Spreadsheet software is important for homes, students and businesses, so we’ve put together a lineup with something for all these arenas. We chose good-quality spreadsheet software, with a solid mix of paid-for and free products. To avoid oversimplifying things, we opted not to include very basic models that don’t provide anything other than a basic grid, and we haven’t included programs that aren’t secure, as spreadsheets often deal with sensitive or important data.
We looked at compatibility, versatility, features and available support to determine which spreadsheets deserved a spot on our lineup. If you need a complete office suite, take a look at our office software guide, where you’ll find a nice mix of free and priced options. On this site you will find articles related to spreadsheets as well as reviews of spreadsheet software.
The Microsoft Evaluation Center brings you full-featured Microsoft product evaluation software available for download or trial on Microsoft Azure. Windows Server 2012 R2 is an enterprise-class cloud and datacenter platform that provides a wide range of new and enhanced features and capabilities spanning server virtualization, storage, software-defined networking, server management and automation, web and application platform, access and information protection, virtual desktop.
Best Spreadsheet Software for Businesses
Microsoft Excel is our choice for the best spreadsheet software for businesses because of its versatility and functionality. Businesses need software they can rely on, and Excel fits the bill, helping you stay on track with simple or complex spreadsheets. There is an extensive range of formulas that you can use to make calculations or perform specific functions, and you can filter data according to your business needs.
This professional-grade software isn’t free, but it is available with a reasonable monthly subscription, and even after several decades, it’s still the most respected office spreadsheet solution. This software works across PC, Mac and mobile devices. With OneDrive, you can share and access your spreadsheets in the cloud from anywhere and work on them collaboratively. The majority of other file formats are compatible with Excel files, so should someone send you a file in another file format, Excel should be able to open it and render the contents correctly.
Microsoft Excel
Excel is part of the Microsoft Office suite and works well in conjunction with the other programs in the bundle. You can purchase Excel as a stand-alone product, as part of a desktop suite or as part of Office 365. It’s most functional and most cost-effective as part of the Microsoft Office desktop suite or as part of Office 365.
Read more hereBest Spreadsheet Software for Students
Many of these spreadsheet programs would serve schools and students well. However, LibreOffice Calc stands out because it’s free and open source, so there are no licensing restrictions. This means that schools can provide students with copies of the software and install the software across multiple PCs and laptops without significant expense, and without breaching any licensing terms that may be associated with similar software. Choosing a well-rounded free program also means that any student with a computer can access the software, so it puts every student on a level playing field. Additionally, because it’s open source, LibreOffice, including its Calc software, is a great educational tool for students working on digital and programming skills.
This spreadsheet software has plenty of features and is versatile enough to equal its biggest premium-cost rivals. It has an impressive selection of templates and allows students to create their own or import them from third-party sources. Students and teachers can also use extensions or add-ons designed to increase Calc’s versatility as an educational tool.
LibreOffice Calc
Calc is the spreadsheet software included with LibreOffice. It’s a popular choice for academic, home and business users looking for an inexpensive spreadsheet program because it’s open source. The whole office suite it comes in is free and doesn’t have any licensing restrictions.
Read more hereBest Spreadsheet Software for Home Users
For home users, Google Sheets is our first choice. Part of the Google Apps suite and connected to Google Drive, this spreadsheet software is versatile, free to use and user-friendly. You can easily create to-do lists, schedules and holiday shopping lists, then access them from any computer or mobile device with the Google Drive app. Because it has an array of formulas ready for use, along with a huge number of commonly used templates, this spreadsheet application makes it easy to keep track of home or business finances and to create budgets, calendars, planners, invoices and time sheets.
This is a web-based spreadsheet application, making it easy to access, and you get a generous amount of free cloud storage when you sign up. With its free, easy accessibility and simple usage, Google Sheets is attractive to all kinds of users. It’s easy to share your spreadsheets via email invitation or a link, as well as to set read-only, comment or edit permissions for each person you share with.
Google Sheets
Google Sheets is part of the Google Apps suite. Like the rest of the suite's productivity applications, it has a focus on easy collaboration and a simple, user-friendly interface. While it’s not available as a stand-alone application, you’ll likely find yourself using at least some of the other apps on a regular basis.
Read more hereCompatibility
Compatibility with Microsoft Excel files is key for any spreadsheet software, simply because so many people use that program to create spreadsheets. Therefore, the spreadsheet software you choose should be able to read and write XLS and XLSX files and render them correctly. Choose software that allows you to easily convert your files into PDF format if you want to ensure your spreadsheets cannot be easily altered without leaving an electronic footprint. Creating PDF files also reduces file sizes and lets you easily add password protection. If you create spreadsheets that you want to publish online, choose a program that lets you easily convert spreadsheets into HTML.
Versatility
How versatile your spreadsheet software should be depends entirely on what you want to use it for. If you’re a student or a professional wanting to impress with your presentation or data collation, you need to be able to integrate graphics and alter the fonts, colors and other aesthetic qualities. If you want simple visual representations of your collected data, you need to be able to easily create charts from your entries.
Consider whether you need remote or mobile access to your spreadsheets. If so, you need an easily shareable or cloud-compatible application. For those who work collaboratively, it’s important to have spreadsheet software that allows simultaneous editing and multi-user functionality. If all you want to do is save, email and print spreadsheets, a desktop-only program will suffice.
Features
The best spreadsheet software programs have extensive formula selections that are easily accessible. Your software should also have a variety of templates on hand for common spreadsheets so you don’t have to lay out budget sheets, calendars and planners from scratch every time. If you’re sharing or collaborating with other people, make sure you can lock or freeze specific columns so others can’t accidentally edit or overwrite them.
Also note how many rows and columns a spreadsheet can accommodate. Some are unlimited, while others restrict you to just 250. If you deal with complex or large quantities of data, choosing a spreadsheet application that features pivot tables makes sense, as they provide an easy way of summarizing data.
Support
Whether you’re an advanced user or a novice, it's invaluable for your software to have a solid support system, including plenty of tutorials, step-by-step instructions and FAQs pages. Having email, phone and forum support at your disposal helps to ensure you don’t get stuck without a solution.
About the Windows Secure Host Baseline
The Windows Secure Host Baseline (SHB) provides an automated and flexible approach for assisting the DoD in deploying the latest releases of Windows 10 using a framework that can be consumed by organizations of all sizes.
The DoD CIO issued a memo on November 20, 2015 directing Combatant Commands, Services, Agencies and Field Activities (CC/S/As) to rapidly deploy the Windows 10 operating system throughout their respective organizations with the objective of completing deployment by the end of January 2017. The Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a memo on February 26, 2016 directing the DoD to complete a rapid deployment and transition to Microsoft Windows 10 Secure Host Baseline by the end of January 2017.[1]
Formal product evaluations also support the move to Windows 10. The National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) oversees evaluations of commercial IT products for use in National Security Systems.
- Common Criteria evaluation of Windows 10 against NIAP Protection Profile for General Purpose Operating Systems completed April 5, 2016 and updated February 2, 2017 to include Windows Server 2016.
- Common Criteria evaluation of Windows 10 against NIAP Protection Profile for Mobile Device Fundamentals completed January 29, 2016 and updated April 12, 2017 to include Windows Server 2016.
- Common Criteria evaluation of Windows 10 against NIAP Protection Profile for IPsec Virtual Private Network (VPN) Clients completed November 10, 2016 and updated December 29, 2016 to include Windows Server 2016.
- NISTFIPS 140-2 validation of Windows 10 cryptographic modules was completed on June 2, 2016 (see certificate numbers 2600, 2601, 2602, 2603, 2604, 2605, 2606, and 2607).
Using a Secure Host Baseline is one of NSA Information Assurance top 10 mitigation strategies. The DoD Secure Host Baseline also exemplifies other IAD top 10 mitigation strategies such as using application whitelisting, enabling anti-exploitation features, and using the latest version of the operating system and applications.
About this repository
This repository hosts Group Policy objects, compliance checks, and configuration tools in support of the DoD Secure Host Baseline (SHB) framework for Windows 10. Administrators of National Security Systems, such as those who are part of the Defense Industrial Base, can leverage this repository in lieu of access to the DoD SHB framework for Windows 10 which requires a Common Access Card (CAC) or Personal Identification Verification (PIV) smart card to access.
Questions or comments can be submitted to the repository issue tracker or posted on Windows 10 Secure Host Baseline project forums on Software Forge which requires a CAC or PIV smart card to access.
Repository content
Group Policy Objects
- The ActivClient folder contains ActivClient Computer policy for those who use smart card logons with ActivClient software.
- The Adobe Reader folder contains Adobe Reader DC Computer and User policies for the latest version of Adobe Reader DC.
- The AppLocker folder contains AppLocker Computer policy for the latest version of Windows 10.
- The Certificates folder contains Computer policy for distributing the DoD Root and Intermediate Certificate Authorities.
- The Chrome folder contains Chrome browser Computer policy for the latest version of Chrome.
- The Internet Explorer folder contains Internet Explorer 11 Computer and User policies for latest version of Windows 10.
- The Office folder contains Office 2013 and Office 2016 policy.
- The Windows folder contains Windows 10 User and Computer policies for the latest version of Windows 10.
- The Windows Firewall folder contains Windows Firewall Computer policy for the latest version of Windows 10.
Scripts and tools
Scripts for aiding users with the SHB are located in the Scripts sub folders of each component. Scripts available for use so far:
Compliance checks
Nessus (aka ACAS in the DoD) audit files are included in this repository. Compliance checks are available for:
Instructions for running the compliance checks in a domain or standalone environment can be found on the Compliance page.
Getting started
To get started using the tools:
- Download the repository as a zip file
Downloading the repository
Download the current code to your Downloads folder. It will be saved as Windows-Secure-Host-Baseline-master.zip by default.
Configuring the PowerShell environment
The PowerShell commands are meant to run from a system with at least PowerShell 3.0 installed. PowerShell may need to be configured to run the commands.
Changing the PowerShell execution policy
Users may need to change the default PowerShell execution policy. This can be achieved in a number of different ways:
- Open a command prompt and run powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted and run scripts from that PowerShell session.
- Open a PowerShell prompt and run Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope Process and run scripts from the current PowerShell session.
- Open an administrative PowerShell prompt and run Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted and run scripts from any PowerShell session.
Unblocking the PowerShell scripts
Users will need to unblock the downloaded zip file since it will be marked as having been downloaded from the Internet which PowerShell will block from executing by default. Open a PowerShell prompt and run the following commands to unblock the PowerShell code in the zip file:
cd $env:USERPROFILE
cd Downloads
Unblock-File -Path '.Windows-Secure-Host-Baseline-master.zip'
Running the PowerShell scripts inside the zip file without unblocking the file will result in the following warning:
Security warningRun only scripts that you trust. While scripts from the internet can be useful, this script can potentially harm your computer. If you trust this script, use the Unblock-File cmdlet to allow the script to run without this warning message. Do you want to run C:usersuserDownloadsscript.ps1?[D] Do not run [R] Run once [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is 'D'):
If the downloaded zip file is not unblocked before extracting it, then all the individual PowerShell files that were in the zip file will have to be unblocked. You will need to run the following command after Step 5 in the Loading the code section:
See the Unblock-File command's documentation for more information on how to use it.
Loading the code
Now extract the downloaded zip file and load the PowerShell code used for apply the policies.
- Right click on the zip file and select Extract All
- At the dialog remove Windows-Secure-Host-Baseline-master from the end of the path since it will extract the files to a Windows-Secure-Host-Baseline-master folder by default
- Click the Extract button
- Rename the Windows-Secure-Host-Baseline-master folder to Windows-Secure-Host-Baseline
- Open a PowerShell prompt as an administrator
- Import the Group Policy PowerShell module to load the code into the PowerShell session:
Import-Module -Name .Windows-Secure-Host-BaselineScriptsGroupPolicy.psm1
Applying the policies
The Invoke-ApplySecureHostBaseline command found in the Group Policy PowerShell module is the main command for applying policies. By default this command will:
- Import both Computer and User policies. Use the -PolicyScopes option and specify only the 'User' or 'Computer' value to import only User or Computer policies.
- Import policies, that have an audit option (e.g. AppLocker), in audit mode. To import those policies in enforcement mode, use the -PolicyMode option and specify the 'Enforced' value.
- Make a backup copy of existing imported SHB Group Policy objects (and Group Policy templates if the -UpdateTemplates option is used) if they exist. The backups will be in a directory located at %UERPROFILE%DesktopBackup_yyyyMMddHHmmss corresponding to the time when the command was executed. To change this location use the -BackupPath option and specify a path to an existing folder where the Backup_yyyyMMddHHmmss will be created.
- not update the Group Policy template files that correspond to the applied Group Policy objects. Use the -UpdateTemplates option to update the Group Policy templates.
Options for the command are:
- -Path - Required. The path to the folder containing the downloaded and extracted GitHub SHB repository.
- -PolicyNames - Required. The names of the policies to apply. Can be 1 or more policy names. Available names: 'ActivClient', 'Adobe Reader', 'AppLocker', 'Certificates', 'Chrome', 'Internet Explorer', 'Office 2013', 'Office 2016', 'Windows', 'Windows Firewall'.
- -PolicyScopes - Optional. The scope of the policies to apply. Available scopes: 'Computer', 'User'. Defaults to 'Computer','User'.
- -PolicyType - Optional. The type of policies to apply. Available types: 'Domain', 'Local'. Defaults to 'Domain' when joined to a domain. Defaults to 'Local' when not joined to a domain.
- -PolicyMode - Optional. The mode of policies to apply, if supported by the specific policy. For example, AppLocker supports audit and enforcement modes. Available modes: 'Audit', 'Enforced'. Defaults to 'Audit'.
- -BackupPath - Optional. The path to a folder to save backups of existing imported SHB Group Policy objects (and Group Policy templates if the -UpdateTemplates option is used) if they exist in case a rollback is needed. Defaults to $env:USERPROFILEDesktopBackup_yyyyMMddHHmmss corresponding to when the script was executed.
- -ToolPath - Optional. The path to the LGPO tool. Required when PolicyType is 'Local'.
- -UpdateTemplates - Optional. Update Group Policy templates that correspond to the applied Group Policy objects.
Type man Invoke-ApplySecureHostBaseline at a PowerShell prompt for more help and examples or submit a question to the repository issue tracker.
Applying the SHB policies to a standalone system
If applying the SHB policies to a standalone system (e.g. not joined to a domain), then download the LGPO tool from this Microsoft blog post and extract the executable.
Applying the SHB policies to a domain
If applying the SHB policies to a domain, note that the Group Policy objects are only loaded into Active Directory. The policies are not linked to any OUs so the settings do not automatically take affect.
Checking compliance
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Once the policies have been applied (and linked to appropriate OUs in the domain case), see the Compliance page for instructions on how to check compliance to the policies.
License
See LICENSE.
Disclaimer
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See DISCLAIMER.