Budget Tracking Templates Gone Wrong

Imagine that you are presented with a free budgeting spreadsheet that you can open up in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? Well, in most cases, it is going to be too good to be true, and most cases involving the aforementioned Facebook threat involve a tool just like this. The tool markets itself to business page admins through Facebook Messenger, and while it might seem like a good resource at first glance, it’s far from it.

Once the user opens the file, the malware called “NodeStealer” installs. It can sometimes come bundled with other threats that steal cryptocurrency, disable Microsoft Defender, and other issues. The primary threat, however, is the one that steals your social media credentials, specifically your Facebook business account. It will gain access to your accounts to deploy ads using your financial information to foot the bill. These ads are designed to spread more malware.

Have you ever tried to reclaim access to a Facebook account? If so, you know exactly the type of pain to expect, and hackers are taking advantage of the social media website’s lackluster support options to prolong your suffering.

Here’s How to Dodge This Threat

If you’re aware of the threat, you’ll be more likely to think twice before committing to the click. If someone starts to randomly offer you free resources, you should always do your research before indulging them with your trust. If it looks suspicious, chances are you should be careful around it.

Implementing multi-factor authentication is another effective tool to secure your Google, Facebook, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X accounts. In fact, if you can implement MFA for any account, you absolutely should. The additional layer of security might just save your bacon one of these days.

Finally, if you think that one of your systems has been breached or compromised, you need to take swift action. Change all of your passwords and notify the appropriate parties. There’s no good that can come from sweeping it under the rug.

Dynamic Computer Specialists can help you secure your business. Find out how by calling us at 951-488-1010.

The post This Malware Targets Your Facebook Business Accounts appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

As much as we try to structure our productivity throughout the day, there are always those moments that seem to slip by—both at work and in our personal lives. It can be tough to find time to commit to projects whether your goal is personal or professional.

So, let’s go over some tips that help make this time easier to find. 

The Truth is, the Time is There… You Just Need to Be Ready for It

Most people underestimate the amount of time they actually have available to them—although, to be fair, this time is often hiding in plain sight. Do you find yourself sitting through a long bus trip to get to work, or relegated to the back seat in an uncomfortably silent carpool arrangement? When working from home, how much time do you spend in the morning waiting for your coffee maker of choice to produce your preferred cup (or pot, no judgment from me) of joe? 

The fact of the matter is that in these little moments we chalk up to time wasted, there’s the opportunity for productivity. Small as these moments may seem, nobody said that productive work has to be of a certain duration. By taking advantage of the spare moments before a meeting starts, or when your usual breakfast is cooking, or any other time that would otherwise be lost to the ether, you can accomplish that much more.

How often do you find yourself having some of your best ideas during these moments?

You Just Need to Be Ready for When These Moments Arise

By having the right tools and strategies prepared, you’ll be in a good position to take advantage of every spare moment. Chances are good that you regularly have access to a mobile device with some form of a note-taking app. Get in the habit of quickly typing up your ideas.

If you’d rather rely on a low-tech option, make sure you’re always carrying a pen with you. Everything from a receipt to a napkin can be used to quickly store a thought until you have the opportunity to more permanently record it.

Furthermore, it is important that you manage your expectations. It’s very unlikely that your quick notes will be an earth-shaking idea. Much more likely, it’ll just be the first draft of many ideas that eventually become a real strategy or initiative.

While We Can’t Give You the Inspiration You Need, We Can Give You the Tools You’ll Need to Act Upon It

Reach out to us to learn more about our IT services and support options, and how we can help you and your team accomplish more. Give us a call at 951-488-1010 to get started.

The post Tip of the Week: How to Make Use of Otherwise Wasted Time appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

There are few technology solutions that have been as transformative and important for businesses as email. Unfortunately, however, it’s remarkably easy for a hacker to gain access to an email account to cause all kinds of chaos for a business. Let’s consider ways you can protect your business’ email accounts and, by extension, the rest of your organization’s infrastructure.

Use Strong Passwords

Your employees should always use strong passwords whenever possible, and they should consist of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. Furthermore, they should be on the longer side and updated regularly, avoiding commonly-guessed dates like birthdays, anniversaries, or other information that might be found on social media.

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication

You shouldn’t rely on even the most complex passwords on their own. Instead, you can add an additional layer of security through the use of multi-factor authentication methods. These consist of codes sent to mobile devices or emails, as well as biometric tools. They are great in the event a hacker has guessed a password, as MFA will keep them locked out without the second credential.

Train Your Team on Phishing Awareness

Even educated users can fall victim to phishing attacks, which makes it all the more important for those who aren’t educated to get with the program. Teach your employees what to look for when they suspect that there is something wrong, and encourage them to check senders, review message content for spelling and grammar errors, and avoid attachments or links when there is any doubt. In other words, teach them that skepticism is critical to ensuring that your business doesn’t fall victim to phishing attacks.

Utilize Email Encryption

Businesses need encryption to keep their email safe, particularly where sensitive information is concerned. Without encryption for messages and attachments, emails could be intercepted and read by unauthorized parties, leading to hefty compliance and regulatory fines.

Update and Patch Your Systems

Your email system needs to be patched and updated regularly to ensure that it is protected from the latest threats. In this way, it’s no different from any other application your business uses. Proactive maintenance should be applied to guarantee it operates smoothly.

These tasks are important to ensure that your business can withstand the myriad of attacks that will strike your email system. Be ready today by contacting Dynamic Computer Specialists at 951-488-1010.

The post How to Keep Your Email Safe and Secure From Threats appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

Unfortunately, the Internet isn’t always perfect. It can be pretty dangerous, and we’d like to share some surprising terms that can lead to dangerous websites and malware if you search for them on Google.

Quick disclaimer: None of these topics are necessarily dangerous on their own, and there is bound to be a lot of great, wholesome and family-friendly content about each of these terms out there on the Internet. That being said, we’re going to explore how these terms ended up being so dangerous to show you why you, your family, and your coworkers should be careful online.

Threats Lurk Beyond Innocent Family-Friendly Topics

A lot of the things that kids really enjoy are often targeted. Cybercriminals know that a child might not be as well-versed in cybersecurity as an adult, so if they can spread malware to kids doing innocent searches for shows and movies, they will.

According to Home Security Heroes, an organization dedicated to helping families stay safe online, over half of the search results for terms like “The Boss Baby,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and “Pokémon” could lead to malware or other online threats.

Video game-related search terms like “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” carries a pretty strong risk of malware as well, with 46 percent of the results containing malware-infected domains. This is a cute game where players move onto an island and make friends with talking dogs, frogs, and other adorable animals and give each other gifts. The content of the game itself is extremely kid-friendly, but websites offering guides or illegal downloads of the game could be dangerous.

The Most Dangerous Celebrities to Search For

Several years ago, long before the pandemic, Emma Watson was one of the most dangerous celebrities to Google search, with a shocking number of websites having links to malware or other potential threats. 

Today, the prom king and queen of dangerous search results go to the fabulous Chris Hemsworth and Anne Hathaway—so the mighty Thor and 2012’s Catwoman for the comic book nerds out there. Interestingly enough, Chris Hemsworth and Anne Hathaway were set to star in a movie together back in 2013 called Robopocalypse, but it doesn’t seem to have come to fruition.

To no fault of their own, these two celebrities suffer from a similar affliction to the family-friendly movies above, but an estimated 75 percent of the search results for their names potentially contain harmful content or malware.

Other actors and actresses like Kaley Cuoco, Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Pine, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, and Zendaya also have a ton of risky search results.

But We Can’t Ignore the Queen

She’s always having her best year ever, and is loved and adored by fans of all ages. Yes, we’re talking about the infamous Taylor Swift. Tay-tay, or T-Swizzle, or Queen America herself might be one of the greatest musical icons of our time, but a whopping 79 percent of her search results are potentially dangerous.

That doesn’t mean you can’t search for her and find safe content, but it does mean that there are thousands of websites out there that are trying to trick users into reading up on the brightest star in the music industry, only to infect your computer with malware or steal your personal information.

If you are a little more old school, the Backstreet Boys are right behind her with 76% of their results being sketchy and potentially dangerous.

The Huntsman Spider

What’s bigger than your hand, has eight legs, and eats mice?

You don’t really want to know, but it’s the huntsman spider.

We’re not sure what percentage of websites about this horrific monstrosity have malware; in fact, Googling it is probably a lot safer for your computer than searching for Chris Pratt. Still, these spiders are huge and anyone without ironclad constitutions should probably avoid giving themselves nightmares and not go down that rabbit hole.

All Joking Aside, the Internet Can Be a Dangerous Place

There is a lot of great information and opportunities on the Internet, but there are plenty of people trying to take advantage of everyone else as well. In order to protect yourself, you need to have the proper security measures in place, including antivirus and anti-malware. Your organization needs to be monitoring your endpoints and security, and equip your network with firewalls and security policies that keep your employees and customers safe.

If you want help securing your business, give us a call at 951-488-1010.

The post The Most Dangerous Things to Search for on Google appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

Capacity of Batteries

Fundamentally, the capacity of the laptop battery is a pivotal factor in determining its endurance. Smaller and slimmer laptops, designed for portability, frequently house batteries that may not be sufficiently large, compromising their overall longevity.

Power-Sapping Components

Certain laptops are equipped with power-intensive components, including high-performance processors, robust graphics cards, and ultra-high-resolution displays. These components significantly contribute to power consumption, swiftly depleting the laptop’s battery life.

Processes Running in the Background

The presence of background processes and applications running when the laptop is not actively in use can lead to power drain. Managing these processes effectively is crucial, as constant updates, syncing, and resource-intensive background applications can impact battery life.

Not Controlling Screen Brightness

The display plays a major role in power consumption, with higher brightness settings demanding more power. Additionally, the prevalence of high-resolution displays in modern laptops can adversely affect battery life. Actively managing display settings is essential for maximizing battery longevity.

Power Management

As batteries age, their capacity naturally degrades. Older laptops may experience reduced battery performance, exacerbated by factors such as heat and charging patterns. Optimizing power management settings, including screen brightness and power profiles, can help extend battery life.

Multitasking and Resource Usage

The simultaneous use of resource-intensive applications and multitasking can significantly accelerate battery drain. Running numerous browser tabs or resource-heavy applications concurrently will inevitably lead to a quicker depletion of the laptop’s battery.

Some Laptops Simply Have Poor Battery Life

Power-hungry desktop replacement laptops just drain batteries faster, and smaller laptops with smaller batteries have less to work with. Extremely efficient devices tend to use less power, but are sometimes a little slower, so when shopping around for a laptop, you’ll need to make the judgment call to decide what works best for you.

If you find yourself constantly seeking a power source for your laptop, it may be an indication that an upgrade is in order. Whether you’re interested in enhancing your team’s mobile workstations or seeking guidance on selecting a new laptop, feel free to reach out to us today at 951-488-1010.

The post Why Does My Laptop Battery Drain So Fast? appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

Let’s begin by breaking down what we are as a managed service provider, and what we provide as such.

What are Managed IT Services, and What Makes Them So Different Than Typical Computer Support?

Managed services are the handling of a company’s assorted IT needs by an outsourced consultancy, staffed with subject matter experts who work proactively to prevent any possible IT issues before they interfere with a client business’ productivity. On top of this, true managed services also involve the active optimization and improvement of the business’ technology—not just preventing issues, but actually counteracting them through increased productivity that’s supplemented by on-demand technical support for a business’ employees.

Just a few short years ago, the term “managed services” was relatively niche. Today, the various attributes that MSPs—managed service providers—offer as an element of their business model have proven beneficial enough that the idea has become more noticeable, if you know where to look.

How to Spot an MSP

First of all, if you’re reading this, you’ve found one of the best options for managed services in AREASERVED. However, if you’re one who likes to do their due diligence, a real MSP will generally offer some version of the following services:

• MSPs commonly work remotely, only coming onsite when there’s a need that requires hands-on mediation. This not only cuts down on in-office distractions and interruptions, it allows your issues to be resolved much more quickly.
• While many traditional IT companies would operate on a piecemeal basis, the ongoing services of an MSP make the subscription model a much better option. Not only does this allow you to more confidently predict your IT maintenance costs and budget appropriately, it also gives the client clear expectations through a pre-arranged service level agreement.
• Relatedly, rather than offering their services in catch-all blocks, an MSP can customize their services and prices to more exactly fit the needs of a client. Then, if those needs ever change, the MSP can adjust to meet them. This eliminates the tendency for companies to either overinvest beyond their needs, or miss out on clearly beneficial services because the price is too high.
• Critically, most MSPs offer all-hours support and remote maintenance services, so regardless of when an issue needs to be resolved, someone is there to work toward a solution.

In addition to these services, many MSPs can step in and actively boost your existing in-house IT department. Let’s say you have a few legacy systems that are on their way to being replaced and upgraded, but still need to be supported in the meantime. An MSP is motivated to keep their team educated so they will be able to offer that support if you lack a team member with the required knowledge.

Alternatively, your existing team may not be sufficient to handle both the maintenance of your existing systems and also serve their equally important function of strategizing improvements for the future. With the help of a managed service provider, either one can be taken off your internal team’s plate, allowing them to more effectively serve their role.

Plus, MSPs regularly communicate with assorted vendors to obtain services for their clientele. In these cases, you and the rest of the MSP’s clients effectively join the MSP as part of a cooperative, as an MSP often has access to better deals due to their regular business that can then be passed to you. 

Do the Services of an MSP Sound Beneficial to You?

Now, I know you likely have options to consider, but my team and I would love the chance to talk to you more directly about your needs and challenges so we can better roadmap an approach that would work best for you. Of course, if you aren’t ready for that yet, we’re also here to answer any questions you may have regarding our services.

In either case, give us a call at 951-488-1010 to learn more.

The post We’re a Managed Service Provider… So, What Does That Mean? appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

Introducing Killware, About as Bad As Cybercrime Gets

Imagine a computer virus or malware that is specifically designed for your organization. It knows the software and hardware you are using. It knows what settings and configurations can cause the most harm to your organization. It knows exactly how to slip in, infect the most vulnerable parts of your business, and do massive damage.

That implies a lot of things. It suggests that the cybercriminals targeting you are intimate with your organization and its inner workings. It suggests that the bad guys have an insider, or that you’ve already been compromised so severely that they may as well have an inside agent. Either way, at this point, the network is more their network than it is your own.

But it gets worse.

Not only can they dish out a threat to do harm to your business, but the goal of Killware is to cause as much public harm as possible. This is a frightening mixture of cybercrime and terrorism. It’s real, and it has real consequences.

A Cyberattack Almost Poisoned an Entire Community in Florida

In 2021, a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida, a small city with a population of almost 15,000 people, suffered from a cyberattack. The attack seemed to have a singular goal; to raise the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water that Oldsmar residents were drinking. 

Sodium Hydroxide is used in water treatment to manage the pH level and reduce lead corrosion. In small amounts, it is considered safe. In larger quantities, it can cause severe burns and permanent tissue damage. The attack increased the amount of sodium hydroxide being added to the water by a factor of 100.

Fortunately, staff at the water treatment plant noticed the change immediately and nobody was hurt.

Cities and Local Government Systems are Often the Target

We’ve seen a few cases over the years where malware disrupted portions of city and town infrastructure. In 2018, Atlanta suffered from an attack that took down over a third of its systems, and it cost taxpayers over $17 million and over a year before things went back to normal.

In 2019, Baltimore suffered from a similar attack, which impacted the state’s real estate market and dozens of other systems. The attack cost the city an estimated $18 million.

Healthcare, Nonprofit Organizations, Banks, and Others are at Risk Too

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warns that other critical services like hospitals, police departments, utilities, and other highly networked industries are potential targets for this kind of attack.

In order to reduce the risk, organizations need to take cybersecurity seriously, and ensure that regular audits are happening throughout the year. Committing to industry compliance standards is a good first step, but depending on your industry, your business may want to raise the bar even more.

No matter what kind of organization you run, you have employees and customers to protect. Dynamic Computer Specialists can help secure your business so that your organization avoids doing harm to the community in the event of one of these devastating attacks. 

The post As if We All Didn’t Have Enough to Worry About: Let’s Look At Killware appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

What Do We Mean By Scams?

When I say scam, I’m getting into some pretty broad territory. I’m talking about efforts to trick a person into giving their time, energy, money, or something else of value to someone who is trying to earn it through trickery, fear, or emotional manipulation.

In other words, we’re not going to talk about computers very much in this blog post.

Here are just a few examples of some common scams:

• Account issue or password scams – This is usually in the form of an email or text message claiming that there is a problem with an online account or payment, urging you to quickly log in using a fake link, so that a scammer can steal your credentials.
• Fake charity scams – Someone poses as a real or fake charity to try to get money from you.
• Debt collection scams – Someone poses as a debt collector to collect money you owe, or don’t actually owe.
• Settlement and debt relief scams – Someone offering to renegotiate or settle debt with the goal of simply taking your money.
• Mortgage scams – A wide range of scams where the scammer offers relief or tries to trick homeowners into sending their closing costs or payments to somewhere other than the actual lender. This can even result in a scammer owning your house.
• Imposter scams – A scammer pretends to be someone you know (often on social media) or someone with authority you can trust to trick you into sending them money or sensitive information.
• Romance scams – A scammer poses as a new love interest and tricks you into falling for them online so they can trick you out of your money.
• Grandparent scams – A complex scam where a scammer poses as a relative in desperate need for help asking you to transfer money without thinking about it.
• Mail fraud – Legitimate looking mail that is designed to trick you into sending money or personal information.
• Lottery and prize scams – A scammer contacts you to tell you that you’ve won something, and asks you to pay upfront for fees and taxes.
• Mobile payment fraud – Legitimate wallet apps like Venmo, Zelle, and others are full of scammers who will simply request money from you to see if you will fall for it.
• Online sales fraud – Scammers use Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and other sites to send money for goods, and then cancel the payment after you’ve shipped the item.
• Money mules – Not a scam in itself, but these are people caught up in a scam that might not even know it. They are recruited to collect money for scammers for various scams.

There are countless more, but this just shows you the scope that we are dealing with.

Scammers use a wide variety of communication methods to trick you, including phone calls, text messages, mail, email, physical meetings, television ads, website ads, social media, or altering legitimate signage and publicly accessible information.

The biggest thing to look out for with any sort of scam is an inflated sense of urgency. The scammers want you to act without thinking, and the most abhorrent scams above, like grandparent scams and imposter scams often make victims believe that a loved one is in danger in order to bypass any common sense one might have. 

Human Beings are Scammed CONSTANTLY

You probably already know this, but it’s easy to drown it all out. How often does your phone ring and say “Scam Likely?” Most of us just sort of ignore it now. Huge portions of the population just simply don’t answer phone calls from people who aren’t in their contacts unless they are expecting something, because most personal phone calls are scams.

What about email? While we’ve come a long way with spam protection, how many emails do you instinctively scroll past because you simply know it’s unsolicited or toxic or some sort of scam? We’re just all conditioned to see these things every day… and then I found some statistics that blew my mind.

It’s estimated that older adults, particularly baby boomers and seniors in general, observe an average of at least one scam every hour of their lives.

That’s a wild number, and while we couldn’t find a report for younger people, those of us who work on computers for eight or nine hours a day or more likely have a similar experience.

Some other things about age and demographics were interesting—Gen Z (people born in the late 1990s through the early 2010s) have reported higher rates of victimization when it comes to online scams. Growing up with the technology doesn’t necessarily mean you are less prone to being victimized while using it.

It’s also believed that older generations, again, baby boomers and seniors, simply don’t always report it when they fall victim to a scam. When people are asked why, they usually say they wanted to take responsibility for their actions, or that they didn’t want to be shamed for it.

You Aren’t Dumb For Falling Victim to a Scam

Let’s make this totally clear. If you look at the numbers, the sheer barrage of constant scams and attacks the average person just simply wades through in a day, it’s an incredible feat that we aren’t all going out of our minds.

Every single one of us has experiences in life where it’s the first time you have dealt with something, and you don’t know what to expect, and this puts you in a vulnerable state.

For instance, if you are a first time home buyer, and someone is mailing you some official-looking information about paying for access to your deed, it’s very possible that it could slip past your fraud-detecting radar. Is this a normal part of the process? Should I just do it? Should I contact my lawyer or my broker or at least ask other homeowners?

The problem is, the home-buying process is exhausting, and now you are in the middle of moving in and wrestling with your Internet service provider, your electric company, your former landlord, a moving company, all while your neighbors are telling you that the last owner always let them pick the apples from your new apple trees. Your fraud-detecting radar is shot and drained at this point, and it’s easier to fall for a simple scam.

The same goes for a grandparent scam—if you get a phone call from a loved-ones phone, and you hear their voice, stressed and tear-filled, pleading to help them, and then a lawyer gets on the phone and says your son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter was in an accident and are being kept in jail and you need to pay bail, your emotions will kick in. As a human being, you are doing the right thing by having an emotional response and reacting with compassion, but the people on the other end of the phone know this and are taking advantage of it.

Being a victim of a scam isn’t your fault. You should always report it, and tell your story so that others can learn from it. You aren’t dumb for being a victim. I’m not going to tell you that being more mindful of these things would have prevented it. If you were scammed, you already know this. You’ve learned your lesson, and like all of us, you’ll continue to be targeted and you’ll continue to avoid 99% of the scams that target you.

The best thing you can do is tell others about it. Turn your story into a warning for others. 

Scam artists follow a very effective playbook that wouldn’t be so effective if everyone was aware of it. They are incredibly good at covering their tracks and making it nearly impossible to get caught, so the best way we can combat these threats is by making the public more aware so that everyone knows what to look for.

Yes, there are cybersecurity measures to help with the online stuff, and that’s incredibly important. I can tell you to make sure you are using strong, secure passwords, and using unique passwords everywhere, and using multi-factor authentication, and making sure your business is secure, etc. Those are critically important, but no cybersecurity protection is going to stop Pam in HR from getting a text message that looks like it comes from the CEO’s phone, asking her to buy a few thousand dollars worth of gift cards to mail out. The only thing that stops that is awareness.

That’s all. Those are just some thoughts we had. This is important stuff, and I can’t stress enough how commonplace it is. Stay vigilant, and don’t hesitate to simply call and ask us if you get something that raises your suspicions. We’re here to protect local businesses, and we hope that we can serve our community at the same time. If you’d like to talk about cybersecurity and how we can protect your business and its people, give us a call at 951-488-1010.

The post There’s No Shame in Being Scammed appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

Not Actively Confronting Cybersecurity Threats

Businesses must contend with the constant threat of cyberattacks. They are everywhere, and are a massive threat to any business. Malware, ransomware, phishing, and other forms of cyber threats keep businesses on their toes. Protecting sensitive data and ensuring the security of digital assets is a critical concern.

Keeping Data Private and Meeting Compliance

As regulations governing data privacy become stronger and more specific, businesses need to ensure that they remain compliant. Managing and securing customer data in accordance with legal requirements is a significant challenge.

Managing Legacy Systems and Integration

Many businesses operate with legacy systems that may be outdated and incompatible with newer technologies. This presents a problem, but it’s manageable by integrating these systems with modern solutions, or simply upgrading to new platforms. This can be expensive, and can lead to challenges in achieving seamless workflow and data integration if not handled properly.

Digital Transformation Challenges

Adopting new technologies and undergoing digital transformation can be disruptive. Companies may face resistance from employees, encounter skill gaps, and deal with the need to restructure processes. Managing this transformation effectively is crucial to being able to improve your customer’s experience.

Scaling and Agility

As businesses grow, their IT infrastructure needs to scale accordingly. Scalability challenges may arise when outdated or inadequate systems cannot handle increased workloads, leading to significant performance issues. Using cloud-based solutions do quite a bit to address scalability concerns that pop up, specifically those that tend to rear their head during short-term projects. 

Addressing these technology issues requires a proactive approach, strategic planning, and ongoing investment in both cybersecurity measures and employee training. It’s important for businesses to stay on top of technological developments, and we can help. Our team of IT professionals have a lot of experience getting businesses the technology that works for them. Give us a call today at 951-488-1010 to learn more.

The post Five Problems Businesses Have with Modern IT appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.

Take Google Sheets, for instance.

It’s true! Not only does Google Sheets offer fully customizable templates intended specifically for project management purposes, there are a lot of other features that are conducive to the kind of processes that should make up your project management activities.

For instance:

Google Sheets Allows You to Create Custom Dropdown Lists

With all the standard updates that proper project management will require—for instance, the status of certain goals and initiatives within your process—having the ability to select from a preconfigured list is hugely helpful. 

The existing templates that Sheets offers give you the opportunity to edit the drop-downs they come populated with. All you have to do is click the small downward arrow in the cell, select the pencil icon in the resulting menu, and edit the rules for the dropdown. For added visibility, you can even apply different colors to the different options. 

However, you won’t be able to add new options to your dropdowns or change the order in which they appear if using a preconfigured option. That will require you to create a dropdown menu from scratch. Once you’ve selected the cell or range of cells you want the dropdown to appear in, click Insert and then select Dropdown. A sidebar will appear for you to populate the data validation rules you want… or in other words, what options you want your dropdown menu to include. Once you’ve added and arranged your options, click Done to complete the process.

The Inherent Collaboration within Google Sheets Makes It Easier to Fully Plan a Project

Today’s workplace is increasingly built on collaborative work, which means that it is all the more important that the tools used therein are conducive to this kind of collaboration. Google Sheets, just as with the rest of the Google Workspace offering, is built to help you accomplish just that. Adding contributors to your spreadsheet is a simple matter… all you need to do is click the Share button at the top right of your page, select who you want to grant access to and specify the level of access and permissions you want to provide.

Once you’ve done so, others will be able to interact with a given Sheet at the level you have permitted them to—and you’ll still be able to adjust these permissions as needs change.

Google Sheets Allows You to Tag Your Collaborators

Google Sheets offers a feature called smart chips—small interactive widgets that can be embedded into your documents that link to pertinent information. You can tag different collaborators directly in the spreadsheet, and from there, email them, kick off a video chat, or (most applicable to our purposes today) assign a task to them.

We Can Help Outfit You with Proper Project Management Software, Too

Of course, you may prefer to use a dedicated software to help organize your company’s activities. Turning to us means you’ll have someone in the wings to help you procure, manage, and maintain all of the tools that your company uses.

Give us a call at 951-488-1010 to learn more.

The post Tip of the Week: Google Sheets Makes a Great Project Management Tool appeared first on Dynamic Computer Specialists.