Yesterday I received an e-mail from a client saying that they were seeing duplicate journal entry lines in Dynamics GP for JEs that had been imported from an external system.
Knowing how my eConnect JE import was developed, I was pretty confident that my integration wasn't inadvertently importing JE lines twice, and the client found that only certain JEs were being duplicated. When I looked at the JEs in Dynamics GP, I saw that they were nearly identical, but the DR and CR descriptions were slightly different in the "real" JE vs. the "duplicate" JE. That let me to believe that the external system was potentially sending some duplicate data to GP.
With this in mind, I chose two duplicate JEs out of Dynamics GP from September and documented them. Now I just had to confirm what the external system sent for those JEs.
Since I always archive a copy of all source data files for my integrations, I jumped over to the archive directory and extracted all 2,115 JE files for the month of September. The files are CSV files, but have a .dat extension. I first tried to use the Windows Server 2008 search feature that is built into Windows Explorer. I typed in the unique ID for one of the JEs I had documented, but received no results. Figuring that Windows wouldn't search the .dat file extensions, I renamed all of the files to *.txt and tried again. No search results. I was sure that the data that I was searching for was present in one of the files, but the Windows Search feature just wasn't doing the job.
I even tried copying the files over to my Windows 7 workstation, which I have had some success with, but still no results.
So I did some Googling for full text file searching in Windows, and one solution was constantly referenced in the results: Windows Grep, or WinGrep.
Windows Grep is a shareware application that implements the functionality of Unix grep in an easy to use Windows application. I downloaded Windows Grep, pointed it to my directory with over 2,000 .dat files, and told it to search for my unique JE ID. In a few seconds, it found the file that I needed. When I opened the file, sure enough, it contained two JEs.
I was able to quickly find the source data files for the two JEs that I had documented, and send everything to the vendor that maintained the external system. They then discovered that a cross join was being performed during their export, resulting in duplicate JEs being exported.
I'm guessing I only used 0.1% of the functionality of Windows Grep, and it has many additional features that sound interesting, so I'm impressed with it so far, and will try and see if I can figure out any other situations where it may be useful. For $30, it is a bargain if you need its powerful search (and replace) functionality.
Update: Reader Stanley Glass has posted a comment suggesting the free Agent Ransack utility, developed by Mythicsoft out of Oxford England, for searching files. It also appears to have a comprehensive feature set, so now I have two tools to consider for these types of searches!
Steve Endow is a Dynamics GP Certified Trainer and Dynamics GP Certified Professional. He is also the owner of Precipio Services, which provides Dynamics GP integrations, customizations, and automation solutions.
http://www.precipioservices.com
Showing posts with label Consultant Tools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Consultant Tools. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Consultant Tools Series: TrueCrypt
Several non-technical friends and colleagues have asked me how to manage and secure sensitive or confidential data.
One is an independent CPA that has client information in his tax preparation and accounting software. Another is involved in high stakes business transactions and legal proceedings, and travels to dozens of countries every year to meet with investors, attorneys, and governments. Another friend has a business that provides health insurance, retirement plans, and other employee benefits to businesses, and has to store a lot of very sensitive medical and financial information.
In the Dynamics GP world, the most sensitive data that I've worked with are client databases with full HR and Payroll records, or client data files that have confidential employee information, including name, address, phone, SSN, etc. Just today I received some files containing employee information for an HR and Payroll integration to Dynamics GP, so I immediately wanted to encrypt the files.
While there is no single answer to the question of how such confidential information should be managed, when most people think of securing such data, they often use two phrases: "password protect" and "encrypt". It's a good start, but that's often the limit of their knowledge.
Before discussing details, I usually ask the person what concern or risk they are trying to address. How sensitive or confidential is the data? Is it only of interest to competitors? Would criminals want it? Would law enforcement want it? Would lawyers or private investigators want it? Would a government want it?
Most people just don't want the data wandering around publicly, and don't want it exposed if a computer is hacked or stolen. But some people do legitimately need to ensure that certain files cannot be accessed by a government agency, even if the computer is confiscated.
Although there are probably lots of different options, I usually offer the following choices:
1) Put a password on the Excel or Word file. This is usually adequate to prevent inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information, such as a list of tentative pay raises, bonuses, or terminations at a company. The passwords on Microsoft Office files can either be stripped out or cracked by various software packages, so the Office passwords only provide a low level of security. And one significant downside is that each file must have a password, so if you use different passwords, don't access the file regularly, or have to open a file that is several years old, it is common for people to forget the password (myself included).
2) Use WinZip or WinRAR to compress one or more files, and then use a password on the Zip or RAR file to encrypt and secure the files. This has some benefits, such as being able to secure multiple files with one password, and the ability to secure files that don't have their own encryption (like a CSV or text file). But such passwords really aren't any more secure than an Office file password, as password crackers can attack zip files as well. Another downside to using WinZip with a password is that although the compressed files may be encrypted, anyone who opens the zip file can see its contents, which I personally don't like.
3) If those basic options are insufficient, I then jump straight to TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt is a free, open source encryption application that provides very secure on-the-fly file and disk encryption. It was created in 2004, and is widely recognized as one of the best disk encryption options available today. The fact that it is free and open source means that I don't have to purchase upgrades as new versions of Windows are released, as encryption techniques change, or as the software vendor goes bankrupt or is acquired like at least one of the other disk encryption products I have tried.
TrueCrypt is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and if you review the features and documentation, I think you'll see how seriously the product addresses security.
TrueCrypt recently made news when the Brazilian government and the FBI were unable to crack hard drives encrypted using TrueCrypt. While few people need to legitimately hide their data from such organizations, it's reassuring to know that the solution works when used properly.
There are a few key things that I like about TrueCrypt.
1) It is very easy to use. Even if you don't understand how it works, the TrueCrypt beginner's tutorial walks you through the very simple process of creating a new encrypted container. Once that container is setup, it's simply a matter of mounting the file and entering a password, and you have a new drive letter in Windows.
2) Because it is volume based, many applications can use TrueCrypt volumes transparently. For small businesses or CPAs that run Lacerte tax software or QuickBooks, it's very simple to have applications read and write all of their data and files to a TrueCrypt volume, just like any other hard drive.
3) TrueCrypt doesn't require extra steps to encrypt data. Because it encrypts and decrypts data on the fly as it is read and written to disk, there are no extra steps to secure the data, which is a huge benefit for a non-technical user. Once the volume is dismounted, it just becomes an anonymous file on your hard drive.
4) TrueCrypt supports "key files" in addition to passwords. Instead of trying to remember multiple 10-20 character secure passwords, you can use just about any file, or combination of files, to serve as your 'password'. If you have a hundred MP3 or JPG files on your computer, you can randomly choose one or more of those files to serve as your key. Just make sure to keep those MP3 or JPG files safely backed up!
5) Once you have your TrueCrypt container setup, you can use online backup services to back it up in the cloud, without worrying about whether the backup provider is really encrypting your data or has adequate safeguards to ensure that your data can't be viewed.
This morning, after receiving a CSV file containing the data for over 900 employees, I immediately created a new TrueCrypt container and then moved the files to the mounted TrueCrypt volume. It took maybe 2 minutes, literally, and that data is now encrypted, maintenance free.
In this case, I chose to use a standard password for the container, and then stored that password in a RoboForm secure note for safe keeping, since it may be days or weeks before I need to access the files again.
And with that, YCpRz37dTkC4Vh5PLIjuyQmBslgBB4/Oy+LPGjajHao=
(That's "Have a good weekend!", in 128-bit AES)
One is an independent CPA that has client information in his tax preparation and accounting software. Another is involved in high stakes business transactions and legal proceedings, and travels to dozens of countries every year to meet with investors, attorneys, and governments. Another friend has a business that provides health insurance, retirement plans, and other employee benefits to businesses, and has to store a lot of very sensitive medical and financial information.
In the Dynamics GP world, the most sensitive data that I've worked with are client databases with full HR and Payroll records, or client data files that have confidential employee information, including name, address, phone, SSN, etc. Just today I received some files containing employee information for an HR and Payroll integration to Dynamics GP, so I immediately wanted to encrypt the files.
While there is no single answer to the question of how such confidential information should be managed, when most people think of securing such data, they often use two phrases: "password protect" and "encrypt". It's a good start, but that's often the limit of their knowledge.
Before discussing details, I usually ask the person what concern or risk they are trying to address. How sensitive or confidential is the data? Is it only of interest to competitors? Would criminals want it? Would law enforcement want it? Would lawyers or private investigators want it? Would a government want it?
Most people just don't want the data wandering around publicly, and don't want it exposed if a computer is hacked or stolen. But some people do legitimately need to ensure that certain files cannot be accessed by a government agency, even if the computer is confiscated.
Although there are probably lots of different options, I usually offer the following choices:
1) Put a password on the Excel or Word file. This is usually adequate to prevent inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information, such as a list of tentative pay raises, bonuses, or terminations at a company. The passwords on Microsoft Office files can either be stripped out or cracked by various software packages, so the Office passwords only provide a low level of security. And one significant downside is that each file must have a password, so if you use different passwords, don't access the file regularly, or have to open a file that is several years old, it is common for people to forget the password (myself included).
2) Use WinZip or WinRAR to compress one or more files, and then use a password on the Zip or RAR file to encrypt and secure the files. This has some benefits, such as being able to secure multiple files with one password, and the ability to secure files that don't have their own encryption (like a CSV or text file). But such passwords really aren't any more secure than an Office file password, as password crackers can attack zip files as well. Another downside to using WinZip with a password is that although the compressed files may be encrypted, anyone who opens the zip file can see its contents, which I personally don't like.
3) If those basic options are insufficient, I then jump straight to TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt is a free, open source encryption application that provides very secure on-the-fly file and disk encryption. It was created in 2004, and is widely recognized as one of the best disk encryption options available today. The fact that it is free and open source means that I don't have to purchase upgrades as new versions of Windows are released, as encryption techniques change, or as the software vendor goes bankrupt or is acquired like at least one of the other disk encryption products I have tried.
TrueCrypt is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and if you review the features and documentation, I think you'll see how seriously the product addresses security.
TrueCrypt recently made news when the Brazilian government and the FBI were unable to crack hard drives encrypted using TrueCrypt. While few people need to legitimately hide their data from such organizations, it's reassuring to know that the solution works when used properly.
There are a few key things that I like about TrueCrypt.
1) It is very easy to use. Even if you don't understand how it works, the TrueCrypt beginner's tutorial walks you through the very simple process of creating a new encrypted container. Once that container is setup, it's simply a matter of mounting the file and entering a password, and you have a new drive letter in Windows.
2) Because it is volume based, many applications can use TrueCrypt volumes transparently. For small businesses or CPAs that run Lacerte tax software or QuickBooks, it's very simple to have applications read and write all of their data and files to a TrueCrypt volume, just like any other hard drive.
3) TrueCrypt doesn't require extra steps to encrypt data. Because it encrypts and decrypts data on the fly as it is read and written to disk, there are no extra steps to secure the data, which is a huge benefit for a non-technical user. Once the volume is dismounted, it just becomes an anonymous file on your hard drive.
4) TrueCrypt supports "key files" in addition to passwords. Instead of trying to remember multiple 10-20 character secure passwords, you can use just about any file, or combination of files, to serve as your 'password'. If you have a hundred MP3 or JPG files on your computer, you can randomly choose one or more of those files to serve as your key. Just make sure to keep those MP3 or JPG files safely backed up!
5) Once you have your TrueCrypt container setup, you can use online backup services to back it up in the cloud, without worrying about whether the backup provider is really encrypting your data or has adequate safeguards to ensure that your data can't be viewed.
This morning, after receiving a CSV file containing the data for over 900 employees, I immediately created a new TrueCrypt container and then moved the files to the mounted TrueCrypt volume. It took maybe 2 minutes, literally, and that data is now encrypted, maintenance free.
In this case, I chose to use a standard password for the container, and then stored that password in a RoboForm secure note for safe keeping, since it may be days or weeks before I need to access the files again.
And with that, YCpRz37dTkC4Vh5PLIjuyQmBslgBB4/Oy+LPGjajHao=
(That's "Have a good weekend!", in 128-bit AES)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Consultant Tools Series: 7-Zip
I like to think that I'm generally aware of new tools and technologies, but sometimes good technology slips by in areas where I'm not looking.
I've used WinZip for eons for situations where I have to e-mail files to people (yes, I even paid for a license!). And I have used WinRAR for years for larger files, like SQL Server backups and VHD backups. Between those two products, I thought I had the compression category pretty well covered.
Well, a few weeks ago I randomly stumbled across a reference to a free, open source compression software utility called 7-Zip. Apparently most of my friends and colleagues had heard of it, and one has been using it for quite a while.
Since I like WinZip's convenience and speed, and I'm a big fan of WinRAR's compression performance, I was skeptical that this free tool could compare with both WinZip and WinRAR, but I decided to give it a try.
I had a 1.67 gigabyte Outlook PST backup file, so I decided to start with that. Not only was 7zip faster, but it's native 7z compression was better than WinRAR.
7-Zip shrunk the file down to 443MB in 9 minutes 23 seconds, while WinRAR got down to 485MB in 10 minutes 45 seconds. Wow.
Impressed, I then tried a 29.2 gigabyte VHD file. WinRAR brought the file down to 10.4 gigabytes, while 7zip shrunk it to 8.9 gigabytes. Both took roughly two hours, so I didn't compare their actual times, but given the improved compression, I'd gladly use 7zip even if it took a few minutes longer.
I'm now a 7zip convert when it comes to compressing large files. I haven't yet tried unzipping my 7z files to ensure that they don't have any errors, but I'll gladly spend some time testing it if it will save me 10-15% space on my backup and archive disks.
The one obvious drawback to the 7z file format used by 7-Zip is that it isn't as well known or universally supported as the zip file format. However, I have noticed that a lot more people are now e-mailing RAR files out (and Microsoft is distributing VHDs in RAR format) without any problems or confusion, so maybe 7-Zip won't be such a leap for people. And since it is free, it's easy for anyone to download and use, and doesn't have any trialware nag windows to deal with.
The other observation I made is that using 7-Zip to create a zip file is slower and produces a zip file that is much larger than what WinZip creates (at least using whatever settings I used). So for now, it seems that WinZip still has a role.
Given the performance I've observed with the 7z format, I'm hoping it becomes widely adopted. Since it is free and open source, it would be nice to have on client's servers instead of the ubiquitous WinZip "Trial Mode - Purchase Now" message that I see constantly.
Give it a try and let me know what you think, or if you are already a 7-Zip user, let me know if you have found any other pros or cons.
I've used WinZip for eons for situations where I have to e-mail files to people (yes, I even paid for a license!). And I have used WinRAR for years for larger files, like SQL Server backups and VHD backups. Between those two products, I thought I had the compression category pretty well covered.
Well, a few weeks ago I randomly stumbled across a reference to a free, open source compression software utility called 7-Zip. Apparently most of my friends and colleagues had heard of it, and one has been using it for quite a while.
Since I like WinZip's convenience and speed, and I'm a big fan of WinRAR's compression performance, I was skeptical that this free tool could compare with both WinZip and WinRAR, but I decided to give it a try.
I had a 1.67 gigabyte Outlook PST backup file, so I decided to start with that. Not only was 7zip faster, but it's native 7z compression was better than WinRAR.
7-Zip shrunk the file down to 443MB in 9 minutes 23 seconds, while WinRAR got down to 485MB in 10 minutes 45 seconds. Wow.
Impressed, I then tried a 29.2 gigabyte VHD file. WinRAR brought the file down to 10.4 gigabytes, while 7zip shrunk it to 8.9 gigabytes. Both took roughly two hours, so I didn't compare their actual times, but given the improved compression, I'd gladly use 7zip even if it took a few minutes longer.
I'm now a 7zip convert when it comes to compressing large files. I haven't yet tried unzipping my 7z files to ensure that they don't have any errors, but I'll gladly spend some time testing it if it will save me 10-15% space on my backup and archive disks.
The one obvious drawback to the 7z file format used by 7-Zip is that it isn't as well known or universally supported as the zip file format. However, I have noticed that a lot more people are now e-mailing RAR files out (and Microsoft is distributing VHDs in RAR format) without any problems or confusion, so maybe 7-Zip won't be such a leap for people. And since it is free, it's easy for anyone to download and use, and doesn't have any trialware nag windows to deal with.
The other observation I made is that using 7-Zip to create a zip file is slower and produces a zip file that is much larger than what WinZip creates (at least using whatever settings I used). So for now, it seems that WinZip still has a role.
Given the performance I've observed with the 7z format, I'm hoping it becomes widely adopted. Since it is free and open source, it would be nice to have on client's servers instead of the ubiquitous WinZip "Trial Mode - Purchase Now" message that I see constantly.
Give it a try and let me know what you think, or if you are already a 7-Zip user, let me know if you have found any other pros or cons.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Consultant Tools Series: WinDirStat
If you have ever had a hard drive fill up unexpectedly, or desperately needed to free up additional space on a hard drive, you will likely appreciate WinDirStat. It is a free, light weight application that provides disk usage information.
Although the massive, inexpensive hard drives available today are making disk space less of an issue, laptop drives and expensive server drives are often relatively small and do sometimes get filled up with large files.
Old SQL Server backups and bloated SQL Server mdf and ldf files are just two examples of files that can consume a fair amount of space on a server hard drive. And there are lots of culprits on desktop or laptop computers.
I found WinDirStat several years ago while looking for an application that would help me identify the largest files on my hard drive and enable me to clean up files that I no longer needed. What I find particularly powerful and efficient is the visual representation that it provides, allowing you to quickly see large files based on their size, and also see files of the same type based on their color.
I was recently using a video application that occasionally becomes "confused", and continuously writes to a temp file on my C drive, quickly consuming 20 or 30 gigabytes of disk space, eventually filling my C drive. The temp file is always buried in some windows temporary directory, so I always have to search for it. With WinDirStat I can quickly pinpoint it based on it's graphical size, while also reviewing any other large files to determine if I can clean anything else up.
In the process, I found several gigs of other video files that were created by another video editing application. Since they were all the same color, and grouped together, it was easy to identify them and move them to a different drive with more space.
Enjoy your spring HDD cleaning!
Although the massive, inexpensive hard drives available today are making disk space less of an issue, laptop drives and expensive server drives are often relatively small and do sometimes get filled up with large files.
Old SQL Server backups and bloated SQL Server mdf and ldf files are just two examples of files that can consume a fair amount of space on a server hard drive. And there are lots of culprits on desktop or laptop computers.
I found WinDirStat several years ago while looking for an application that would help me identify the largest files on my hard drive and enable me to clean up files that I no longer needed. What I find particularly powerful and efficient is the visual representation that it provides, allowing you to quickly see large files based on their size, and also see files of the same type based on their color.
I was recently using a video application that occasionally becomes "confused", and continuously writes to a temp file on my C drive, quickly consuming 20 or 30 gigabytes of disk space, eventually filling my C drive. The temp file is always buried in some windows temporary directory, so I always have to search for it. With WinDirStat I can quickly pinpoint it based on it's graphical size, while also reviewing any other large files to determine if I can clean anything else up.
In the process, I found several gigs of other video files that were created by another video editing application. Since they were all the same color, and grouped together, it was easy to identify them and move them to a different drive with more space.
Enjoy your spring HDD cleaning!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Consultant Tools Series: Password Management
How many passwords do you have to know or remember? I think if you took the time to count them all, you would be pretty surprised.
Multiple e-mail accounts, web site logins, client VPN connections, RDP server logins, GP logins, GP system passwords, and FTP sites are just some of the passwords I have to manage.
Multiply these by the number of clients you have to manage, and you will quickly exceed your ability to remember them, especially if you haven't used them for several months.
I used to track most of the common passwords in memory, and then used a password protected Excel spreadsheet for reference.
But when I added in all of my personal passwords (bank web site, credit card site, health insurance site, retirement account site, dozens of e-commerce sites, ATM pins, frequent flyer sites, etc.), it was clear that all of those passwords were too cumbersome to manage.
I spent a few weeks evaluating different apps that help manage passwords. I tried common free and open source options and I tried a few commercial products. I think I eventually went to CNet Reviews to see what product they ranked as the best password manager.
At the time, they recommended a product called RoboForm, so I downloaded the trial version. At first, I was pretty puzzled by the product, and somewhat disappointed. It didn't work at all like the other password products I had tried, so it took me a while to figure out how to use it properly. But once I realized how it worked, and how well it worked, I was hooked.
I now have over 300 different entries stored in RoboForm, all encrypted. Over 200 of those are web site logins, which include the URL, username, and password. I also have just over 100 "Safe Notes", which are RoboForm's version of an encrypted free form note. Bank account information, frequent traveller account numbers, client network logins, VPN information, you name it.
I have no idea how I managed this information previously. It was scattered in multiple locations, unencrypted, disorganized, incomplete, and not always current.
Now I consistently store all passwords, logins, or any other sensitive information in encrypted RoboForm entries.
Although there are several very good password management applications available, there are a few reasons why I chose RoboForm over other products.
1) Mobile support. RoboForm has both a Blackberry app and an iPhone app (and Android and Windows Mobile and Palm and Symbian), so I can always have access to my passwords and encrypted information, even when I don't have my computer. This is a critical feature for me. I was at the rental car counter at the airport and they couldn't find my frequent renter number (ironically), so I pulled out my Blackberry, typed in my password, and opened my secure note for that rental car company. At the pediatrician's office, I can quickly pull up my daughters SSN. When I'm out of the office, I can pull up client network or GP configuration information, all on my phone.
2) Web based remote access. RoboForm now offers online access to your encrypted password files. Just setup an account and you can synchronize your encrypted files with their site.
3) Seamless browser integration. RoboForm installs an unobtrusive toolbar for IE, Firefox, and Chrome. With a search box, you can type the first few letters of a web site, and it will find your associated site password file. With a single click, it will open the site URL, and automatically log you in.
4) Profiles and Auto Fill feature. Whenever I register on a new web site or have to fill out my contact info, I can now click on a single button on the RoboForm toolbar and it fills out the form for me. I can fill out my name, address, phone numbers, full credit card info, e-mail, you name it. It's amazingly accurate, and also allows me to have multiple profiles, so I can use either my personal information or my work information.
Other apps that I tried had some of these features, but not all, and typically they weren't as refined. And for $40 for two licenses (one for my laptop, one for my desktop), it was a bargain.
If you aren't using a password management app, I would definitely recommend at least trying something so that you can conveniently and securely store and organize your personal and password data and your clients' password data.
Multiple e-mail accounts, web site logins, client VPN connections, RDP server logins, GP logins, GP system passwords, and FTP sites are just some of the passwords I have to manage.
Multiply these by the number of clients you have to manage, and you will quickly exceed your ability to remember them, especially if you haven't used them for several months.
I used to track most of the common passwords in memory, and then used a password protected Excel spreadsheet for reference.
But when I added in all of my personal passwords (bank web site, credit card site, health insurance site, retirement account site, dozens of e-commerce sites, ATM pins, frequent flyer sites, etc.), it was clear that all of those passwords were too cumbersome to manage.
I spent a few weeks evaluating different apps that help manage passwords. I tried common free and open source options and I tried a few commercial products. I think I eventually went to CNet Reviews to see what product they ranked as the best password manager.
At the time, they recommended a product called RoboForm, so I downloaded the trial version. At first, I was pretty puzzled by the product, and somewhat disappointed. It didn't work at all like the other password products I had tried, so it took me a while to figure out how to use it properly. But once I realized how it worked, and how well it worked, I was hooked.
I now have over 300 different entries stored in RoboForm, all encrypted. Over 200 of those are web site logins, which include the URL, username, and password. I also have just over 100 "Safe Notes", which are RoboForm's version of an encrypted free form note. Bank account information, frequent traveller account numbers, client network logins, VPN information, you name it.
I have no idea how I managed this information previously. It was scattered in multiple locations, unencrypted, disorganized, incomplete, and not always current.
Now I consistently store all passwords, logins, or any other sensitive information in encrypted RoboForm entries.
Although there are several very good password management applications available, there are a few reasons why I chose RoboForm over other products.
1) Mobile support. RoboForm has both a Blackberry app and an iPhone app (and Android and Windows Mobile and Palm and Symbian), so I can always have access to my passwords and encrypted information, even when I don't have my computer. This is a critical feature for me. I was at the rental car counter at the airport and they couldn't find my frequent renter number (ironically), so I pulled out my Blackberry, typed in my password, and opened my secure note for that rental car company. At the pediatrician's office, I can quickly pull up my daughters SSN. When I'm out of the office, I can pull up client network or GP configuration information, all on my phone.
2) Web based remote access. RoboForm now offers online access to your encrypted password files. Just setup an account and you can synchronize your encrypted files with their site.
3) Seamless browser integration. RoboForm installs an unobtrusive toolbar for IE, Firefox, and Chrome. With a search box, you can type the first few letters of a web site, and it will find your associated site password file. With a single click, it will open the site URL, and automatically log you in.
4) Profiles and Auto Fill feature. Whenever I register on a new web site or have to fill out my contact info, I can now click on a single button on the RoboForm toolbar and it fills out the form for me. I can fill out my name, address, phone numbers, full credit card info, e-mail, you name it. It's amazingly accurate, and also allows me to have multiple profiles, so I can use either my personal information or my work information.
Other apps that I tried had some of these features, but not all, and typically they weren't as refined. And for $40 for two licenses (one for my laptop, one for my desktop), it was a bargain.
If you aren't using a password management app, I would definitely recommend at least trying something so that you can conveniently and securely store and organize your personal and password data and your clients' password data.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Consultant Tools Series: Coordinating Across Multiple Time Zones
Have you ever made a mistake trying to figure out times in different time zones? It happens to me all of the time--I forget whether a state is in Mountain or Central or Eastern. Or I accidentally add an hour instead of subtracting. Clearly not rocket science, but definitely an error prone process.
I've found two tools (so far) that help me keep track of time zones.
The first is FoxClocks, an Add-On for the Firefox web browser. This utility is essential for helping me coordinate with people in other time zones and countries, since I can quickly glance at my browser and know what time it is in any city or country around the world.
FoxClocks has served me well for several years now, but what is often challenging is coordinating a meeting with people in multiple time zones.
I recently had to coordinate a conference call with attendees from Alaska, California, Colorado, Ontario Canada, and Australia. Talk about mind bending.
After looking around for a solution, I thought of my good friend Excel. It appears that there are several ways to use Excel to help calculate the time across multiple time zones. I chose one of the simplest methods.
If you enter a date time value in a cell, you can then create a formula to add or subtract hours from that cell to produce a time zone offset.
So if your tentative meeting time in cell A1 is 3/3/2010 11:00 am Pacific time, in cell B1 you can use the formula =A$1$ + "3:00" to get Eastern time. There are several other much fancier techniques to calculate time zones in Excel, but this approach was plenty adequate for my needs.
Here is a sample of what my spreadsheet looks like:
The green cells are the manually entered values, allowing me to enter the desired meeting time in both Mountain time and Alaska time and see how it affected the times in all of the other time zones.
And these are the formulas behind the values:
With my simple approach, I had to manually adjust the offsets that were used on row 5 and row 7, but it was simple enough to do.
The downside to my low-tech approach is that it doesn't automatically account for daylight saving time. I'm assuming there are ways to automatically handle DST, so maybe I'll deal with that when the time change rolls around.
Happy teleconferencing!
I've found two tools (so far) that help me keep track of time zones.
The first is FoxClocks, an Add-On for the Firefox web browser. This utility is essential for helping me coordinate with people in other time zones and countries, since I can quickly glance at my browser and know what time it is in any city or country around the world.
FoxClocks has served me well for several years now, but what is often challenging is coordinating a meeting with people in multiple time zones.
I recently had to coordinate a conference call with attendees from Alaska, California, Colorado, Ontario Canada, and Australia. Talk about mind bending.
After looking around for a solution, I thought of my good friend Excel. It appears that there are several ways to use Excel to help calculate the time across multiple time zones. I chose one of the simplest methods.
If you enter a date time value in a cell, you can then create a formula to add or subtract hours from that cell to produce a time zone offset.
So if your tentative meeting time in cell A1 is 3/3/2010 11:00 am Pacific time, in cell B1 you can use the formula =A$1$ + "3:00" to get Eastern time. There are several other much fancier techniques to calculate time zones in Excel, but this approach was plenty adequate for my needs.
Here is a sample of what my spreadsheet looks like:
The green cells are the manually entered values, allowing me to enter the desired meeting time in both Mountain time and Alaska time and see how it affected the times in all of the other time zones.
And these are the formulas behind the values:
With my simple approach, I had to manually adjust the offsets that were used on row 5 and row 7, but it was simple enough to do.
The downside to my low-tech approach is that it doesn't automatically account for daylight saving time. I'm assuming there are ways to automatically handle DST, so maybe I'll deal with that when the time change rolls around.
Happy teleconferencing!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Consultant Tools Series: Darkfield Laser Mouse
If you are a roving consultant, you've probably built up a set of tools, technologies, and tricks to help you work more efficiently in all sorts of situations. For the mobile consultant, you have probably had to work at a free desk during the rare visit to the office, or at random workplaces at client sites, airports and airplanes, and endless coffee shops in between. You may have had to pull files off of a floppy disk (remember those?), open an Access 2.0 database, open a 2GB text file, use VLookup on a giant Excel file, connect to a client VPN from a rental car in a parking lot, you name it. My favorite was having to sit on a milk crate and rest my laptop on a broken office chair while working at a client.
Well, I've certainly had to field alot of random requests in random places over the years, so I thought I would occasionally share some tools, tips, and tricks that I've accumulated.
This first note is about wireless mice. I've used 2 or 3 wireless mice with my laptops over the last 5 years, both Logitech for some reason. The first one was good, but had poor battery life. The second one had good battery life, but an annoying scroll wheel that was difficult to click as a center mouse button. And I remember I had one that would "fight" with any other wireless mouse in the room, moving the cursor on other computers, and vice versa. All have had an annoying USB 'dongle' that stuck out of my laptop that I was always afraid I would lose.
Those optical / laser mice typically worked fine and did the job, but have you ever been at a client who had a glass conference room table? Or any table with a smooth, shiny, monochrome surface? I had two clients who had glass tables, and I often work at a coffee shop with tile tables outside.
Other than using the frustrating touchpad on my laptop, my only solution was to find a piece of blank paper, stick the edge under the rubber feet on one side of my laptop to keep it from moving, and use that as a make shift mouse pad. (wow, remember mouse pads??)
Enter the Logitech Darkfield Laser mouse. This is the answer for the mobile consultant who must mouse on any surface imaginable. I don't know if any other mouse manufacturers are making a competing product--if so, Logitech must have better marketing.
I finally broke down and bought one recently--the Anywhere MX model. Based on my tests, it's pretty darn amazing.
I just grabbed a picture frame off the wall--literally. It works fine right on the glass. I've only used it a few times, but so far it seems to work on any surface, even the bottom of a DVD and my laptop LCD display.
And a very nice touch is that they reduced the size of the USB dongle to a tiny little 1/4" nub that can stay in your laptop USB port at all times.
I'm still getting used to the shape, buttons, and odd scroll wheel, but the new laser does seem like a pretty neat innovation.
Mouse away.
Well, I've certainly had to field alot of random requests in random places over the years, so I thought I would occasionally share some tools, tips, and tricks that I've accumulated.
This first note is about wireless mice. I've used 2 or 3 wireless mice with my laptops over the last 5 years, both Logitech for some reason. The first one was good, but had poor battery life. The second one had good battery life, but an annoying scroll wheel that was difficult to click as a center mouse button. And I remember I had one that would "fight" with any other wireless mouse in the room, moving the cursor on other computers, and vice versa. All have had an annoying USB 'dongle' that stuck out of my laptop that I was always afraid I would lose.
Those optical / laser mice typically worked fine and did the job, but have you ever been at a client who had a glass conference room table? Or any table with a smooth, shiny, monochrome surface? I had two clients who had glass tables, and I often work at a coffee shop with tile tables outside.
Other than using the frustrating touchpad on my laptop, my only solution was to find a piece of blank paper, stick the edge under the rubber feet on one side of my laptop to keep it from moving, and use that as a make shift mouse pad. (wow, remember mouse pads??)
Enter the Logitech Darkfield Laser mouse. This is the answer for the mobile consultant who must mouse on any surface imaginable. I don't know if any other mouse manufacturers are making a competing product--if so, Logitech must have better marketing.
I finally broke down and bought one recently--the Anywhere MX model. Based on my tests, it's pretty darn amazing.
I just grabbed a picture frame off the wall--literally. It works fine right on the glass. I've only used it a few times, but so far it seems to work on any surface, even the bottom of a DVD and my laptop LCD display.
And a very nice touch is that they reduced the size of the USB dongle to a tiny little 1/4" nub that can stay in your laptop USB port at all times.
I'm still getting used to the shape, buttons, and odd scroll wheel, but the new laser does seem like a pretty neat innovation.
Mouse away.
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