04/04/2008 by swordfish.

Microsoft’s regular patch Tuesday update is set to bring five critical patches when it rolls around on 8 April.

Among the critical patches two will focus on Internet Explorer, two will affect Windows and one Microsoft Office, the company has revealed in its advance security bulletin. Each of the five will address flaws that could lead to remote code executions from malicious websites.

Patch Tuesday will also bring three “important” updates for Windows, addressing potential spoofing and elevation of user privileges.

The critical flaws affect all versions of Windows, including Vista, which could be seen as something of an embarrassment for the company just a month after it released its first Service Pack for the operating system.

Posted in Office Tools, Software, Microsoft, XP, Vista, Security, Web Browsers | Print | No Comments »

01/04/2008 by swordfish.

Google said on Monday it is taking the next step to make its web-based software useful in the real world of spotty internet access by allowing users to edit word-processing documents offline.

The world’s top internet company said it will begin over the next several weeks to allow users of its Google Docs word-processing application to edit documents without an active web connection, on planes, trains and other disconnected spots.

The offline feature of Google Docs temporarily stores document changes on a user’s local computer. Once reconnected to the internet, any changes the user made will automatically be synchronised and stored on Google-hosted computers.

Source: ZDNet

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20/03/2008 by swordfish.

Microsoft has issued an update for a flaw previously addressed in Excel, admitting that the patch caused errors. I can’t say I noticed any errors in calculations, but the patch was applied today to our computers.

The company had already patched the ‘critical’ flaw in last week’s Patch Tuesday release, but the update apparently caused Excel to encounter a new performance problem.

The flaw lies in the way Excel files are processed and could allow an attacker to remotely assume control of a user’s system, including the ability to execute malicious code.

The update was rated ‘critical’ for Microsoft Office 2000, and ‘important’ for Office XP, 2003, 2007 and the Mac versions of Office 2004 and 2008.

Source: Yahoo News

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17/03/2008 by swordfish.

Ever had an email from a friend enclosing a powerpoint file with the .pps extension?

If you’ve got a copy of Powerpoint installed on your PC then viewing the file is easy, just double click on the .pps file.

But if you’ve not got this program installed on your PC what do you do?

Microsoft have produced a Powerpoint Viewer program that lets you view full-featured presentations created in PowerPoint 97 and later versions (except 2007 and later - see below).

To get this useful tool visit the Microsoft download site.

If you need to view Powerpoint presentations prepared in Powerpoint 2007 or later you need the latest viewer which you can get from here.

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Posted in Software, Office Tools, Microsoft | Print | No Comments »

04/03/2008 by swordfish.

People who have left education in the past three years have strong confidence in their IT skills but the organisations they work for are not always making the most of this skill-set, according to database software company FileMaker, which commissioned the research.

The vast majority (82 percent) of 16- to 18-year-olds surveyed felt confident about their level of general IT skills going into the workplace: a higher percentage than those who felt confident about their interpersonal skills (64 percent).

According to the research, the majority (85 percent) of school leavers and university graduates learnt to use PowerPoint software while in education but only slightly more than a third (39 percent) reported using it at work. A further 88 percent learnt to use spreadsheet software but only 65 percent said they use it as part of their job.

In addition, just over half (51 percent) said they had actively looked for creative ways to use technology at work.

Source: ZDNet

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Posted in Social Networks, Facebook, Software, Office Tools, Technology News | Print | 1 Comment »

03/03/2008 by swordfish.

Microsoft, faced with web rivals looking to poach its business customers, said on Sunday it plans to broaden the availability of its online services for email and collaboration software.

Last year, Microsoft started subscription-based online services to run its Exchange corporate email program and SharePoint collaboration software on Microsoft’s own computer systems as an alternative to customers buying their own hardware to run licensed software.

Microsoft initially limited those services to companies with more than 5,000 workers, but the company said it will now offer the service to businesses of all sizes in the second half of 2008, after a testing period. The company did not disclose how much it will charge customers for the services.

Source: ZDNet

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