft" for the user.


 The hacker may even attempt to gain access to your laptop right there in the coffee shop as well. Also remember the hacker does not have to be in the coffee shop, they can be several hundred yards away using a special high gain antennae to access the wireless network.


So is there such a thing as using a free wireless network safely? Yes, you can. You just have to follow a few simple rules to protect yourself.

 1) If your on a company laptop, make sure you are using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection. This will encrypt your connection and you can safely access the internet through your company. Don't have a company vpn? Try AnchorFree, it is a free vpn client that anyone can install and use to surf the internet through a secure vpn server.


 
2) If you need to just check your email or access a web site make sure you are using https or ssl to ensure you are checking your email with a encrypted and safe connection.


3) If you are going to surf the internet in public try using a wireless phone modem device which you can purchase from your wireless carrier. It is a USB device you plug in to access a secure wireless network for your computer.

Good luck and remember "we are not alone on the internet".

- Tom Pruett, Cisco & Security Expert; MCT, CTT+, CISSP, CWNA, CEH, CHFI, CCSI, CCNA, MCSE LinkIn with Tom

Bookmark and Share