Watch as our Excel expert takes you into the function library and reveals the usefulness of the IF function. Need specific results under two different conditions? Learn how to apply true or false statements to your formula and generate results baised on your criteria.
6 Tips to Keep You Safe Online
Like it or not, the Internet is now part of our daily lives. While it is laden with wonderful informative things and a lifetime of educational readings, it also has its “bad neighborhoods” and underhanded computer and website hackers. With online dangers increasing every day, it is important to be careful when you’re online and learn safety tips that you and your family can follow to keep yourselves and your data safe. Following these tips can help keep you protected while online and steer clear of trouble.
1. Be Proactive In your Defense
The following list is a simple yet effective way to put a wall up between you and the not-so-friendly parts of the Internet. Taking these steps will provide a fundamental barrier to help keep your family and your data safe.
2. Be Smart When Creating Passwords
A strong password is vital in protecting your electronic data, which can include important things like credit card numbers, social security numbers and bank account information. As a general guideline, your passwords should be at least eight or more characters, include letters, punctuation marks, symbols, and numbers. The greater variety of characters in your passwords, the better protected you are. Never use the word “password” as your password, or easily guessable phrases like “abc123”. Most computer hackers and identity thieves will try these simple passwords in their initial attack to break into your personal information. An example of a good password would be KwiM#1rO (Knowledgewave is my #1 resource Online).
Change your passwords often and use a variety of passwords, when necessary. Create email reminders to change all of your passwords periodically and never use the same password for multiple purposes. Never use the same password for every single thing. Cybercriminals will steal your user data and passwords from websites that have inadequate security and then attempt to use these passwords on high security websites, such as your bank website.
3. Be Extremely Careful With Your Personal Information
It is imperative to be careful and conscious of where you share your personal information. Be aware of who may ask for your information. At times, you may be required by legitimate entities to divulge personal information such as your social security number to a state unemployment website, or your home address to your 401K management website. Be overly cautious whenever you give out this information and never give out personal information to anyone who approaches you asking for it.
Be aware of what you use in your email signatures. Avoid placing your company name, title, phone numbers, and email addresses in your signature file unless your company requires you to do so. If you must have a signature file, do not use the email account to participate in public forums or for other public websites.
Check what’s already out there! Search engines like Google and Yahoo! have the capability of searching the web for your name. If you place quotation marks around your name in the search engine and do a search, you will see any mentions of your name that the search engines have found online. You can visit these sites to find out what, if any, of your personal information is already out there. Make sure you check family members’ names as well.
Most importantly, use your common sense and don’t give your passwords out to anyone. Remember, no legitimate company will ever ask you for your password. There are rare cases when support people will ask you for your password, but make sure that it is only when you call them, you feel comfortable, and the password is absolutely required. Afterward, you should immediately change the password.
4. Be Aware of Your Children’s Online Behavior
Monitoring your children’s internet use is critical to keeping your data safe. No matter how much security software you have on your computer, nothing compares to personally monitoring your kids’ Internet activity. An involved, concerned parent is the best protection for children.
In today’s socially slanted Internet environment and social networks like Facebook and Twitter maintain their dominance, watching your children’s online behavior is more paramount than ever. All it takes is a single mistake and your personal information – phone number, address, place of employment – can spread across the Internet like wildfire. This brings about dangers that can become a parent’s worst nightmare. A parent can never be too concerned over their children, so do whatever you need to do to keep you and your family safe from online dangers, which can turn into offline dangers as well. Even if it means taking unsupervised Internet access away from your child, it’s better than many consequences of not doing it.
5. Be Cautious With Social Networks
Speaking of Facebook and Twitter, many cybercriminals use social networking sites to gather information about you in order to answer security questions to gain access to your online account. You should limit the information you share online and remember, never post anything you would not want on a roadside billboard. Be extremely cautious in posting pictures of yourself and your children online or allowing anyone else to. As sensitive as this may be, the fact is that there are predators lurking the Internet to find the perfect person and/or child to stalk. Avoid attracting trouble altogether and help keep this from happening to you and your family. Again, educating your children about these dangers is not only very important, it is eye-opening for many kids.
6. Inform Yourself of Current Online Scams
It seems as if every day we hear about a new online scam that is deceiving unwitting Internet users of their money. To stay as safe as possible, you need to be aware of the latest scams that are spreading across the Internet and avoid them at all costs. You can use Google to research the latest scams, but make sure any links you click on are from trusted sites. You may also wish to frequent websites like http://www.snopes.com that post the latest popular scams.
Stay Safe Online
Taking a few steps in online safety can protect you and your family from a world of trouble. Keep your family safe by being informed and getting everyone involved in online safety. Keeping up to date with the latest in internet protection will decrease your chances of being preyed on by hackers, predators and cybercriminals.
Erin Palmer is a writer and editor for Bisk Education. She works with Villanova University’s information assurance training program. Villanova also offers other cyber security training courses 100% online. KnowledgeWave Training provides traditional classroom training and online on-demand training via Log on to Learn.
This month’s lunch bite sessions include two events for Microsoft Access and are being held on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Simply click the register link and regiser online. Both events are completly free!
Access- Establishing a primary key and indexing fields
Description: Understanding relational databases is crucial before we dive into creating any new database. The foundation of relationships is understanding and establishing a primary key. In addition, indexing fields on some criteria makes sorts and queries faster down the road. This tutorial provides a quick look at how to establish a field as a primary key in a table and how to create single and multiple indexes on non-primary key fields.
Date: May 23, 2012
Start Time: 12:00 PM EDT
Duration: 15 Minutes
Register Online by Clicking Here
Access- Creating tables and building relationships
Description: Once you have your primary and foreign keys established, it’s time to build relationships between fields in multiple tables. These relationships become the connections that link data from disparate tables. In this session we start at the beginning of the table creation process and go right up through building relationships between separate tables.
Date: May 23, 2012
Start Time: 1:00 PM EDT
Duration: 15 Minutes
For the past few years we’ve brought quality training to your desktop through 30 minute and 60 minute webinars. Every month we offer free sessions on topics of interest to most users. Well, we’re going to keep on doing that. However, we’re mixing up the format to meet the needs of our customers, wherever they are.
In the past we’d do one, maybe two free webinars per month. Now, we’re going to bring you four topics, although, we’re hanging up the format to meet your busy schedule. This spring we are proud to announce, Lunch Bites. One day each month we will offer four separate 15 minute webinars. Each one will either tackle a specific function of a commonly used application or provide an overview of an application you may have but don’t use to its full potential.
This month’s Lunch Bite sessions are April 17th.
Our topics this month are:
The first session will begin at noon eastern time. Each successive session will begin at noon for each of the remaining time zones in the continental United States.
For more information and to register, click here.
Is YouTube The Future of Online Education?
YouTube is a fountain of information on every topic imaginable–including information technology. But can the instructional videos posted online substitute formal technical
education? Here, find out what YouTube can–and can’t–offer IT professionals.
YouTube’s Online Video Learning Experiment
Online educators are continually seeking innovative ways to put multimedia resources to work in engaging and teaching their students. In recent years, YouTube has emerged as one front in the new paradigm of online video learning. Universities such as MIT, Yale, Harvard, and Stanford led the way by posting a handful of their college lectures free on YouTube. To encourage the trend, YouTube released a sister site, YouTube EDU, in 2009. This site collects thousands of lectures from universities across the country and serves them up to users, completely gratis.
The latest chapter in YouTube’s emergence as an online video learning center has users posting their own instructional lectures that share their expertise. In a recent Chronicle of Higher Education feature, “College 2.0″, financial analyst Salman Khan is profiled. Kahn developed a recurring series of 10-minute lectures on science and technology specifically for YouTube. Over time, he’s launched more than 1,400 mini-lectures on mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, and finance. His efforts have lead to a dedicated following from college students, “netizens,” venture capitalists, and more who are all eager to explore alternatives to traditional higher education.
YouTube for IT Education?
Information technology is well-represented among YouTube’s educational videos. For example, YouTube EDU includes lectures on the following:
YouTube itself has thousands of IT instructional videos ranging from basic educational topics to promotional videos and joke content. The emphasis is on how-to videos, ranging from “How to Install an Operating System” and “Basic Desktop Publishing,” on up to more complex concepts and techniques.
Is YouTube a Match for Higher Education?
YouTube’s instructional content gets a lot of press, and educators and students are constantly evaluating the site’s promise as a medium for online video learning. The general consensus among these groups is that YouTube is a worthy complement to traditional higher education—not a replacement. Students who watched the Khan Academy videos, for example, reported they saw the service as a “helpful supplement to the classroom experience” rather than an alternative to a college education.
YouTube online video education does offer some advantages:
Yet YouTube’s videos can’t replace formal IT training programs, and the resume boosting degrees that come with them. Colleges and online IT training programs feature:
Formal IT training, either on campus or online, extends well beyond a short lecture. An IT course online, for example, includes video demonstrations, discussions with peers and instructors via IM, live instruction via digital whiteboards, and other interactive features. Campus and online courses create a comprehensive learning experience, explains John Moravec of Education Futures: “In these environments, student learning does not occur as much within lecture halls as it occurs outside of the classroom–through interactions with other students, individual and informal study groups, independent or directed research, etc.”
KnowledgeWave, a Certified Learning Training center for Microsoft who also delivers computer training and technical certifications in Citrix, Cisco, and ITIL, is an example of such online training success in the modern digital era. Combining the advantages of face-to-face instructor led training with that of the latest conferencing technology, KnowledgeWave can effectively and conveniently provide quality video training sessions with their subscribers via multiple platforms; instructor led training, live remote training, on-site training, and a unique on-demand library via Log on to Learn that has over 1,000 video tutorials that range from beginner to advanced. Additionally, KnowledgeWave has created a YouTube Channel providing free tutorial content.
YouTube has its place in IT education, but the innovative service can be limited when it comes to educating listeners. Professional IT courses that are taught online, on the other hand, are comprehensive and aren’t likely to be replaced by YouTube any time soon.
Professors used to complain about students sitting in class, surfing sites like YouTube or listening to their iPods. But now, it’s thanks to sites like YouTube EDU and iTunes U, that the one-time classroom distractions may now be vital learning tools.
Debbie Lawrence is a content editor who primarily writes for an online schooling blog. You can contact her at dlawrence2[@]quinstreet.com with any suggestions, questions, or comments. You can find her on Twitter here.
MS 6425: Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services is now scheduled and confirmed to run the week of April 16-20, 2012. This class will run in-house at our 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, Vermont location. You can attend at our site or live from your desk. Contact Dan St. Hilaire at 800-831-8449 if you would like to enroll.
About this Course
This five-day instructor-led course provides to teach Active Directory Technology Specialists with the knowledge and skills to configure Active Directory Domain Services in a distributed environment, implement Group Policies, perform backup and restore, and monitor and troubleshoot Active Directory related issues.
Audience Profile
The primary audience for this course are AD Technology Specialists, Server Administrators, and Enterprise Administrators who want to learn how to implement AD in a distributed environment, secure domains using Group Policies, and perform backup, restore, and monitor and troubleshoot AD configuration to ensure trouble free operation.
At Course Completion
After completing this course, students will be able to implement and configure Active Directory domain services in their enterprise environment.
Course Outline
Module 1: Implementing Active Directory Domain Services
This module explains how to install and configure Active Directory Domain Services and install and configure a read-only domain controller.
Lessons
* Installing Active Directory Domain Services
* Deploying Read-Only Domain Controllers
* Configuring AD DS Domain Controller Roles
* Lab : Implementing Read-Only Domain Controllers
* Evaluating Forest and Server Readiness for Installing an RODC
* Installing and Configuring an RODC
* Configuring AD DS Domain Controller Roles
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Install Active Directory Domain Services.
* Deploy Read-Only Domain Controllers.
* Configure AD DS Domain Controller Roles.
Module 2: Configuring Domain Name Service for Active Directory Domain Services
This module explains how to configure Domain Name Services (DNS) for Active Directory Domain Services.
Lessons
* Overview of Active Directory Domain Services and DNS Integration
* Configuring Active Directory Integrated Zones
* Configuring Read Only DNS Zones
Lab : Configuring AD DS and DNS Integration
* Configuring Active Directory Integrated Zones
* Configuring Read-Only DNS Zones
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Describe Active Directory Domain Services and DNS integration.
* Configure Active Directory Integrated Zones.
* Configure read only DNS zones.
Module 3: Configuring Active Directory Objects and Trusts
This module explains how to configure Active Directory Objects and Trusts.
Lessons
* Configuring Active Directory Objects
* Strategies for Using Groups
* Automating AD DS Object Management
* Delegating Administrative Access to AD DS Objects
* Configuring AD DS Trusts
Lab : Configuring Active Directory Objects
* Configuring AD DS Objects
* Implementing an AD DS Group Strategy
* Automating the Management of AD DS Objects
Lab : Configuring Active Directory Objects and Trusts
* Delegating Control of AD DS Objects
* Configuring AD DS Trusts
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Configure Active Directory Objects.
* Describe strategies for using groups.
* Automate AD DS object management.
* Delegate Administrative access to AD DS objects.
* Configure AD DS trusts.
Module 4: Configuring Active Directory Sites and Replication
This module explains how to configure Active Directory sites and replication.
Lessons
* Overview of AD DS Replication
* Overview of AD DS Sites and Replication
* Configuring and Monitoring AD DS Replication
Lab : Configuring Active Directory Sites and Replication
* Configuring AD DS Sites and Subnets
* Configuring AD DS Replication
* Monitoring AD DS Replication
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Describe AD DS replication.
* Configure Active Directory Domain Services sites.
* Configure and monitor AD DS replication.
Module 5: Creating and Configuring Group Policy
This module explains how to create and configure Group Policy.
Lessons
* Overview of Group Policy
* Configuring the Scope of Group Policy Objects
* Evaluating the Application of Group Policy Objects
* Managing Group Policy Objects
* Delegating Administrative Control of Group Policy
Lab : Creating and Configuring GPOs
* Creating Group Policy Objects
* Managing the Scope of GPO Application
* Verifying GPO Application
* Managing GPOs
* Delegating Administrative Control of GPOs
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Describe Group Policy.
* Configure the scope of Group Policy objects.
* Evaluate the application of Group Policy objects.
* Manage Group Policy objects.
* Delegate administrative control of Group Policies.
Module 6: Configuring User Environments Using Group Policy
This module explains how to configure user environments using Group Policy.
Lessons
* Configuring Group Policy Settings
* Configuring Scripts and Folder Redirection Using Group Policies
* Configuring Administrative Templates
* Group Policy Preferences
* Deploying Software Using Group Policy
Lab : Lab Configuring User Environments Using Group Policies
* Configuring Scripts and Folder Redirection
* Configuring Administrative Templates
* Configuring Preferences
* Verifying GPO Application
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Configure Group Policy settings.
* Configure scripts and folder redirection using Group Policy.
* Configure administrative templates.
* Describe Group Policy preferences.
* Deploy software using Group Policy.
Module 7: Implementing Security Using Group Policy
This module explains how to implement security using Group Policy.
Lessons
* Configuring Security Policies
* Implementing Fine-Grained Password Policies
* Restricting Group Membership and Access to Software
* Managing Security Using Security Templates
Lab : Implementing Security Using Group Policies
* Configuring Account and Security Policy Settings
* Implementing Fine-Grained Password Policies
* Configuring Restricted Groups and Software Restriction Policies
* Configuring Security Templates
* Verifying the Security Configuration
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Configure security settings.
* Implement fine-grained password policies.
* Restrict group membership and access to software.
* Manage security using security templates.
Module 8: Implementing an Active Directory Domain Services Monitoring Plan
This module explains how to implement Active Directory Domain Services monitoring plan.
Lessons
* Monitoring AD DS Using Event Viewer
* Monitoring Active Directory Domain Servers Using Reliability and Performance Monitor
* Configuring AD DS Auditing
Lab : Monitoring Active Directory Domain Services
* Monitoring AD DS Using Event Viewer
* Monitoring AD DS Using Performance and Reliability Monitor
* Configuring AD DS Auditing
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Monitor Active Directory Domain Services using Event Viewer.
* Monitor Active Directory Domain servers using reliability and performance monitor.
* Configure Active Directory Domain Services Auditing.
Module 9: Implementing an Active Directory Domain Services Maintenance Plan
This module explains how to implement an Active Directory Domain Services maintenance plan.
Lessons
* Maintaining the AD DS Domain Controllers
* Backing Up Active Directory Domain Services
* Restoring Active Directory Domain Services
Lab : Implementing an Active Directory Domain Services Maintenance Plan
* Maintaining AD DS Domain Controllers
* Backing Up AD DS
* Performing an Authoritative Restore of the AD DS Database
* Restoring Data Using the AD DS Snapshot Viewer
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Maintain the AD DS Domain Controllers.
* Back up the Active Directory Domain Services.
* Restore the Active Directory Domain Services.
Module 10: Troubleshooting Active Directory, DNS, and Replication Issues
This module explains how to troubleshoot Active Directory Domain Services, Domain Name Service, and Active Directory replication.
Lessons
* Troubleshooting Active Directory Domain Services
* Troubleshooting DNS Integration with AD DS
* Troubleshooting AD DS Replication
Lab : Troubleshooting Active Directory, DNS, and Replication Issues
* Troubleshooting Authentication and Authorization Errors
* Troubleshooting the Integration of DNS and AD DS
* Troubleshooting AD DS Replication
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Troubleshoot Active Directory Domain Services.
* Troubleshoot DNS integration with AD DS.
* Troubleshoot AD DS replication.
Module 11: Troubleshooting Group Policy Issues
This module explains how to troubleshoot the application of Group Policy objects.
Lessons
* Introduction to Group Policy Troubleshooting
* Troubleshooting Group Policy Application
* Troubleshooting Group Policy Settings
Lab : Troubleshooting Group Policy Issues
* Troubleshooting Group Policy Scripts
* Troubleshooting GPO Lab11B
* Troubleshooting GPO Lab11C
* Troubleshooting GPO Lab11D
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Describe Group Policy troubleshooting.
* Troubleshoot Group Policy application.
* Troubleshoot Group Policy Settings.
Module 12: Implementing an Active Directory Domain Services Infrastructure
This module explains how to implement an Active Directory Domain Services Infrastructure.
Lessons
* Overview of the AD DS Deployment
* Planning a Group Policy Strategy
Lab : Deploying Active Directory Domain Services
* Installing a Read-only Domain Controller (RODC) onto a Server Core, and Creating a Branch Office Site
* Creating a Domain in a Separate Tree and Separate Site
Lab : Configuring Forest Trust Relationships
* Upgrading the Fabrikam Domain, and Creating a Forest Trust with Woodgrove Bank
Lab : Planning a Group Policy Strategy
* Planning Group Policy
* Creating a Domain in a Separate Tree and Separate Site
* Implementing the Corporate Desktop Policy
After completing this module, students will be able to:
* Implement an Active Directory Domain Services infrastructure.
This is a great event for any new Windows 7 PC user, or anyone that has been using Windows 7, but hasn’t learn the new great features that it has to offer. Join us in March for this great free event. Our events are valued at $99, but this event is free when using code MADNESS at check out.
Product(s): Microsoft
Windows 7
Audience(s): Business Professional
Duration: 60 Minutes
Start Date: March 28th, 2012
Start Time: 3:00 PM EDT (US)
Register Online (a $99.00 Value!) Use Code:
MADNESS at check out to attend for free!
Event Overview: Windows 7 is new from the ground up. It was created so that users could put the personalization back into the PC. Whether you’re already using Windows 7 or planning on making the switch, come and be part of this 60 minute webinar that will uncover many of the ways Windows 7 is different from earlier versions. In this tips-packed webinar, you will learn techniques in Microsoft Windows 7 to customize and organize your work, and streamline your business.
Watch are short video trailer for this event:
Who needs all these decimal places? Rather have it display results to the nearest whole integer? Nearest tenth? Nearest Hundreth? Here’s how to apply the ROUND function for clearer numbers according to your specifications.
This video tutorial tip is brought to you by Log on to Learn. Log on to Learn has over a 1000 videos ranging from short tutorial clips to longer in-depth series. This video is part of larger series called Excel 2010 Functions. Other videos highlight, the CountIF, SumIF, NestedIf, PMT funtions to name only a few.
KnowledgeWave and Log on to Learn bring back one of our most popular webinar titles for March, Learn the Bells and Whistles of Calendars and Tasks. This month we’re even giving away a $25 Visa Gift Card with every paid registration! A $99 value, discounted to $59, but you get $25! That’s some March Madness.
Can’t make the date or can’t wait and want the topic now? Consider joining our Log on to Learn service and access the on-demand version of this event anytime you want!
Product(s): Microsoft Outlook
Audience(s): Business Professional
Duration: 60 Minutes
Start Date: March 28th, 2012
Start Time: 1:00 PM EDT (US)
Register Online for just $59. (a $99.00 Value!)
Every Paid Registration Receives a $25 Visa Card!
Event Overview: Whether you still rely on some form of paper calendar to get you through the day or you just need a better way to keep track of your appointments, have we got a webinar for you. From the ancient Chinese to the Aztecs to the Romans, a time-keeping mechanism like a calendar has always been an essential part of life. Now, in the 21st century, a trusty calendar is more important than ever. Outlook’s powerful yet user-friendly Calendar and Tasks list is the answer to staying organized. This personal information manager can do much more than just e-mail.
In this 60 minute webinar we will focus on calendar and tasks shortcuts and tips to make your day run more smoothly.
• Utilizing Tasks to keep you on track
• How to set up meetings with Outlook: Never be late!
• Ways of sharing your calendar
• Creating multiple calendars
• Multi-tasking musts: Coordinate multiple calendars and multiple time zones
• Keeping some of your calendar items private
• Color-coding and customizing calendar views
• Click and Drag techniques to take back hours of your day
• Improve the productivity of your teams – Using technology to take control •
And much more……
Watch a short trailer for this great event:
KnowledgeWave has added a few new classes to our schedule. We expect these to be popular courses so we are providing advance notice. Register early to secure your seat as these classes are available nationally. All of these new courses are running Live at KnowledgeWave in South Burlington, Vermont. You can attend at our South Burlington facility or remotely or from your home or office.
First up is a new course for the Excel 2010: Power User. You will use the advanced features of Microsoft Excel 2010 to attain proficiency as an Excel power user. This course is designed for advanced Microsoft Office Excel professionals who may work or be interested in the domain of finance, statistics, project analysis, and market analysis including the fields of micro- and macro-economics.
Microsoft Excel 2010: Power User
Scheduled: Tuesday May 15th, 2012
Complete Outline: http://bit.ly/ynkCdt
Register: http://bit.ly/yKrXEQ
Massive data has met its match! Our second new class is Excel 2010: PowerPivot. PowerPivot lets users manipulate large data sets, streamline data integration, and effortlessly share analysis, using familiar tools and features. Take Excel Business Intelligence (BI) to the next level.
You will make use of the free PowerPivot add-in to import data from various sources and create a dynamic report. This course is for students with a sound working knowledge of Microsoft Excel 2010 and general computing proficiency, including those who will be using Excel to make business decisions.
Microsoft Excel 2010: PowerPivot
Scheduled: Friday May 18th, 2012
Complete Outline: http://bit.ly/AcoGIh
Register: http://bit.ly/wkMjgq
Download PowerPivot Plugin: http://bit.ly/jIFE0v
Keep tabs on your life with our third new class, Microsoft OneNote 2010. OneNote is now available on your PC, Mobile Phone, Tablet or via Office 365. A great tool for staying organized; OneNote is a tool we should all use.
You will create, edit, organize, and enhance notes and also integrate them with other applications using Microsoft OneNote 2010. This course is designed for users who take notes and use automated tools to organize and manage the notes.
Microsoft OneNote 2010
Scheduled: Wednesday May 2nd, 2012
Complete Outline: http://bit.ly/AvQqXH
Register: http://bit.ly/wxHc0G
Watch a Sample of OneNote: http://bit.ly/xxxvXS
Remember as a student of KnowledgeWave you can add an individual subscription to Log on to Learn for only $19.99! That’s a $40.00 savings!!! Learn on the go, learn when you want to. Anytime, anywhere!
