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Posts Tagged ‘training’

Forensics - IT

September 2nd, 2009

Forensics is an ever evolving science with a lot of possibilities acquire deeper knowledge about by different forensics training or forensics classes.
The number of crimes involving electronic data is sky-rocketing these days, particularly with the immense preponderance of computers and other digital media in our lives. Thus, only data forensics experts can search computers for electronic evidence, make digital investigations, recover lost data and provide technical expertise. Data forensics is right to use in judicial cases that involve sexual harassment, intellectual property theft, discrimination, breach of contract and so on. Therefore, it was not difficult for data forensics to become a legal necessity in the context of the computers’ ubiquity.

A normal type of computer investigation cannot detect or extract bits of information remained after deletion. Data forensics will normally examine files that are hidden, deleted or even discarded, as well as fragments or file left-overs. Although it often seems impossible to identify the criminal process or to recover data, experts in this fields have more than once been successful at finding the needle in the haystack. What relevance does such evidence have for legal cases? Well, practice has already proved it that even the course of a trial could be changed by the retrieval of deleted e-mail messages for instance.

The challenges that data forensics expert have to face are enormous. The applications do have far-reaching applications, but it takes hours to extract digital evidence and make it stable. Sometimes the necessary information is buried deep in the corporate electronic system, or sometimes, even if it is physically identifiable it is difficult to separate and analyze extensively, off line. This is also the reason why a duplication procedure is used to protect the information during the extraction process. Great caution, strict standards and lots of skills are required for each of these steps and only real pros can succeed.

A data forensics expert should be contacted immediately, once a breach in the security system or a criminal act against electronic media is detected. This will enable the appropriate and cost-limited data collection in the best conditions possible. Besides computers, there are other electronic storage devices that can be the target of criminal activity, and data forensics also deal with hacked USB devices, DVDs or voice mail systems. Even photocopy machines include hard drives and the scanned or copied documents can be afterwards retrieved from them.

Choosing Online Computer Career Training 2009

February 24th, 2009
by Jason Kendall

What might you expect the most superior Microsoft accredited suppliers to provide a trainee in the UK today? Obviously, the most supreme Gold Partner Microsoft accredited programs, presenting a selection of courses to take you into a selection of professions with IT. Perhaps you’d like to talk to industry experts, who can give you some ideas on what sort of job would suit you, and the kind of tasks that are suitable for somebody with your character and ability. Training programs should be put together to match your current skills and aptitude. Consequently, after working out the right IT job for you, your next requirement is the most suitable program that will equip you for the role.

The world of information technology is amongst the most stimulating and innovative industries you could be involved with. Being a member of a team working on breakthroughs in technology is to do your bit in the gigantic changes affecting everyone who lives in the 21st century. We’re only just starting to get a feel for how technology will affect our lives in the future. Computers and the web will massively alter how we regard and interrelate with the rest of the world over the years to come.

The regular IT technician in the UK is likely to receive considerably more money than employees on a par in another industry. Mean average incomes are around the top of national league tables. There is a great nationwide requirement for professionally qualified IT workers. In addition, with the marketplace continuing to expand, it appears this will be the case for the significant future.

It’s indisputable, the computer industry promises marvellous opportunities. But, to investigate fully, what questions do we need to be posing, and what are the sectors we need to investigate?

Many companies focus completely on the certification process, and avoid focusing on the reasons for getting there - getting yourself a new job or career. Always begin with the end in mind - don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. Imagine training for just one year and then end up doing the job for 20 years. Avoid the mistake of opting for what may seem to be a program of interest to you only to waste your life away with a job you hate!

Stay tuned-in to what it is you’re trying to achieve, and then build your training requirements around that - not the other way round. Keep your eyes on your goals and ensure that you’re training for something that will keep you happy for many years. You’d also need help from an experienced person who can explain the market you think may suit you, and is able to give you ‘A day in the life of’ explanation for each job considered. This really is essential because you need to know if this change is right for you.

Students who consider this area of study often have a very practical outlook on work, and won’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If this is putting you off studying, try the newer style of interactive study, where learning is video-based. We see a huge improvement in memory retention when we use multiple senses - experts have been clear on this for many years.

Study programs now come via DVD-ROM discs, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Using video-streaming, you can watch instructors demonstrating how to perform the required skill, followed by your chance to practice - with interactive lab sessions. Always insist on a study material demo’ from the training company. You should ask for expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

Often, companies will only use purely on-line training; while you can get away with this much of the time, imagine the problems if you lose your internet access or you get a slow connection speed. It’s preferable to have DVD or CD discs that will solve that problem.

One of the most important things to insist on has to be 24×7 round-the-clock support from professional mentors and instructors. Too many companies will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend. Look for training with proper support available at any time of the day or night (irrespective of whether it’s the wee hours on Sunday morning!) You want access directly to professional tutors, and not access to a call-in service which takes messages - so you’re constantly waiting for a call-back - probably during office hours.

The most successful trainers incorporate three or four individual support centres across multiple time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to provide a seamless experience, no matter what time you login, help is at hand, avoiding all the delays and problems. Never make do with anything less. 24×7 support is the only way to go when it comes to technical training. Perhaps you don’t intend to study during the evenings; often though, we’re working when traditional support if offered.

It’s essential to have authorised exam simulation and preparation programs as part of your course package. Some students can be thrown off course by trying to prepare themselves with questions that aren’t recognised by the authorised examining boards. Sometimes, the question formats and phraseology is unfamiliar and it’s important to prepare yourself for this. A way to build self-confidence is if you test how much you know by doing tests and simulated exams to prepare you for taking the real thing.

Sometimes students assume that the tech college or university system is the way they should go. So why then is commercial certification beginning to overtake it? With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, industry has had to move to specialist courses that the vendors themselves supply - for example companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay. Essentially, only required knowledge is taught. Actually, it’s not quite as pared down as that, but the principle objective is to cover the precise skills needed (along with a certain amount of crucial background) - without trying to cram in every other area (as academia often does).

Imagine if you were an employer - and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What’s the simplest way to find the right person: Wade your way through loads of academic qualifications from graduate applicants, asking for course details and which trade skills they have, or choose particular accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and make your short-list from that. You’ll then be able to concentrate on getting a feel for the person at interview - instead of having to work out if they can do the job.

Be on the lookout that any accreditations you’re working towards will be recognised by employers and are current. The ‘in-house’ certifications provided by many companies are usually worthless. If your certification doesn’t come from a company like Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then you’ll probably find it won’t be commercially viable - as it’ll be an unknown commodity.

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Microsoft Excel 2007 Text Alignment Options

February 19th, 2009
by Carol Alexander

The alignment section of the Home Tab of the Excel ribbon contains a number of options relating to the way in which your data is position within the cell. Perhaps the most familiar and the most frequently used buttons in this section are the three relating to the horizontal position your data: left, centre and right. However you’ll notice that when you click in the cells of an unformatted worksheet, none of these three icons is highlighted, which indicates that none of them is the default. The reason for this is that Excel treats data differently depending on the data type.

If you type text in a cell, your text is aligned on the left; if you type a number, the number is aligned on the right; if you type a date, it is also aligned on the right. To change the horizontal alignment, either select a range of cells or click on a column letter to highlight the entire column then click on one of the alignment icons.

Haven chosen one type of horizontal alignment, you can change it in two ways. You can either click on a different form of alignment or click again on the already selected alignment. For example, if your text is centred and you click on the Centre button a second time, this deactivates centre alignment and returns you to the default alignment which, for text, is left. Thus we have, effectively, four types of horizontal alignment: left, centre, right and unspecified (or default), which is the alignment that applies when none of the alignment buttons is highlighted.

Microsoft Excel also allows you to specify the vertical alignment of your text. This setting becomes apparent when you increase the height of the cell and there is a definite default; text is normally aligned at the bottom of the cell. This default vertical alignment applies to text, dates and numbers alike.

To set the vertical alignment, either make a selection or click on the row number to select the entire row then click on one of the buttons to make the change: align middle, align top and so forth.

The alignment option also includes the ability to change the orientation of text within the cell. This is particularly useful in those situations where the headings are wider than the data within the cells. To change the vertical orientation of your text, you simply select the cells in question and then choose the appropriate orientation in the Alignment dialogue.

If you rotate your column headings by 90 degrees, you can usually make the columns much narrower. Excel has a very useful way of doing this: simply select all the columns that contain data then in the Cell group of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon, choose Format then AutoFit Columns. This command makes each of the highlighted columns no wider than it needs to be in order to display all the data it contains.

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Using the SUMIF function in Microsoft Excel

February 18th, 2009
by Carol Alexander

Almost every Exel user has encountered the SUM function. It is one of the most widely used functions of the Excel functions. And most Excel users will also have used the IF function. SUMIF function is a combination of the SUM and If functions which allows us to calculate the total of all cells within a given range that match a certain condition.

For example, let’s say that, in a “Sales” worksheet, we have a breakdown of the sales of each individual salesperson. We then want to create a summary of these figures in a “Branches” worksheet in which we want to create a total sales figure for each branch; so our “Branches” worksheet would have two columns: “Branch” and “Total Sales”. We can use the SUMIF function to calculate the figures in the “Total Sales” column.

A good place to begin would be to create named cells so that we can refer to these names in our formula. To name a range of cells we begin by selecting the range then we click on the name box in the top left of the worksheet, enter the name then press the Enter key.

Once we have inserted the names of all the branches in the first column of our “Branches” worksheet, we would highlight the first cell in the “Total Sales” column, adjacent to the cell containing the name of our first branch; let’s say our first branch is “Birmingham”. When using functions for the first time, it’s always useful to use Excel’s Insert Function facility. To access this, click the Insert Function button on left of the formula bar. The SUMIF function is to be found in the “Math and Trig” category. Scroll down the list, highlight SUMIF and then click OK. Excel will then prompt us for the three arguments required by the SUMIF function.

The first argument is the range of cells that we want to evaluate. In our branch sales example it would be the column containing the names of the branches. If we have named this column, we can insert this name by clicking on “Use In Formula” in the Formulas Tab at the Excel Ribbon. This is a drop-down menu containing all the names in the workbook.

The second argument is the criteria we want to match. In our example, is simply the contents of the cell in the adjacent “Branch” column, which in this case contains “Birmingham”. We can click in the cell to pick up the reference.

The final argument is the SUM range; the column that contains the cells that we want to actually total; namely, the sales figures. Again, if we have named this column, we would click on “Use In Formula” and choose the name. Once we have specified the three arguments, we click OK and Excel creates the formula.

It’s now safe to copy the formula down. The cell reference of the adjacent column containing the branch name will change but the two named ranges will remain the same. To copy the formula down, simply position the cursor on the AutoFill handle in the bottom right of the cell and then either drag or simply double-click.

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Creating Different Formats In The Same Cell In Microsoft Excel

February 9th, 2009
by Carol Alexander

When changing the appearance of text within an Excel worksheet, you have the choice of working on the entire cell or at the text level. To work at the cell level you simply highlight one or more cells and choose your formats. The formats that you choose will then apply to all text within the cell or cells.

For example, to change the font size of your data in Microsoft Excel, you can of course use the drop-down menu next to the font name and choose one of the preset sizes. Another way of changing the size is to use the Grow Fond and Shrink Font buttons located on the right of the font size. These two buttons simply take you up and down the same preset sizes available on the preset size drop-down. You can also use the cursor keys on your keyboard to move through different sizes. Yet another option is to enter a particular size then press the enter key. When doing so, you are permitted to enter decimals, such as 10.5.

In a similar way, when you want to choose a font, you can highlight the current name and start to type the name of font you have in mind, for example Times new Roman. Once you have typed enough to let Excel know which font you mean, the font name will be displayed and you simply press the Enter key.

Colour can be applied in the same two ways in your worksheets, either as a background to the cell or to the text inside the cell. Since background colour applies to the cell itself, it can’t be applied at the text level. With the introduction of Themes in Excel 2007, Microsoft have made it very easy to come up with colour combinations which look good together.

If you wish to work at the text level, you need to be in Edit mode. You can access Edit mode in two ways: the first is to double-click on any cell; the second is to click once on the cell and then click anywhere in the formula bar. You can know when you’re in Edit mode by the presence of the Cancel and Enter buttons on the left of the formula bar.

When working in Edit mode, you can highlight individual characters and change their attributes. For example, if a cell contains the text “Google”, you could highlight each letter individually and change it to the colour used in the Google logo.

The facility of using different formatting within the same cell is very useful for headings. It is not quite so useful for the rest of the data in your worksheets since it slows down data entry and makes editing difficult.

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Microsoft Word 2007 File Formats

January 1st, 2009
by Mark Matthews

Microsoft Word 2007 is capable of working with documents in three file formats. The native format uses the file extension “.docx”. Files saved in this format can use the full range of features found in Word 2007, with the exception of macros. Any Word 2007 document which contains macros must be saved in a separate file format using the file extension “.docm”.

In addition to its two native formats, Word 2007 is also capable of both opening and creating files using the old “.doc” file extension, the file extension which was used in previous versions of Word. However, Word 2007 documents which are saved with this file extension will not have access to the full range of features found with in Word 2007. Some new features, such as Themes, will not be available in any files saved with the “.doc” extension.

When a new Word 2007 document is saved for the first-time these three options are available in a drop-down menu labelled “Save As Type”. Unless you specify otherwise, new documents will be saved with the file extension “.docx”. However, if you’re sending the document to a person using an older version of Word, you can save the document in a backward compatible format, using the file extension “.doc”.

what about the “.docm” format? Well, when you open a document containing a macro, by default, Word displays a security warning notifying you that macros have been disabled. If you want to, you can then click on Options and enable the content.

When you open a file created in a previous version of Microsoft Word, Word 2007 does not automatically convert this file to the new format. For convenience, it leaves it in the old format and goes into a special working mode called “Compatibility Mode”. (It displays the words “Compatibility Mode” in brackets next to the document.)

As long as the file remains in compatibility mode, you can still continue working on it, making changes to the document and saving those changes. However, certain new 2007 features, such as Themes, will not be available. If you place the mouse over the Themes group of the Page Layout Tab, you will see a tool tip saying: “This document has been opened in compatibility mode. To use this feature convert your document to a new file format. Click on the Office button and then click convert.” If you do as the message invites you to, “Compatibility Mode” disappears from the title bar and when we save the file Word changes the file extension and the document will then have been converted to the Word 2007 format.

If you work in an environment where both Word 2007 and older versions are in use, then Microsoft may have provided another solution. You have the option of installing an update called the Office Compatibility Pack. This makes it possible for previous versions of all the Microsoft Office packages to open the new Office 2007 file formats.

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Choosing an MCSA Course

December 29th, 2008
by Scott Edwards

The Microsoft MCSA course is an ideal qualification for anyone looking to get into network support. Whether you’re about to join the IT industry or already have experience but need to formalise your skills with certification, the right training exists for you.

Each of these scenarios needs a different solution, so make sure you’re on the right training programme before getting your credit card out. Find an organisation that takes the time to understand you, and what you’re looking to do, and one that has the ability to give you the information you need to make your decision.

A good advisor should have the ability to work out which type of job will suit you best - based on your personality, likes and dislikes in the working environment (and explain why!). They should also be able to give you a good understanding of what the job entails.

Once you’re happy, choose a course to suit your current skill level so you’re not dropped in at the deep end! Only choose recognised training courses that are in demand in industry.

Modern training courses are delivered on a library of discs which comprise of the latest state-of-the-art video tutorials, detailed on-screen demonstrations and interactive environments where you can practice what you’ve just learned. This is the easiest and most natural way to learn - you repeat as often as you like, and not a book in sight.

When studying for an MCSA course you’ll need full support. Unfortunately many colleges only offer ‘office hours’ support - backed up with an out-of-hours message system. They claim this is 24/7 support but you’re unable to communicate with a tutor at the most common times students study i.e. evenings and weekends. So if you are studying alongside a job, be warned.

You’ll appreciate the need for real 24/7 support once you start. When you need assistance, even if it’s at 1am on a Sunday, there should be a team of tutors available to help you there and then, avoiding irksome interruptions that mess up your momentum.

Because of the quality of this training environment, there’s no need to attend classroom based lessons - you’re getting individual attention from the comfort of your own home. This makes your life much easier, with no need to travel away from your home and family.

Another must for any training course of this level is that it includes exam practice software. These are mock-exam tests that let you practice prior to sitting the real thing - They allow you to measure your results to know when you’re ready and get used to the way the questions are asked. Used properly it will ensure you pass first time. Without such a tool it’s unlikely to happen and your fees through re-sitting will mount up.

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Excel 2007 Number, Currency And Accounting

December 27th, 2008
by Lynne Kramer

When entering numbers into a spreadsheet, you sometimes need to ensure that the number format is consistent. For example, if the numbers in question represent prices, you may want to display a currency symbol or you may simply want to make sure that the number of decimals displayed is consistent..

Unless you specify otherwise, all numbers in Excel are rendered in the “General” format. This means that numbers are displayed exactly as you enter them: if you enter two decimals, two decimals are displayed; if you went to one decimal, one decimal is displayed; and so on.

When specifying the number format, the best idea is usually to select the whole column. To do this, click on the letter or letters representing the column. (Any text contained in the selection will not be affected by the number format you specify.)

Number formats are displayed in the “Numbers” section of the Home Tab of the Ribbon. There are three main formats related to numbers: the first is called “Number”, the second “Currency” and the third “Accounting”. To gain access to the full range of number formats, choose “More Number Formats” from the drop-down menu. Another way of accessing the same dialog box is to click on the launch button in the “Numbers” section of the Home Tab.

When you click on each of the number formats, you are presented with a series of choices which enable you to refine the way that the format will work. For example, if our numbers refer to an hourly rate, we would probably click the “Number” category in the left column and then specify two decimal places. The option labelled “Use Thousands Separator” will insert the appropriate separator to demarcate thousands. The separator which Excel uses will depend on your locality: for example, if you are in the UK or USA, a comma will be used; if you are in a European country, a dot will be used.

The final option in the “Number” category lets you control the display of negative numbers. The default is to preced the number with a minus sign and to leave the colour of the text unchanged. However, you can also suppress the minus sign and change the colour of negative numbers to red; or, if you prefer, you can change the colour of negative numbers to red as well as displaying the minus sign.

When you click on the “Currency” category, you have pretty much the same choices with the addition of a currency symbol. One can specify which currency symbol is used or one can dispense with the currency symbol altogether.

The “Accounting” category is pretty much the same as “Currency”. Once again, you can choose a particular currency symbol. However, you will notice that you do not have any choices relating to negative numbers. The convention in accountancy circles is to always place negative numbers in brackets.

In addition to using the number dialog box, you’ll notice that there are a series of handy buttons which can apply each of the appropriate formats with one click. There are also two buttons for increasing and decreasing the number of decimals displayed in the selected numbers.

Finally, there may be times where, although you enter a number into a cell, you do not want Excel to treat it as a number. For example, if you have a column of data containing a client ID, although the ID may be numeric, you may not want Excel to treat it like a number or to modify it in any way. You will probably want it to stay exactly the way it was entered. Whenever this is the case, it is best to format the number as “Text”. The simplest way of doing this is to select the appropriate column and in the number dialog box choose “Text” as the format.

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SAP Training & Courses - What Can It Do For Your Career

December 19th, 2008
by Matthew Parker

Well before reflecting upon that query lets have a quick recap of what we are talking about. When we verbalize about SAP, we are verbalizing about a world industry leader in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software. In fact SAP is the third biggest software enterprise of the globe, with over12000 enterprises using SAP, having round 80,000 installations and over 12,000,000 individuals making use of it. Hence rest assured whatever you are planning to do with SAP, you are managing with something serious and verified over the yrs.

Primary name corporations look towards SAP when they think of revamping their IT infrastructures or to make competitive advantage by enabling business procedure change. SAP guarantees a seamless integration of operations and applications across the board.

At Once the query comes, why you want to acquire SAP? When we talk about SAP educating it can be seen from various angles. You can take up SAP courses to act as a project manager for your organisation who requires to implement SAP. Or you wish to become part of a consulting firm that facilitates other organisations in SAP implementations. A several of latter could be that you want to become an independent SAP consultant and be the master of your own career and focus. SAP consultants are never short of work, get to travel lots and charge from 1000$ a day (or more).

Lets take a look at depth and breadth of SAP so that you can study where you stand and what should be your class of processes. SAP classes can be visualized from three fundamental views which are:

Core Business Processes
SAP Vertical Components
SAP Technical Courses

By training for SAP Business Processes you will come across SAP modules like,

FICO (Financial Accounting and Controlling)
PCA (Profit Center Accounting)
SD (Sales and Distribution)
SD COM (Customer Order Management)
HR (Human Resources)
MM (Material Management)
PM (Plant Maintenance)

SAP Verticals take on

SAP APO (Advanced Planning Optimizer)
SAP BW (Business Intelligence)
SAP CRM (Customer Relation Management)
SAP SRM (Supplier Relation Management)

Last SAP Technical classes will expose you to technical platforms example

SAP Netweaver Xi
SAP Enterprise Portals
SAP ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming)
SAP BASIS (Business Application Software Integrated Solution)

Also you can also add flavors of SAP according to different industry verticals including financial sector, manufacturing and services, to call the broader categories.

Now that we have plenty jargon and terminology about SAP at our hands let’s try to figure out what is best for you. There can’t cannot be a silver bullet recipe for anybody to pick and opt his or her modules. Your start point pretty much counts on your own certain portion and destinations. Your experience, put in the organisation and incoming aspirations will play a vital role in your selection of receiving SAP preparations.

For illustration you have experience in HR for several yrs. You have a good wisdom of processes involved in HR and problems therein. You feel the knack for analyzing organisational problems and can see their process directed answers through technology, then in all probability you should start with a SAP course in HR(HCM) module. And So again you will have to decide a beginning point within HCM from sub-modules like Personnel Administration (PA), Personnel Development (PD) etc. Have your select of module(s) and set out your enterprises in becoming a SAP consultant or Project Manager as the instance may be.

Apart from picking out modules you may too have to spend time on choosing an appropriate educating institute. SAP itself provides facility for that as well as there is a huge amount of training/consulting organisations that impart preparations for SAP. You need to look for methodology, depth of training and emphasis on your primary arenas of interest. Besides above, cost can likewise be an large settling factor.

If you prepare a exact choice of modules and set your class correctly SAP preparations can add value for you in terms of becoming a valuable organizational asset whether you are functioning for a SAP consultancy or an enterprise using (or planning to use) SAP.

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