Announcements

Keep Hackers OUT!

How many outside access attempts do you think I've had on my computer today? One or two? Nope, try 327 in about 6 hours!!

Now granted, these attempts are mostly automated scans looking for easy targets and the chances are I wouldn't have been hacked at all - today. Even so, you've got to admit it's a little unnerving.

After all, unless you know what to look for, you can get hacked and not even know it. In fact, many of the people reading this have probably already had their computer broken into and don't even know it happened. (One of our staff had the unfortunate experience of being hacked before she was working for us. Not fun at all.)

So, in order to keep these hackers out, I use Norton Personal Firewall 2002, this week's software deal and a MUST for anyone who uses the internet.

Now, I've tried several different firewalls and this is one of the best. It hasn't caused me a drop of trouble. In addition, I've not experienced any speed loss at all. Put simply, this product does its job and it does it very well (PC Magazine thought so too).

In addition, it protects you against "privacy attacks". It can stop cookies (if you like) and keep a third party from tracking your movements from site to site (it's blocked 98 of those for me so far today).

Of course, the level of security can be set so you don't lose the ability to visit your favorite sites.

One feature that I thought was really useful was that it will ask you if a particular application is allowed to access the internet. Now, if Explorer or Netscape are trying to access the net, that's OK, but what about other applications? You know, software you download and THINK is protecting your privacy while all the while it's sending information back to its creator. Well, Norton Personal Firewall tells you all about it and can block access for that application if you like.

OK, normally this software runs $49.95, but we have the CD only version (full documentation is on the CD and registration is done during setup) for just $14.97! The bad news is that we don't have a lot of these in stock. We're working on getting more, but for now I recommend that if you want one you get to the site and place your order ASAP.

Here's the link:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/nortonfirewall2002.htm

Don't miss out - Remember, your anti-virus software will not protect you from hackers! You need this firewall software for that.

MS Office 101

Quick Email Sorting

You're sorting through a huge list of email, wishing you knew of a quick way to find the specific one needed.

Smile :-) There is!

To get MS Outlook or Outlook Express to sort email all you have to do is click!

When you're looking at your inbox do you see the column titles at the top? The ones that label the columns at From, Subject, Received, etc…

Simply click on the title you wish to sort by.

You should notice a little arrowhead appear in the title bar, which indicates the direction of sorting.

An arrow pointing up will sort messages ascending (A to Z or oldest date to newest).

An arrow pointing down will sort messages descending (Z to A or newest date to oldest).

One click and you're on your way ASAP.

Office Tip of the Day

Changing Directions - Part 2 - MS Excel

Last week, we looked at options for turning text in MS Word. Today we're going to do the same but with MS Excel.

Excel allows for a lot of flex in text direction. You're actually allowed to set the text angle as opposed to the limited choices of vertical and horizontal offered by Word. So, let's get started.

The first thing you need to do, as always, is figure out what needs to be changed. I usually get everything entered and then start making text direction and formatting changes.

But, whatever order you work in, you need to answer that first crucial question. What needs to be changed?

Once you know the answer to your question then you're ready to go.

Highlight the cells that contain text to be changed.

(All highlighted cells will be affected in the same way, therefore, if you need several different changes then you will have to repeat the process for each of the desired outcomes. You may also want to use the Control key to highlight non-adjacent cells to be changed.)

At any rate, once the highlighting is done, go to the Format menu, Cells choice.

Once the Format Cells window opens you'll need to go to the Alignment tab.

On the right-hand side of the tab there is a section devoted to the Orientation of the text in the cell.

The box on the top left will have text run vertically exactly as you see the word text printed in the box. Click on the box if this is your choice then click OK.

The other two items in the orientation section will allow you to put text on an angle.

If you're good with angle degrees then you can simply set the desired number in the degree number box and click OK.

However, I find I like the other option for rotating text much better (and since I teach Math, I'm good with degrees - go figure). The box on the upper right side (it looks like half a clock) will allow you to rotate text and display what the text will look like all at once.

To use this option grab (click and hold) the red diamond at the end of the text line in the "clock."

Then simply drag (while still holding down the mouse button) the diamond up and down.

You'll find that the word text will change, showing you the result of the rotation.

Once you've found the angle you need let go of the mouse button and then click OK.

If you decide that you want the text back to normal, either click the undo button or use this method to reset the text to an angle of 0 degrees.

That's it. You should now have rotated text in the highlighted cells. (I need one of these rotating arms for furniture re-arrangement - no more "scooting" the big stuff across the floor.)