Book List For Access 2007

The book list for Access 2007 is out for the books already published and those that will be published in the near future. Whether you need a comprehensive reference, such as "Microsoft Office Access 2007 Inside Out," by Microsoft Access MVP's (Most Valuable Professionals) Jeff Conrad (AKA "The Access Junkie") and John Viescas, or you're a beginner and need "Access 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual," or you're an experienced developer and you need the "Access 2007 VBA Programmer's Reference" to give you the edge, you'll find a wide variety of choices in the list of 13 books on Microsoft Office Access 2007 listed on Microsoft's Access Blog.

Offer Search On Your Web Site, Part 2

If you have a big Web site or a blog you've been writing pages and posts on for a long time, chances are it's hard to find the brilliant thoughts you've written unless visitors use a search engine. Make it easy for your visitors to find your important information by adding a free Yahoo! Search Engine on your Web site or blog. Customize the look on the search results page to match your Web site or blog and add Yahoo!'s powerful search analysis tools. It's free.

Offer Search On Your Web Site, Part 1

Even with links to Web pages or blog entries from a central "table of contents," sometimes it's hard for new visitors to find information on your Web site or blog. If you just want a simple search box, head over to Yahoo! Search Builder and let the builder quickly create the HTML code for you to paste on your Web page or blog. Now that's easy!

12 Quick Productivity Improvements

Does your IT organization need additional "visibility" to show its value? IT may not contribute to the bottom line, but it saves costs by improving workers' productivity. It's true value is often overlooked, because it's hard to put a dollar sign on the additional revenues earned due to IT's productivity gains.

But it doesn't have to take a lot of effort or Olympic Committee planning to show IT's value to the organization's productivity. Dan Tynan has excellent suggestions for quickly improving the organization's productivity in his article, "12 quick IT productivity wins," such as:

1. Stop losing, start finding
2. Meet less, work more
3. Use IM (with caution)
4. Free up your help desk
5. Get the news you need
6. Get a handle on your projects
7. Stop micromanaging
8. Double your displays
9. Give your WAN a boost
10. Play the game — literally
11. Look for easy ways to integrate
12. Think strategy, not tactics

Why BloggerBotIsDead And What To Do About It

If you're looking for information on why BloggerBotIsDead and the best alternatives, then please follow my link to my blog post's page, because the recommended alternatives have problems you should know about and no one else is reporting on them.

Simulate Access 2007 Runtime Mode

An old trick to prevent users from making changes to a database's design is to use the /runtime switch when opening the database file. Access 2007 has a new trick to do the same thing. Change the ACCDB extension to ACCDR. The user will be able to open the database in runtime mode -- without having to specify the /runtime switch or have the Access Runtime version installed. The UI Ribbon and navigation pane will be missing when the database file opens, so ensure that you make alternate arrangements in your database application design with custom UI Ribbons if necessary.

Announcing Google Apps Premium Edition

Move over Microsoft Office 2007, Google Apps Premium Edition is now on the scene, and for a whole lot less money. Google is charging customers $50 a year for the online software that includes E-mail, word processing, spreadsheet, calendar, Web publishing, and chat. These applications don't reside on one's computer, but on the Internet from Google's Web servers, so an Internet connection and Web browser are required. One of the downsides (and there are many) is that there is no PowerPoint software application equivalent in the Google Apps suite of office tools.

Google invites you to try Google Apps Premier Edition for free through April 30th, 2007. Compare the features of the Premier Edition with the free edition.

See Google Apps FAQ for more information.

SQL Server 2005 Express SP-2 Available

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP-2 is available for download, which means the free edition, SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP-2 is also available for free download. The BOL has also been updated, as well as SQL Server Management Studio Express, the samples, and SQL Server 2005 Feature Pack. All of these are free downloads available from links on the same page as I listed above.

The SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is 36.5 MB, the SQL Server Management Studio Express is 43.1 MB, and the BOL is 135.0 MB. Hopefully, you have broadband, not dial-up Internet access.

Scam Alert: Drive-By Pharming

Symantec's security expert, Zulfikar Ramzan, in conjunction with two professors, Sid Stamm and Markus Jakobsson, at the Indiana University School of Informatics, has produced a proof-of-concept JavaScript Web application that, if disseminated in the wild, would mean that one only need visit a malicious Web page to be attacked and have account User ID's and passwords swiped. No malware is installed, so the user wouldn't even be aware that an attack had occurred. This special method of attack is called "drive-by pharming," and you need to know about it.

The attack is aimed at broadband users whose Internet connection is routed through a router before connecting to the user's computer. The malicious Web application changes the DNS (Domain Name Service) server setting for the router (which requires the router's password -- and half the time people don't change the default password!), so that when the user types in the URL for a bank, the router requests the IP address of the desired URL from the attacker's DNS server, not the DNS server it's supposed to get the address from. Of course, the attacker's DNS server has been set up to return the wrong IP addresses for certain banking and credit card institutions' Web sites, which just so happen to be the IP addresses for the attacker's bogus Web sites that look just like the real thing. The user types in his User ID and password at the bogus Web site and . . . bingo! The attacker has all he needs to transfer money out of the real bank account.

It's easy enough to protect yourself from this scam by changing the default password on your router, so that no one can change its settings without your knowledge. Here is a list of the most common routers and links to the manufacturers' Web sites to find out how to change your router's password.

• D-Link router
• Linksys router
• NETGEAR router

For more information about this scam, including a short video explaining it in more detail, please follow this link.

Get It Done with Access

Need some tutorials to figure out how to use Access for your database tasks? Microsoft has some online tutorials showing how to get it done with Access. So far the online tutorials are:

• Basing one combo box on another
• Shading alternate rows in a report
• Multiple column reports
• Eliminating unwanted blank lines in labels and reports
• Counting in reports
• Summing in reports
• Using parameters with queries and reports
• On time and how much has elapsed

If you don't see a tutorial you're interested in, send your question to msaccess@microsoft.com, and Microsoft will answer as many questions as possible in future tutorials.

Gmail Is Free To Anyone

Did you hear the news? Google decided to share the love on Valentine's Day and announced that anyone may sign up for a free Gmail account, without an invite, without a mobile phone, and without a U.S.-accredited school .edu E-mail address. So now you don't have to follow the instructions I posted 27 Jan. '07 on how to get a free Gmail account, no strings attached. Life just got easier for those who want a spam-free inbox.

And in case you're thinking it's no big deal about a Web E-mail provider, PCWorld voted Google's Gmail #2 in its "The 100 Best Products of 2005," right behind the Mozilla Firefox browser. So go see what you've been missing if you don't already have a Gmail account.

Free Antivirus And Anti-Spyware, Part 2

As I reported in Part 1, once upon a time savvy computer users didn't require antivirus and anti-spyware software, but with today's hacker-infested Internet and slimy virus-dripping and worm-crawling E-mails just waiting to catch us off guard, everyone needs antivirus and anti-spyware software.

AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic

Avira's free AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic has a small impact on system resources, including a small 34 MB file size and only three running processes. It provides typical antivirus services, such as scanning drives and right-click capability to scan individual directories and files.

When tested, AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic detected 100% of in the wild viruses and 85% of zoo viruses. It also claimed two false positives. According to Mary Landesman, About.com's guide to antivirus software, Avira's AntiVir was one of the first five antivirus vendors to release antivirus updates five times during a prolific virus outbreak period, which included 26 outbreaks. AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic does not detect or remove spyware or adware. However, the paid versions do.

Free Antivirus And Anti-Spyware, Part 1

It used to be that savvy computer users didn't require antivirus and anti-spyware software because they could avoid viruses and spyware by never opening E-mail attachments from unknown senders and avoiding disreputable Web sites. But no more. Everyone needs antivirus and anti-spyware software to protect their computers. This doesn't have to be expensive. Some antivirus and anti-spyware vendors offer free versions of their products, and I'll cover some of the most notable or popular ones.

AVG Free Edition

According to Mary Landesman, About.com's guide to antivirus software, "AVG has been certified to remove 100% of in-the-wild viruses -- but results with zoo viruses are a low 81% and those same tests resulted in 11 false positives (detection of viruses in non-infected, legitimate files)." Even so, the AVG Free Edition is still fairly popular, since earlier tests may not reflect today's environment, and AVG Free Edition takes up few computer resources to do the job.

AVG Antivirus And Anti-Spyware for Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME, and 98 are available as free downloads from GRISOFT.

Optimize Your Windows Registry

Over time, Windows operating systems can become sluggish and slow to boot and load programs, even though the hard disk has plenty of disk space and has been defragged -- and there's plenty of memory. The culprit? A bloated Windows Registry, due to installs and uninstalls of software, hardware, and drivers, and repeated changes in Registry settings. A slow computer isn't the only symptom of a sick Windows Registry. Occasionally, something goes wrong and errors are saved in the Registry, which may result in applications to not responding, or the computer freezing, or even system crashes.

The old-fashioned remedy was to format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system and software applications, a time-consuming chore. A better method to is to clean up the Windows Registry by removing the unwanted junk and correcting any Registry errors. Many products that clean up and optimize the Windows Registry are on the market, and some are free, like RegCure, which is available for a free download for a limited time only.

Update (19 Feb. '07): The free download will scan your computer for all problems, but it only offers to fix two limited areas, fonts and file associations. For a price of US$29.95, the rest of the problems will be fixed. Therefore, for being so bogus in its meaning of the term "free download and scan," RegCure's link has been removed from this blog. There are other products out there that don't try to pull a "bait and switch" scam, so one would be better off spending money on those products, not RegCure's. Sorry for my misguidance.

Update (2 Mar. '07): It seems RegCure is a scam by many accounts and user reviews. People have reported RegCure finds as many as 1,100 errors, RegCure cleans them, yet subsequent RegCure scans still find errors! RegCure has picked up on its unpopularity and the power of search engines to draw its customers. If you Google for "RegCure scam," many of the links (and especially the sponsored links!) redirect you straight to RegCure's "free" download page!

If you've been scammed by RegCure, try contacting ClickBank customer service if you purchased the product online through them. If that doesn't work, ask your credit card company for a charge-back.

Opera 9.1 Web Browser Available

The free Opera 9.1 Web Browser is now available for download. The improved security of Opera supports SSL version 3 and 256-bit encryption, provides pop-up blocking and fraud protection against phishing sites, and it clears the history and cache when exiting, protecting your privacy. Version 9 has new features, such as BitTorrent download linkers, a content blocker (for unwanted ads and images), individual site preferences management, thumbnail previews, widget Web applications, and more.

Opera sports loads of features, such as the built-in POP/IMAP E-mail client is a combination E-mail program, news reader, mailing list organizer and RSS/Atom newsfeed reader. It also includes tabbed browsing, a file transfer manager, password manager, fast-forward, and "mouse gestures" (where certain mouse movements launch commonly used features). Opera even includes voice features, which allow you to talk to it to operate its features, or to have documents read aloud to you. How's that for automation?

Security At Public Wi-Fi Hot Spots

You're at an airport waiting for a connecting flight with an hour to kill before it arrives. You see a public Wi-Fi hot spot and decide to fire up your laptop. Why not? It's a free connection to the Internet. Right?

Wait! Public Wi-Fi hot spots are an invitation to "come hack me"! Public Wi-Fi hot spots are becoming more and more commonplace in airports, hotels, restaurants, and even public libraries. However, while public Wi-Fi hot spots are convenient, they are also unencrypted, unsecured networks waiting for hackers to come join the party. If you haven't taken steps to secure your laptop from intruders, your User ID's, passwords, and bank account numbers you transmit through that unsecured network -- and any other data on your hard drive -- could be at risk when you connect to those public networks. Read Preston Gralla's article, "How to protect yourself at wireless hot spots," to learn what steps to take to put up the barricades that hackers can't peek through.

Put Windows Vista Under Your Thumb

Don't have Windows Vista installed on your computer yet? You probably will -- sooner than you think. According to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, Windows Vista is expected to "be adopted five times faster than Windows 95 and twice as fast as Windows XP in the next three months." If you're a power user, you'll need to tweak the defaults and features to get it under your control. Read Preston Gralla's article, "Five Ways to Bend Windows Vista to Your Will," to learn the first things you need to do after installing Windows Vista or buying a new computer with Windows Vista already installed.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 4

Not too keen on writing code to customize the Microsoft Office 2007 UI Ribbon? Fear not. Microsoft Office OneNote MVP Patrick Schmid created a tool for the job, the RibbonCustomizer add-in for Microsoft® Access™, Excel®, Outlook®, PowerPoint®, and Word® 2007. Customize the UI Ribbon with but a few mouse clicks!

Easily customize the UI Ribbon dialog, add groups to the UI Ribbon, switch multiple customizations on and off, or reset tabs to the default with the Starter Edition of the RibbonCustomizer. It even includes pre-defined customizations to get started with.

The Starter Edition is free, and it includes a 30-day free trial of the Professional Edition, which possesses even more features. Requires Windows® XP SP-2, Windows® Server 2003, or Windows® Vista; Microsoft Office® 2007 (no betas); and .NET 2.0 Framework (if not already installed, the 20+ MB file will be downloaded automatically).

Patrick's Web site includes a very detailed tutorial on how to use the RibbonCustomizer, including part 1 and part 2.

Does That File Contain Malware?

Wondering if the free file you just downloaded has a virus or includes some other malware? VirusTotal offers a free scan of any suspicious files using several antivirus engines. Just upload your files using the SSL connection (or the regular connection if you're not worried about security), and VirusTotal will scan your files with multiple popular antivirus engines and display a report of the results. One may also E-mail multiple files to them and a report will be returned with the results.

The Most Popular Open Source Applications

Wondering what the most popular free Open Source applications are? With some help from OpenSourceWindows.org, a blogger named Carol compiled a list of the 20 most popular Windows Open Source applications for 2006, and listed the equivalent portable applications. She even has links to Open Source software for the Mac and for Linux. All of these applications are available as free downloads.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 3

Although it's often mentioned that the XML code needed to customize the Microsoft Office 2007 UI Ribbon can easily be written in any text editor, such as NotePad, one should use better software tools for programming. Microsoft Office Access MVP Gunter Avenius's Microsoft Office Access 2007 UI Ribbon tutorial includes links to the free tools needed to easily and quickly develop custom UI Ribbons.

His tutorial is well organized, and includes plenty of good examples which are available for download. It's so well organized that one may use it as a quick (and useful) reference. The examples include code and often show accompanying graphics to illustrate each concept. Includes troubleshooting tips in the FAQ section.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 2

Need to create a custom UI Ribbon for the new Microsoft Office Access 2007? Viki Selca and Clint Covington of Microsoft wrote a tutorial, "Ribbon Extensibility in Access 2007," that shows how to create a custom UI Ribbon using only Ribbon extensibility markup XML and macros.

I know what you're thinking. "Macros are for weenies." But it turns out that the VBA code won't run due to the new security model unless the user has certain settings set. However, macros can be deemed "safe," so that an application can have a guaranteed minimum functionality, even if the VBA code can't run. Microsoft put extra effort into the macros for Access 2007, so that developers can write as little code as possible (or no code) and still have a reasonably functional database application.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 1

Confused by the new UI Ribbons in Microsoft Office 2007, which have replaced the old familiar CommandBars (which were once called menu bars and tool bars)? (You may have noticed that there's no graphical editor to drag 'n drop items onto the UI Ribbons like we can with CommandBars in earlier versions of Office.) Don't know how to customize the UI Ribbon? Fear not. Free tutorials are available.

Frank Rice of Microsoft and Ken Getz of MCW Technologies, LLC, have written a series of three articles to help get you started programming custom UI Ribbons with XML. (No. I'm not kidding.) Those fancy UI Ribbons are done with XML code (at least the part we can customize). Neat, huh?

Frank's and Ken's first article is Customizing the Office (2007) Ribbon User Interface for Developers (Part 1 of 3). This tutorial shows how to customize the the Microsoft Office 2007 user interface (UI) Ribbon.

Frank's and Ken's second article is Customizing the Office (2007) Ribbon User Interface for Developers (Part 2 of 3). This article contains the details on reference material for the controls and method signatures of the UI Ribbon.

Frank's and Ken's third article is Customizing the Office (2007) Ribbon User Interface for Developers (Part 3 of 3). This article contains the UI Ribbon FAQ.

These articles and tutorial apply to the following software products:

• Microsoft Office Access 2007
• Microsoft Office Excel 2007
• Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
• Microsoft Office Word 2007
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005