Simplify Entering And Formatting Dates

Working with dates in Excel can sometimes be tricky. Use these two tips to make entering and formatting dates easier.

Excel automatically formats a formula cell as a date cell when the formula refers to another cell containing a date or a time. For example, if you enter 1/1/2003 in A1, 1/1/2004 in B1, and =B1-A1 in cell C1, Excel displays the result in C1 as 12/30/1900.

While Excel doesn't let you turn off this automatic date formatting, it does provide a shortcut key combination to quickly change the cell to General format. Select the formula cell, and press [Ctrl][Shift][~] to display the true value, which in this case is 365.

In addition, Excel's Autofill feature lets you quickly enter a series of dates into a worksheet. For example, say you want to track weekly attendance by entering a series of dates in Column B, and you want to start with 3/1/04.

Follow these steps:


Enter 3/1/04 in B1.
In B2, enter =B1+7.

Click and drag B2's fill handle down the column to generate the additional dates.

Print Multiple Documents From The Folder List

Print multiple documents from the folder list

Printing a number of Word documents can easily become cumbersome. Rather than opening each file and printing individually, use the folder list to print them all at once.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the folder that contains the Word documents you want to print.
2. Press [Ctrl], and select the files you want to print. (If the files are adjacent, select the first file in the list, press [Shift], and select the last file in the list.)
3. Right-click the selection, and select Print from the shortcut menu.
4. Select the desired print options, and click OK. (The selected options will apply to all of the documents.)

Word will print the files in the order they appear in the folder.

Level 4 Virus Alert! W32.Netsky.D@mm

Level 4 Virus Alert! W32.Netsky.D@mm

W32.Netsky.D@mm is a mass-mailing worm that is a variant of W32.Netsky.C@mm. The worm scans drives C through Z for email addresses and sends itself to those that are found.

The Subject, Body, and Attachment names vary. The attachment will have a .pif file extension.

This write-up will be updated when additional information about the worm is available. Check the write-up frequently for updated information.

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Possibly Apocryphal

A manager who received a new computer asked, "Don't these new computers come with CDROM drives?"

I said yes.

He insisted that his computer did not have a CDROM drive, but "There is a little drawer that opens at the BOTTOM of my computer, but it won't hold a CD."

I would have thought that the fact that everyone else got a "DELL" computer and his said "77ED" would have clued him in. He had the computer upside down.

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Shut It Off or Leave It Running?

Q: Should I shut off the computer at night? Or should I leave it running?
A: It depends.

The Old Thinking
Ever since normal people have had computers, this question has made the rounds with a variety of "expert" answers. The early versions presented a trade-off between power consumption and stress on components. Turning the computer on or off, so the theory goes, is the most physically stressful thing you do to it all day. Most experts have advised that it's better to leave the system on.

New Thinking
But in the age of the Internet, and especially in the age of broadband connections, there's a new angle probably more significant in the average case than all that wear and tear stuff. Some would claim that if you have always-on broadband connections, then you're exposing your PC to more attacks than if you were to shut it off during periods of disuse.

A Dose of Reality
It's better for the health of your system to just leave it on. The power consumed is, at worst, comparable to leaving a light bulb on, especially with modern Energy Star components, disks that spin down, monitors that shut themselves off, and operating systems that know how to manage power, even on desktop systems. Incidentally, light bulbs will also live longer if you leave them on.

There are, however, a number of other issues that should, in some circumstances, be considered.
- Some PCs are loud and you might not want the ambient noise.
- PCs can generate heat, although a modern desktop PC, if not actually doing anything, should manage its own power well enough not to heat the room. More on this subject. The part I've seen fail most often in PCs is the power supply, definitely the part that gets stressed the most at power-up and power-down, but also the one with the most mechanical stress on it.

The Fly in the Ointment
A computer (or any electrical equipment) is vulnerable to power surges (such as a nearby lightning strike or a tree falling on a power line). A computer than runs 24/7 is much more exposed to power surges than a computer which is on only when in use.
- The "power strips" that most people use are false security.
- A true surge suppressor costs $50 or more, and offers a guarantee that the suppressor's manufacturer will pay to replace damaged equipment.
- Much better is a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). A UPS designed for a home computer costs around $50-$100.
- Better yet, have an electrician protect your whole house for $500-$750. That would reliably protect all electrical equipment.

More Reality
Whether you choose to turn your computer off or not, you still need to run a firewall, and the personal firewall is the best option for most people.
- PC Magazine recently reviewed several of these products.
- Microsoft has recognized the importance of personal firewalls too. Window XP and Windows Server 2003 come with a rudimentary firewall called Internet Connection Firewall. ICF isn't a very useful firewall, although users running it are better off than users without it. The upcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2 will upgrade ICF and rename it "Windows Firewall." PC Magazine recently reviewed it. Windows Firewall won't have all the features of third-party personal firewalls; for instance, it won't have tight control over programs on your system making outbound communications, but it will be turned on by default and will offer much more control over the security of your system than exists today in Windows out of the box.

Running away from a problem usually is not a good solution to the problem, and turning off your computer to avoid Internet attacks is the worst kind of running away. It's not even effective. Unless you're going to avoid the Internet altogether you will be attacked, and if you're attacked you need to have protection, and that's why there's personal firewall software. Not only will you have a fighting chance against the problem, but by making it harder for attackers you'll be part of the solution.

Still More Reality
For any business, the data on the computer is far more valuable than the computer hardware. What I have done for many of my home and small business customers is to install a small, portable "drive" for backups - and to set up an easy-to-use backup routine. Used properly, this greatly facilitates getting you up and running quickly and inexpensively after a disaster. Cost: $50-$100.

And Yet More....
With all of the best protective measures in place, there is still a problem (or not...) What would it take to re-install your software in the event of a disaster?
- if you have all of your original disks, no problem. Time is the only issue there
- if your computer did not come with a true operating system disk, it could get expensive to correct this; many new computers do not have a true operating system disk
- if you don't have legitimate installation disks for your software, you may have to buy the software

Summary
That "exposure to attacks notion" places all the emphasis in the wrong places. If your PC is vulnerable to attack, the answer isn't to stay offline more; you should plug the hole. If it's insecure, it will be insecure for the time you use it, and that will be plenty enough time for someone to compromise it. Install and use a personal firewall.
- The 2nd best of the bunch is free: Zone Alarm
- The best is the "Pro" version of Zone Alarm. That said, I use and recommend the free version.

Leaving the computer on is the kinder, gentler way to treat your computer. In terms of power costs, an idling computer costs around 10 cents per day in our area. That's $36 per year. Having a shop replace damaged components costs (approximately)
- power supply: $80-$100
- motherboard+cpu: $150-$500
- hard drive (and reinstall software and restore data from backup): $200-$500

Consider a UPS or other electrical power protection.

Back up your data. Replacing lost data can be very expensive and not always reliable.

Tips, tips, tips

Removing Hyperlinks In MS Word
- To remove all hyperlinks from a Word document, select the document with Ctrl+A, then use Ctrl+Shift+F9 to convert the document to text.
- To remove a single hyperlink is to right click on it and select "Remove Hyperlink" from the context menu.

Snap to the address bar in Internet Explorer
- Press F6 or Alt+D .

Selecting text in MS Word
- To select one sentence, Hold down the Ctrl key and click anywhere in the sentence. Word uses terminal punctuation (!, ?, and .) to determine where the sentence begins and ends.
- To select one line of text, roll the cursor to the left margin next to the line; when the cursor changes from the usual "I beam" to an arrow pointing to one o'clock, click to select (highlight) the entire line.
- To select an entire paragraph, triple left-click in the paragraph.

Can't find that manual?
Try this.

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