10-03 Contents: Hacker ransom, Spreadsheet Tips PDF, error stories, EuroCACS Spreadsheet Auditing, VBA knowledge test
ISSN 1649-2374 This issue online at http://www.sysmod.com/praxis/prax1003.htm [Previous] [Index] [Next]
| Systems Modelling Ltd.: Managing reality in Information Systems - strategies for success | |
IN THIS ISSUE |
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| Risk Hack attack on SMEs demands $700 to unlock data |
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| Spreadsheets Spreadsheet Pitfalls, Best Practices, and Practical Tips If a spreadsheet were music... Spreadsheet error stories seen in the news EuroCACS Spreadsheet Auditing workshop March 21, Budapest Test your VBA knowledge |
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| Off
Topic Trompe l'oeil 3D street art |
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| About this newsletter and Archives Disclaimer Subscribe and Unsubscribe information |
I'm off to Budapest mid-March to co-present a
workshop on spreadsheet auditing with Ray Butler. Contact me if you'd
like such a workshop run in your organisation.
Patrick O'Beirne
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http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0305/cybercrime.html
The companies say their computer systems were hacked, their data such as order books and customer data had been encrypted, their backup corrupted, and their businesses paralysed. They told gardaí that there was a note left on their computers demanding money - in one case $700 for the code to unlock the information. The Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation has consulted specialists from the UCD Cybercrime Centre to help with the investigation.
IRISS (www.iriss.ie) recommends the following steps to protect your company falling victim to the attack;
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Mary Pat Campbell, an actuary, has written articles for an
actuarial newsletter on good spreadsheet practice. They have been
compiled together for the Society of Actuaries Actuarial Practice Forum
at.
http://www.soa.org/library/journals/actuarial-practice-forum/2010/february/apf-2010-02-toc.aspx#campbell
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Members of the EuSpRIG mail list had some diversion thinking of analogies in music kicked off by Ray Panko's comment "I just finished inspecting a large spreadsheet that was definitely baroque. Should we start referring to keyboarding errors as slack key music?How about customizable ring tones for different types of error messages?"
"Many of the spreadsheets I saw in my tax inspecting days were Punk Rock - An inability to play well was considered a positive advantage by the perpetrators"
"And of course there's the old saying, when something's not quite right: 'Close enough for country music'."
It's
the listener who decides whether a performance of even a simple
tune is bad enough to be annoying. If you have a good sense
of
pitch then even a small error can irritate. Symphonies can be complex
but understandable by many; twelve-tone compositions can be
simple but incomprehensible.One of the skills of the craft and art is
to make necessarily complex material accessible
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Ray Butler and I are giving a one-day workshop on Auditing
Spreadsheet Risk and Quality
If you're at the conference, say hello!
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http://www.tykoh.com/vbfba_assesment.php
Trainer Alex
Palfi in Australia offers a free on-line assessment of your
Visual Basic skills. They range from simple to non-trivial, and cover
practical aspects in about 40 questions. Comments from those who took
the test
can be read at
http://www.dailydoseofexcel.com/archives/2010/02/09/vba-assessment/
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XLTest is my spreadsheet auditing addin. It provides static analysis and dynamic testing of spreadsheet models in both easy-to-see colour map views and exhaustive listings of suspicious elements.
http://www.sysmod.com/xltest/index.htm
If you own the book "Spreadsheet Check and Control" you save the cost of the book - 30 euro! Simply enter into the discount code box on that page, the first word on the top left of page 131.____________________________________________________________
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Simply send your comments to FEEDBACK (at) SYSMOD (dot) COM
Thank you! Patrick O'Beirne, Editor
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Trompe-l'oeil 3D Pavement art by Edgar Mueller uses the street as a canvas. If one looks from the right spot, its three-dimensional painting becomes the perfect illusion. He paints over large areas of urban public life and gives them a new appearance, thereby challenging the perceptions of passers-by.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNYtd0Ayt0
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