2011

Microsoft patches critical vulnerability in Office 2011 for Mac

Microsoft has issued an update to Office 2011 for OS X, which closes a critical vulnerability that may allow remote code execution from an attacker.

With this vulnerability a maliciously crafted Word document or e-mail message in Outlook (with Word configured as the e-mail reader) could give an attacker the execution rights as the current user, allowing them to arbitrarily run code on the affected system.

While this update is a run-of-the-mill closure of identified vulnerabilities, be sure to keep your system fully updated. While there are undoubtedly other undocumented vulnerabilities in software, malware developers often use known and patched … Read more

Office 2011 update includes more Office 365 features

The latest update to Microsoft Office addresses a number of critical bugs with the program and offers new integration with Office 365, Microsoft's next-generation Office suite for both the Mac and Windows platforms. The update is available either through the Office 2011 AutoUpdate utility, or from the updater's Web page as a 113MB download that will bring the latest version of Office to 14.3.4.

If you have not yet installed any updates for Office 2011, this update requires that you have Service Pack 1 installed, so some people may see two consecutive updates for Office available … Read more

Review: Add more operations to Excel with Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac

Mac users with Excel may want add-on applications for more functionality. Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac integrates well into the existing Excel program and performs additional operations on spreadsheet data.

The program is available for free and is actually included in later versions of Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program for Mac. Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac downloads and installs directly onto the Excel program without any problems or user input required. After opening Excel, the user must go to the add-in area and select the Solver program. It then imports and installs a button in Excel's Data … Read more

Homeowner? Investment income? H&R Block At Home Deluxe is for you

Taxpayers with simple returns have had lots of choices when it comes to preparing and filing their taxes online, including free options. But you get what you pay for, generally speaking, and those whose taxes require a bit more work have been forced into more-traditional (and expensive) options such as a visit to the offices of a professional tax preparation service or expensive, complex tax software that sometimes still involves CPAs and service fees. H&R Block's online service, H&R Block At Home, offers several options for taxpayers, including a free service. The Deluxe service costs $… Read more

Microsoft changes Office licensing, allows transfer to new systems

Microsoft has changed its license agreement for its Office 2013 productivity suite, which now allows you to transfer serial numbers to new systems and activate it to allow the software to work.

Office is one of the more popular (if not required) programs for many activities, so having it on a system is often quite convenient to have; however, Microsoft has had an ongoing licensing restriction with its latest Office versions that prevents you from activating a previously used serial number on newer systems, even if you have uninstalled the software from prior systems. This setup obviously frustrates those who … Read more

Windows Live Mesh users must switch by Wednesday

Still using Windows Live Mesh? You won't be much longer.

Come Wednesday, the online storage and syncing service will draw its final breath, leaving Mesh users without a home. So, where can you go if you're currently using Mesh to back up, store, and synchronize your files?

A variety of online storage sites are available. Microsoft's SkyDrive is one obvious choice since it already offers some, but not all, of the features of Live Mesh.

How do you switch from Live Mesh to SkyDrive? And what are the potential pitfalls? Let's go through the process.

First, … Read more

Play an action-packed game with ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 app

Select from 14 available teams and enjoy all the elements of a real cricket World Cup. ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 perhaps doesn't offer the cutting-edge graphics you might expect, but its gameplay covers for that.

Once installed, this game takes you right into action. ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has a simple setup. The user interface is very straightforward and easy to navigate, and tutorials assist you in learning the movement. A basic knowledge of cricket is required in order to play this game, though. If the user is unfamiliar with cricket, it may be difficult to make … Read more

Replay the World Cup with your favorite team and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 game

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is the official game for this event. It allows you to choose one of the 14 teams competing for the World Cup, and play through the tournament. ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 costs $1.99 from the App Store.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has solid graphics as well as several modes of play. The Quick Game mode launches you into a game without extensive setup or worrying about the tournament. The World Cup mode lets you play through the entire Cup. Play is straightforward, and there's both auto and manual modes for control (… Read more

Learn to touch-type quickly with Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing

2011 Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is a new release of the popular typing-tutor app for iOS. The goal of the app is to teach you touch typing, and it does so using a combination of traditional typing exercises and some new multimedia twists. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is available from the App Store and is easy to install.

The Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing interface starts with a classroom image, and you can click on hot spots for the different tasks you can try. Later editions of the app have added all kinds of new exercises, such as typing the lyrics … Read more

The safe way to 'write down' your passwords

Following my post earlier this month on "Ten simple, common-sense security tips," reader John B. asked whether it was safe to store his passwords in a Word DOC file and then copy and paste them into sign-in screens to thwart keystroke loggers. John just has to remember to type in one password: the one he uses to encrypt and password-protect his Word password document.

Of course, John's passwords are vulnerable to clipboard loggers that capture the contents of the clipboard just as key loggers grab your keystrokes. That's why John has to add extra characters to … Read more