Thanks to everyone who makes a presentation
to our club
July 11, 2018 - We learned about the new California Data Privacy legislation that is more strong than any other state has. We looked at the PulsePoint app that can empower everyday citizens to help with someone who is having a medical emergency. We had a demo on MS Word's new makeover and learned 20 incredibly useful Google products and services we didn't know existed. Members decided there were some they weren't interested in using. We end the meeting with Bob G's The Benefits of Getting Older video.
The featured presenter was Hewie Poplock with an interactive webinar on Getting Better Google Search Results. You think there is everything to know about searching with Google and then you 'attend' Hewie's presentation and get many tips on how to make searches easier, more relevant and...a lot of I didn't know about that. Members were taking lots of notes.
June 13, 2018 - We learned how to save money with the Honey app and were asked the question -- Are you ready for a digital license plate? Answer: Members weren't interested in it. We learned about one tool we should never use of our laptops and followed the May presentation on eye strain with 5 signs that we have it.
Bill James, Computer Club of OK City gave us an interactive webinar presentation on Synchronizing our PCs, a Guide to numerous ways to sync desktops, laptops, tablets, and phone.
We finished with the Email Etiquette Tips & Tricks presentation that we started in May -- I remembered to bring my power cord ;-)
May 9, 2018 - We learned the answers to these questions:
Are you annoyed when you see all of your text is in ALL CAPS? We learned a way to prevent this from happening.
Is it safe to pull out a USB drive?
What are 20 things we don’t do anymore since we are now in the technology world.
We also learned about how to avoid computer eye strain and keep our eyes healthy.
April 11, 2018 - We took a look at how much information Google has on us and how to see everything we’ve ever searched for via Google and how to erase it. We've talked about CCleaner at several meetings; we had a demo on all everything the program can do.
Many members use Avast for their security program; the question was brought up about using everything the FREE program has to offer. Have we even checked (or unchecked) all the boxes we need to; do we want to use some of the things the FREE program has to offer, etc. So, from his home in Albuquerque, Bob Gostischa will showed us the ins and outs of setting up Avast, as well as some of the other things it offers we might want to use. It even has a password manager. It also would like to be your be-all program. Even if you don’t use Avast as your security program, his presentation might give you some ideas on what to look for / configure in your program.
We’ll also looked at a couple of Google tips that I came across one that really makes sense to me and is making things a lot easier. If you have a tip that makes your life easier, please plan to share it.
February 14, 2018 - We learned about the ABC's in the Skies: Aircraft Bureaucracy and Control.Garry Sexton, President of the Greater South Bay User Group in Torrance gave us an interactive webinar presentation on the “ABC’s in the Skies: Aircraft, Bureaucracy and Control.” His presentation gave us an insight into how everything involved in flying has developed and changed through the years. He also answer the questions: Do pilots need teeth? and Over the years, how and why did technology change?
We like to keep ourselves safe online as well as when we get those pesky phonies call, we took a look at some of the latest scams; what’s new with our Sheriff’s department; viewed a short Falcon Heavy photo show; and learned about some Excel shortcuts from John Metcalf.
January 10, 2018
The Year that Was – 2017 presentation reminded us of what we learned about last year.
The video on how USB connection came about was very interesting.
From CES - we decided we really don't want Alexa flushing our toilet?
We’ve were asked to look at a website to see if the safety information is valuable information for seniors. There were several suggestions and I sent them to the person who got in touch
Data Privacy Day is January 28, let’s all participate – We learned how we can participate.
Not everyone knows how to create a restore point - we had a demo as well as one on Patch My PC (reviewed in the December DATALINE by Matt Batt, president of the Sarasota Technology User Group.
December 13, 217 - Have Fun with PDFs – Word Tips - Holiday Scams.We shared our tips, websites, andYouTube video(s) that make our life easier. We all wend home with some new ideas.
Save time and money in 2018. Denny Fuerst told us about using the Sam’s Club App when he shops at our local store; he showed us how it works to help our shopping experience be shorter. He met David and Kathy at Sam's one day and had them up and running with the app very quickly. If you are a Walmart shopper (we have 4 in the SCV), we’ll also learn how to save money using their Savings Capture app.
November 8, 2017 - Bill James, VP-Operations, Computer Club of Oklahoma City and long-time member of the Windows Insider Program, is our go-to person when there is a Windows 10 Creators Update. He gave us another great interactive webinar covering some of the Fall updates. He’s been a member of the Insiders program for years. If you would like to become part of the program (he suggests dedicating a computer to use for downloading the various builds), go to Settings > Update % Security > Windows Insider Program. See the presentation video at: https://youtu.be/LyhhR4xP6Lk
October 11, 2017 - We learned how to use Pinterest as a resource, thanks to TechBoomers for the tutorial resource. We celebrated National Cyber Security Awareness month (we are a Champion) with an interactive webinar by Bob Gostischa, Avast Evangelist, from his home in Albuquerque. His "Tips for Staying Safe Online and Preventing ID Theft" presentation showed us how to use tools that make visiting the Internet safe and enjoyable. See the presentation he gave at the November 4 APCUG VTC conference at: https://youtu.be/TIZPEmtB_-8
September 13, 2017 - We celebrated Software Freedom Day with an interactive webinar hands-on demo of LibreOffice by John Kennedy, aka FREE John, from his basement in Ohio. Some people still miss the drop-down menus of Office 2003 and you will find them in LibreOffice. It's a great program to use instead of MS Office. See John's LibreOffice presentation he gave at the November 4 APCUG VTC: https://youtu.be/rCsN-krGhRw
After visiting with John in Ohio, we were off to Wyoming (and Denver) with David & Kathy Kazmer when they went on a tour to see the Eclipse in Glendo, Wyoming with fellow astronomy enthusiasts. Check out the October newsletter to see some of their pics, including the diamond-ring effect.
Websites with Judy covered Have I been pawned?, More info on Equifax, 11 keyboard shortcuts that make Web Browsing 10 times easier, and Image copyright issues.
August 9, 2017 - We had an interactive webinar on Google Photos by Ron Brown from his home in Canada – he’s the program chair for the Silvercom Technology & Computer Club in Mesa, Arizona .It was his first webinar and we gave him a few suggestions before he gave the presentation at APCUG's November 4 VTC. Check out the video at: https://youtu.be/YXyvafm7tng
Member Denny Fuerst gave a presentation on digital camera hardware, including a traditional Canon "point and shoot" camera, a Nikon D5100 Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera as well as the latest in digital photography, a Sony a6500 compact mirrorless camera that is smaller, lighter and faster to focus than SLRs and loaded with features, including a superfast hybrid autofocus system, in-body image stabilization, 1/4,000th of a second shutter speed and a frame rate of 11 frames per second in still mode. Denny's presentation also included some new twists (quite literally) in tripod technology to further assist with image stabilization as well as remote camera shutter triggering. He also brought a couple of 20x30 poster-size photos taken of one of his grandsons at high school basketball games to show how a fast shutter speed can "freeze" the action and make a very clear photo even when enlarged to poster-size. See the October newsletters for photos of some of his gadgets. Denny had some questions for Rom and Ron some for Denny when we told him about Denny's gadgets.
Member John Metcalf demonstrated one of his favorite go-to programs, Irfranview It's one of the most popular viewers worldwide.
July 12, 2017 - Troubleshooting your Computer 101. Thanks for the comments and suggestions; I included them all in the presentation for the Brookdale PCUG. Around the SCV took us on a tour of the new road being built from Plum Canyon to Sierra Highway across from Backwoods Inn. From my backyard, I have a neat view of the huge earth moving equipment and can hear them working. I wish I had a grandson young enough to come over and be amazed by what is going on.
The How the IoT Can Help Us Age in Place presentation gave us some ideas how we can stay in our homes instead of moving to an assisted living facility. Smart devices controlled by voice commands might let us stay in our homes longer – it’s called Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). We are an aging population … 1908 – 1% of population expected to reach 100; 2012 – 1 in 3.
June 14, 2017 - Attendees were asked to bring their smartphone, tablet, laptop (Judy brought the cleaning supplies) and everyone went home with sparkling clean devices as well as a micro-cloth and small bottle of computer cleaner.
Don't be Scammed - we played BINGO! Prizes included 8GB flash drives, pens/stylus’, small smartphone stylus. We had nine winners -- actually everyone was a winner since the game reinforced the security information we learn at our meetings.
Toby Scott, Channel Islands Tech Guru, gave a Cryptovirus presentation at APCUG’s May 6 Virtual Technology Conference. We viewed the video so we could learn about ransomware-type viruses. His presentation at the VTC was just a few days prior to the WannaCry release.
May 10, 2017 - It was Privacy Awareness Week and we learned about some ways we can be safe using Wi-Fi when we are traveling as well as how to safely use our devices when renting a car. We also had a presentation on
During our Around the Santa Clarita Valley segment, we discovered we have two DMV kiosks in local grocery stores. Don’t belong to AAA and don’t want to stand in line or renew online? There is a lot we can renew at the kiosks. We were also reminded of the locker where we can pick up our Amazon shipments. Prior to our guest speaker's presentation, we had a Avoid Health Fraud Scams presentation.
Dr. Garry Sexton, via webinar, was just home from attending a CME session. It was his first webinar and he decided he would like to do more of them. The topic was Evidence Based Medicine and he let us know about behind-the-scenes info about the number of pills we take when given a prescription. It really is ‘practicing medicine.’ He also had a comprehensive hand-out of reliable websites.
April 12, 2017 - A tagline line for the SCV Computer Club is Come learn with us….and at the April meeting we learned (the day before it was announced via the news media) about the US Post Office going digital by sending us, via e-mail, jpegs of up to 10 letter-sized envelopes we will receive that day in our mail boxes. If we want to see more pics of additional mail, we can log on to our USPS accounts. It’s available in the Santa Clarita Valley and all one needs to do is create a USPS account to participate. Create your account here: http://bit.ly/2ntjldo
Consumer Reports is partnering with cyber threat experts to establish criteria for evaluating Internet of Things device security. I know many people who look to CR for their recommendations prior to purchasing items. I think this will be a great asset to the magazine and the people who rely on CR for reviews when they are purchasing items. As a follow-up to our Uber presentation, we found out what passengers leave in the cars – really interesting and strange stuff. Mark hasn’t really had anything interesting left in his car. We also looked at using Opera as a browser so we can use their free VPN and be anomymous on the WWW.
After a short break, it was off to Oklahoma City for our guest speaker; Bill James gave us an excellent hands-on presentation on 19 new things that are included in the Windows 10 Creators update. I couldn’t get my Toshiba laptop to upgrade (bought a new computer). I’ve talked to several people with Toshiba’s and they are having the same problem. Bill’s presentation was outstanding – he did it on the fly after I called to cry on his shoulder meeting afternoon about not being able to upgrade. He did it from the info I had put together to demo. A friend of his joined us via phone and off we went, exploring the new ‘stuff.’ He’s a long-time member of the Insider Program and I had two things on my list that were new to him so we all learned.
March 8, 2017 - We learned about the benefits of having an Amazon Prime membership. Several attendees have the $99 per year membership and think it is really worth the cost; they are going to try some of the benefits covered in the presentation. Many were interested in the Amazon Locker located at the Mobile Gas Station / Circle K at McBean and Delcoro. You can have your packages sent to the locker to be picked up -- they are open 24/7. Thanks to John Metcalf for adding info to the presentation. See the resources page for links to information from various sources. We also had a presentation on Office 365 vs. the stand-alone version. We decided that, as of now, the regular Windows Office suite is the one we are going to buy and use. Most of us only use it on one computer so the one-license version works for us. Information for the presentation came from: How-to Geek Last, but not least, we also had a presentation on a website that Bob Gostischa mentioned in his presentation to SoCal groups in March -- FamilyTreeNow.com. The website contains a lot of personal information, all in one place for free. He recommended everyone take a look and use the opt out feature.
February 8, 2017 - Guest presenter Bill James, VP of the Computer Club of Oklahoma City, helped introduce us to Windows 10 in December 2014. He has been involved in the Windows Insider program for many years. Via webinar, we had a fun, interesting, informative and very unstructured Windows 10 Creator Studio Update presentation. In addition to some of the upcoming updates, he showed us how he is using Windows 10. I hope others got as much out of the presentation as I did – I found different ways of doing things that makes Win 10 even better. Thanks to a question by Helen Blanchard, we also got to take a look at his genealogy ‘stuff.’ Genealogy is obviously something he really enjoys. We also learned about some of the latest scams and urban legends. Members were asked for questions that could be sent to Toby Scott, the Channel Islands PCUG Tech Guru who has a weekly podcast via Mercury Broadcasting. Those questions were answered during the below podcasts.
http://mercurybroadcasting.net/qa-cipcug-session-34/
http://mercurybroadcasting.net/qa-with-cipcug-session-35/
January 11, 2017 - The meeting began with the question -- What did we learn in 2016? Judy showed us a presentation on what we learned, month-by-month. The guest speakers gave presentations on genealogy. Harry McLaughlin, Volunteer, Family History Center, talked about DNA. His topic was, “Do You Have Your Great-Great-Great-Grandfather’s Nose?” It was very interesting to find how out he traced his roots back many generations to find his biological parents. Following his presentation, Tom and Linda Tippets, Area Family History Advisors, gave presentations. Linda’s was on “FamilySearch, Tips and Tricks.” She showed us what’s new with Family Search and how it is so easy to add information to our family tree. Tom showed us how to view our relationship with people. It’s amazing who he is related to …. way back when. We also had a hands-on demo of SuperAntiSpyware as well as How to Opt Out of Personalized Ads from Google.
December 14, 2016 - Several members have experienced hard disk failure – some more than once. Storage devices are unappreciated workhorses: spinning hard drives and immobile memory chips reliably and rapidly save and fetch your data, year after year. Until – uh oh, something's wrong and where's my data?! We learned about a program that can notify us if our hard disk is failing by watching the PATACS (Potomac Area Computer Society) video of an HD Sentinel presentation given to their group at their Learn 30 session. The author of the program generously offered a discount on the program to members.
Judy gave a presentation on “How do you use Cortana?” It covered 15 Things You Can Do with Cortana on Windows 10. Cortana isn’t compatible with Judy’s laptop so Chuck La Force brought two laptops that he uses to access Cortana. The first one didn’t have any type of connection to the projector but the 2nd laptop worked great. We had fun finding out that Cortana really does the 15 things in the presentation as well as a lot more as members asked her their own questions. The ‘tell us a dirty joke’ question brought us a joke about a dirty chicken. A couple of the members that haven’t set up Cortana are going to give it a try. It does a lot of what you can do via searching with Google but it saves you time since you don’t need to access the Internet or do any typing -- just talk to her. Info for the presentation came from How-to Geek
November 9, 2016 - We had quite a lively discussion on the Everyday Technology Skills Every Boomer Should Have. Attendees had a lot of suggestions how to accomplish those skills and/or how they accomplish the tasks. Denny Fuerst shared he has started using the Sam’s Club Scan & GO® checkout app that lets him scan the barcode on the items he is buying and shows the digital receipt at the exit. He doesn’t need to stand in line to check since, of course, he also pays via his phone. He’s hoping COSTCO soon offers the same type of service. Judy’s Uber presentation was followed by a talk by Mark Thomas on his experiences as an Uber driver. Fun times, strange happenings, and more. We really learned a lot.
October 12, 2016 - It's National Cyber Security Month and we celebrated with a webinar presentation by Bob Gostischa, Avast Evangelist, from his home in Albuquerque. Eight clues suggest that your identity has been stolen, Gostischa said:
September 12, 2016 - Watch Out for Scams! Is it really Microsoft Tech Support? Update; File (FKA Windows) Explorer is Your Friend; Win 10 Tips; Setup and Configure a Home Network
We learned about more computer users who have fallen for the Microsoft tech support scam. Altogether, five people lost a little over $1,500. We previously learned that the Task Manager is our friend; this month we went over File Explorer (FKA Windows Explorer). More members are upgrading to Win 10 so we took a look at a few tips as well as followed-up on one of Elliott’s suggestions. We went to the movies for our main presentation -- of course, we had popcorn. We watched APCUG's YouTube VTC presentation by Ken Rogers on Setting Up a Home Network. Even attendees who already are networked went home with some tips.
August 10, 2016 - Watch Out for Scams! Is it really Microsoft Tech Support? - Tech Tips from 101 Amazing Computer Tips - Windows 10 with Elliott Stern
Judy Taylour showed us how to really get in touch with Microsoft when we’re told we have a gazillion instances of malware on our computer (how do they know), etc. We also learned some new tips from 101 Amazing Computer Tips by Diane McKeever.
Elliott Stern, Computer Maestro, showed us how to manage Windows 10 privacy settings and more so we can take control of Windows 10 and really have a better, safer, somewhat private computing experience.
July 13, 2016 - Wearable Technology
Technology is changing fast and these devices are now the “in” thing for groups of all ages. According to analysts at Gartner Research, the “smart wearable” market, as a subset of the Internet of Things (IoT), will generate $28.7 billion in 2016. If you want to move more, sleep better, and improve your overall health, a fitness tracker can help.
Judy Taylour will give an historical overview presentation of how these devices emerged on the scene. Like all technological revolutions the fitness tracking device has its origins in many diverse needs and slowly the growth of technological change brought it all together.
This presentation was followed by several people ‘showing & telling’ how they use their activity trackers.
The featured presenter was Hewie Poplock with an interactive webinar on Getting Better Google Search Results. You think there is everything to know about searching with Google and then you 'attend' Hewie's presentation and get many tips on how to make searches easier, more relevant and...a lot of I didn't know about that. Members were taking lots of notes.
June 13, 2018 - We learned how to save money with the Honey app and were asked the question -- Are you ready for a digital license plate? Answer: Members weren't interested in it. We learned about one tool we should never use of our laptops and followed the May presentation on eye strain with 5 signs that we have it.
Bill James, Computer Club of OK City gave us an interactive webinar presentation on Synchronizing our PCs, a Guide to numerous ways to sync desktops, laptops, tablets, and phone.
We finished with the Email Etiquette Tips & Tricks presentation that we started in May -- I remembered to bring my power cord ;-)
May 9, 2018 - We learned the answers to these questions:
Are you annoyed when you see all of your text is in ALL CAPS? We learned a way to prevent this from happening.
Is it safe to pull out a USB drive?
What are 20 things we don’t do anymore since we are now in the technology world.
We also learned about how to avoid computer eye strain and keep our eyes healthy.
April 11, 2018 - We took a look at how much information Google has on us and how to see everything we’ve ever searched for via Google and how to erase it. We've talked about CCleaner at several meetings; we had a demo on all everything the program can do.
Many members use Avast for their security program; the question was brought up about using everything the FREE program has to offer. Have we even checked (or unchecked) all the boxes we need to; do we want to use some of the things the FREE program has to offer, etc. So, from his home in Albuquerque, Bob Gostischa will showed us the ins and outs of setting up Avast, as well as some of the other things it offers we might want to use. It even has a password manager. It also would like to be your be-all program. Even if you don’t use Avast as your security program, his presentation might give you some ideas on what to look for / configure in your program.
We’ll also looked at a couple of Google tips that I came across one that really makes sense to me and is making things a lot easier. If you have a tip that makes your life easier, please plan to share it.
February 14, 2018 - We learned about the ABC's in the Skies: Aircraft Bureaucracy and Control.Garry Sexton, President of the Greater South Bay User Group in Torrance gave us an interactive webinar presentation on the “ABC’s in the Skies: Aircraft, Bureaucracy and Control.” His presentation gave us an insight into how everything involved in flying has developed and changed through the years. He also answer the questions: Do pilots need teeth? and Over the years, how and why did technology change?
We like to keep ourselves safe online as well as when we get those pesky phonies call, we took a look at some of the latest scams; what’s new with our Sheriff’s department; viewed a short Falcon Heavy photo show; and learned about some Excel shortcuts from John Metcalf.
January 10, 2018
The Year that Was – 2017 presentation reminded us of what we learned about last year.
The video on how USB connection came about was very interesting.
From CES - we decided we really don't want Alexa flushing our toilet?
We’ve were asked to look at a website to see if the safety information is valuable information for seniors. There were several suggestions and I sent them to the person who got in touch
Data Privacy Day is January 28, let’s all participate – We learned how we can participate.
Not everyone knows how to create a restore point - we had a demo as well as one on Patch My PC (reviewed in the December DATALINE by Matt Batt, president of the Sarasota Technology User Group.
December 13, 217 - Have Fun with PDFs – Word Tips - Holiday Scams.We shared our tips, websites, andYouTube video(s) that make our life easier. We all wend home with some new ideas.
Save time and money in 2018. Denny Fuerst told us about using the Sam’s Club App when he shops at our local store; he showed us how it works to help our shopping experience be shorter. He met David and Kathy at Sam's one day and had them up and running with the app very quickly. If you are a Walmart shopper (we have 4 in the SCV), we’ll also learn how to save money using their Savings Capture app.
November 8, 2017 - Bill James, VP-Operations, Computer Club of Oklahoma City and long-time member of the Windows Insider Program, is our go-to person when there is a Windows 10 Creators Update. He gave us another great interactive webinar covering some of the Fall updates. He’s been a member of the Insiders program for years. If you would like to become part of the program (he suggests dedicating a computer to use for downloading the various builds), go to Settings > Update % Security > Windows Insider Program. See the presentation video at: https://youtu.be/LyhhR4xP6Lk
October 11, 2017 - We learned how to use Pinterest as a resource, thanks to TechBoomers for the tutorial resource. We celebrated National Cyber Security Awareness month (we are a Champion) with an interactive webinar by Bob Gostischa, Avast Evangelist, from his home in Albuquerque. His "Tips for Staying Safe Online and Preventing ID Theft" presentation showed us how to use tools that make visiting the Internet safe and enjoyable. See the presentation he gave at the November 4 APCUG VTC conference at: https://youtu.be/TIZPEmtB_-8
September 13, 2017 - We celebrated Software Freedom Day with an interactive webinar hands-on demo of LibreOffice by John Kennedy, aka FREE John, from his basement in Ohio. Some people still miss the drop-down menus of Office 2003 and you will find them in LibreOffice. It's a great program to use instead of MS Office. See John's LibreOffice presentation he gave at the November 4 APCUG VTC: https://youtu.be/rCsN-krGhRw
After visiting with John in Ohio, we were off to Wyoming (and Denver) with David & Kathy Kazmer when they went on a tour to see the Eclipse in Glendo, Wyoming with fellow astronomy enthusiasts. Check out the October newsletter to see some of their pics, including the diamond-ring effect.
Websites with Judy covered Have I been pawned?, More info on Equifax, 11 keyboard shortcuts that make Web Browsing 10 times easier, and Image copyright issues.
August 9, 2017 - We had an interactive webinar on Google Photos by Ron Brown from his home in Canada – he’s the program chair for the Silvercom Technology & Computer Club in Mesa, Arizona .It was his first webinar and we gave him a few suggestions before he gave the presentation at APCUG's November 4 VTC. Check out the video at: https://youtu.be/YXyvafm7tng
Member Denny Fuerst gave a presentation on digital camera hardware, including a traditional Canon "point and shoot" camera, a Nikon D5100 Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera as well as the latest in digital photography, a Sony a6500 compact mirrorless camera that is smaller, lighter and faster to focus than SLRs and loaded with features, including a superfast hybrid autofocus system, in-body image stabilization, 1/4,000th of a second shutter speed and a frame rate of 11 frames per second in still mode. Denny's presentation also included some new twists (quite literally) in tripod technology to further assist with image stabilization as well as remote camera shutter triggering. He also brought a couple of 20x30 poster-size photos taken of one of his grandsons at high school basketball games to show how a fast shutter speed can "freeze" the action and make a very clear photo even when enlarged to poster-size. See the October newsletters for photos of some of his gadgets. Denny had some questions for Rom and Ron some for Denny when we told him about Denny's gadgets.
Member John Metcalf demonstrated one of his favorite go-to programs, Irfranview It's one of the most popular viewers worldwide.
July 12, 2017 - Troubleshooting your Computer 101. Thanks for the comments and suggestions; I included them all in the presentation for the Brookdale PCUG. Around the SCV took us on a tour of the new road being built from Plum Canyon to Sierra Highway across from Backwoods Inn. From my backyard, I have a neat view of the huge earth moving equipment and can hear them working. I wish I had a grandson young enough to come over and be amazed by what is going on.
The How the IoT Can Help Us Age in Place presentation gave us some ideas how we can stay in our homes instead of moving to an assisted living facility. Smart devices controlled by voice commands might let us stay in our homes longer – it’s called Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). We are an aging population … 1908 – 1% of population expected to reach 100; 2012 – 1 in 3.
June 14, 2017 - Attendees were asked to bring their smartphone, tablet, laptop (Judy brought the cleaning supplies) and everyone went home with sparkling clean devices as well as a micro-cloth and small bottle of computer cleaner.
Don't be Scammed - we played BINGO! Prizes included 8GB flash drives, pens/stylus’, small smartphone stylus. We had nine winners -- actually everyone was a winner since the game reinforced the security information we learn at our meetings.
Toby Scott, Channel Islands Tech Guru, gave a Cryptovirus presentation at APCUG’s May 6 Virtual Technology Conference. We viewed the video so we could learn about ransomware-type viruses. His presentation at the VTC was just a few days prior to the WannaCry release.
May 10, 2017 - It was Privacy Awareness Week and we learned about some ways we can be safe using Wi-Fi when we are traveling as well as how to safely use our devices when renting a car. We also had a presentation on
During our Around the Santa Clarita Valley segment, we discovered we have two DMV kiosks in local grocery stores. Don’t belong to AAA and don’t want to stand in line or renew online? There is a lot we can renew at the kiosks. We were also reminded of the locker where we can pick up our Amazon shipments. Prior to our guest speaker's presentation, we had a Avoid Health Fraud Scams presentation.
Dr. Garry Sexton, via webinar, was just home from attending a CME session. It was his first webinar and he decided he would like to do more of them. The topic was Evidence Based Medicine and he let us know about behind-the-scenes info about the number of pills we take when given a prescription. It really is ‘practicing medicine.’ He also had a comprehensive hand-out of reliable websites.
April 12, 2017 - A tagline line for the SCV Computer Club is Come learn with us….and at the April meeting we learned (the day before it was announced via the news media) about the US Post Office going digital by sending us, via e-mail, jpegs of up to 10 letter-sized envelopes we will receive that day in our mail boxes. If we want to see more pics of additional mail, we can log on to our USPS accounts. It’s available in the Santa Clarita Valley and all one needs to do is create a USPS account to participate. Create your account here: http://bit.ly/2ntjldo
Consumer Reports is partnering with cyber threat experts to establish criteria for evaluating Internet of Things device security. I know many people who look to CR for their recommendations prior to purchasing items. I think this will be a great asset to the magazine and the people who rely on CR for reviews when they are purchasing items. As a follow-up to our Uber presentation, we found out what passengers leave in the cars – really interesting and strange stuff. Mark hasn’t really had anything interesting left in his car. We also looked at using Opera as a browser so we can use their free VPN and be anomymous on the WWW.
After a short break, it was off to Oklahoma City for our guest speaker; Bill James gave us an excellent hands-on presentation on 19 new things that are included in the Windows 10 Creators update. I couldn’t get my Toshiba laptop to upgrade (bought a new computer). I’ve talked to several people with Toshiba’s and they are having the same problem. Bill’s presentation was outstanding – he did it on the fly after I called to cry on his shoulder meeting afternoon about not being able to upgrade. He did it from the info I had put together to demo. A friend of his joined us via phone and off we went, exploring the new ‘stuff.’ He’s a long-time member of the Insider Program and I had two things on my list that were new to him so we all learned.
March 8, 2017 - We learned about the benefits of having an Amazon Prime membership. Several attendees have the $99 per year membership and think it is really worth the cost; they are going to try some of the benefits covered in the presentation. Many were interested in the Amazon Locker located at the Mobile Gas Station / Circle K at McBean and Delcoro. You can have your packages sent to the locker to be picked up -- they are open 24/7. Thanks to John Metcalf for adding info to the presentation. See the resources page for links to information from various sources. We also had a presentation on Office 365 vs. the stand-alone version. We decided that, as of now, the regular Windows Office suite is the one we are going to buy and use. Most of us only use it on one computer so the one-license version works for us. Information for the presentation came from: How-to Geek Last, but not least, we also had a presentation on a website that Bob Gostischa mentioned in his presentation to SoCal groups in March -- FamilyTreeNow.com. The website contains a lot of personal information, all in one place for free. He recommended everyone take a look and use the opt out feature.
February 8, 2017 - Guest presenter Bill James, VP of the Computer Club of Oklahoma City, helped introduce us to Windows 10 in December 2014. He has been involved in the Windows Insider program for many years. Via webinar, we had a fun, interesting, informative and very unstructured Windows 10 Creator Studio Update presentation. In addition to some of the upcoming updates, he showed us how he is using Windows 10. I hope others got as much out of the presentation as I did – I found different ways of doing things that makes Win 10 even better. Thanks to a question by Helen Blanchard, we also got to take a look at his genealogy ‘stuff.’ Genealogy is obviously something he really enjoys. We also learned about some of the latest scams and urban legends. Members were asked for questions that could be sent to Toby Scott, the Channel Islands PCUG Tech Guru who has a weekly podcast via Mercury Broadcasting. Those questions were answered during the below podcasts.
http://mercurybroadcasting.net/qa-cipcug-session-34/
http://mercurybroadcasting.net/qa-with-cipcug-session-35/
January 11, 2017 - The meeting began with the question -- What did we learn in 2016? Judy showed us a presentation on what we learned, month-by-month. The guest speakers gave presentations on genealogy. Harry McLaughlin, Volunteer, Family History Center, talked about DNA. His topic was, “Do You Have Your Great-Great-Great-Grandfather’s Nose?” It was very interesting to find how out he traced his roots back many generations to find his biological parents. Following his presentation, Tom and Linda Tippets, Area Family History Advisors, gave presentations. Linda’s was on “FamilySearch, Tips and Tricks.” She showed us what’s new with Family Search and how it is so easy to add information to our family tree. Tom showed us how to view our relationship with people. It’s amazing who he is related to …. way back when. We also had a hands-on demo of SuperAntiSpyware as well as How to Opt Out of Personalized Ads from Google.
December 14, 2016 - Several members have experienced hard disk failure – some more than once. Storage devices are unappreciated workhorses: spinning hard drives and immobile memory chips reliably and rapidly save and fetch your data, year after year. Until – uh oh, something's wrong and where's my data?! We learned about a program that can notify us if our hard disk is failing by watching the PATACS (Potomac Area Computer Society) video of an HD Sentinel presentation given to their group at their Learn 30 session. The author of the program generously offered a discount on the program to members.
Judy gave a presentation on “How do you use Cortana?” It covered 15 Things You Can Do with Cortana on Windows 10. Cortana isn’t compatible with Judy’s laptop so Chuck La Force brought two laptops that he uses to access Cortana. The first one didn’t have any type of connection to the projector but the 2nd laptop worked great. We had fun finding out that Cortana really does the 15 things in the presentation as well as a lot more as members asked her their own questions. The ‘tell us a dirty joke’ question brought us a joke about a dirty chicken. A couple of the members that haven’t set up Cortana are going to give it a try. It does a lot of what you can do via searching with Google but it saves you time since you don’t need to access the Internet or do any typing -- just talk to her. Info for the presentation came from How-to Geek
November 9, 2016 - We had quite a lively discussion on the Everyday Technology Skills Every Boomer Should Have. Attendees had a lot of suggestions how to accomplish those skills and/or how they accomplish the tasks. Denny Fuerst shared he has started using the Sam’s Club Scan & GO® checkout app that lets him scan the barcode on the items he is buying and shows the digital receipt at the exit. He doesn’t need to stand in line to check since, of course, he also pays via his phone. He’s hoping COSTCO soon offers the same type of service. Judy’s Uber presentation was followed by a talk by Mark Thomas on his experiences as an Uber driver. Fun times, strange happenings, and more. We really learned a lot.
October 12, 2016 - It's National Cyber Security Month and we celebrated with a webinar presentation by Bob Gostischa, Avast Evangelist, from his home in Albuquerque. Eight clues suggest that your identity has been stolen, Gostischa said:
- Bank withdrawals you didn’t make.
- Bills that you expect don’t arrive.
- Merchants aren’t taking your checks.
- You get calls from debt collectors about loans you never made.
- Your credit reports have unfamiliar charges and loans.
- You receive bills from health providers for visits you never made and doctors you never heard of.
- You can’t get health insurance because of illnesses you don’t have.
- You get an IRS notice that you filed more than one tax return.
- Read a comprehensive review of Bob's presentation by John Weigle, Channel Islands Computer User Group.
September 12, 2016 - Watch Out for Scams! Is it really Microsoft Tech Support? Update; File (FKA Windows) Explorer is Your Friend; Win 10 Tips; Setup and Configure a Home Network
We learned about more computer users who have fallen for the Microsoft tech support scam. Altogether, five people lost a little over $1,500. We previously learned that the Task Manager is our friend; this month we went over File Explorer (FKA Windows Explorer). More members are upgrading to Win 10 so we took a look at a few tips as well as followed-up on one of Elliott’s suggestions. We went to the movies for our main presentation -- of course, we had popcorn. We watched APCUG's YouTube VTC presentation by Ken Rogers on Setting Up a Home Network. Even attendees who already are networked went home with some tips.
August 10, 2016 - Watch Out for Scams! Is it really Microsoft Tech Support? - Tech Tips from 101 Amazing Computer Tips - Windows 10 with Elliott Stern
Judy Taylour showed us how to really get in touch with Microsoft when we’re told we have a gazillion instances of malware on our computer (how do they know), etc. We also learned some new tips from 101 Amazing Computer Tips by Diane McKeever.
Elliott Stern, Computer Maestro, showed us how to manage Windows 10 privacy settings and more so we can take control of Windows 10 and really have a better, safer, somewhat private computing experience.
July 13, 2016 - Wearable Technology
Technology is changing fast and these devices are now the “in” thing for groups of all ages. According to analysts at Gartner Research, the “smart wearable” market, as a subset of the Internet of Things (IoT), will generate $28.7 billion in 2016. If you want to move more, sleep better, and improve your overall health, a fitness tracker can help.
Judy Taylour will give an historical overview presentation of how these devices emerged on the scene. Like all technological revolutions the fitness tracking device has its origins in many diverse needs and slowly the growth of technological change brought it all together.
This presentation was followed by several people ‘showing & telling’ how they use their activity trackers.
June 8, 2016 - Summer Travel Tips
Our Older Brains
National Do Not Call Act
Nomorobo – a way to block telemarketers and robo calls that really works
Time Warner’s Call Blocker Select
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour gave a presentation on things you should keep in your car – especially when you travel. She also talked about travel tips with your Smartphone as well as travel gadgets as recommended by Abby Stokes www.abbyandme.com. We also explored the hypothesis that older brains only appear to slow down because they have so much information to compute, much like a full-up hard drive,
7:00 pm – Are you tired of getting a gazillion robo calls? This session will cover the “National Do Not Call Act,” how to stop robo calls with Nomorobo (www.nomorobo.com) that helps stop those annoying calls as well as telemarketers and how to set-up Time Warner’s Call Blocker Select. Dick Beekman joined in on this presentation – he’s done a lot of research on Nomorobo.
Our Older Brains
National Do Not Call Act
Nomorobo – a way to block telemarketers and robo calls that really works
Time Warner’s Call Blocker Select
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour gave a presentation on things you should keep in your car – especially when you travel. She also talked about travel tips with your Smartphone as well as travel gadgets as recommended by Abby Stokes www.abbyandme.com. We also explored the hypothesis that older brains only appear to slow down because they have so much information to compute, much like a full-up hard drive,
7:00 pm – Are you tired of getting a gazillion robo calls? This session will cover the “National Do Not Call Act,” how to stop robo calls with Nomorobo (www.nomorobo.com) that helps stop those annoying calls as well as telemarketers and how to set-up Time Warner’s Call Blocker Select. Dick Beekman joined in on this presentation – he’s done a lot of research on Nomorobo.
May 11, 2016 - How to Remove PUPs, Foistware, Drive-bys, Toolbars,
and Other Annoying Things We Never Wanted
Really Good Browser Extensions
How do I use the Windows Task Manager
SCV Computer Club Members are sharing their Photos
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour presented the technical part of the meeting by covering how to remove PUPs, etc., a few really good browser extensions we might want to use, and how to use the Windows Task Manager -- it's your friend.
7:00 pm – Starting with Denny Fuerst, members shared some of their favorite photos and talked about the program they use to edit their photos.
and Other Annoying Things We Never Wanted
Really Good Browser Extensions
How do I use the Windows Task Manager
SCV Computer Club Members are sharing their Photos
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour presented the technical part of the meeting by covering how to remove PUPs, etc., a few really good browser extensions we might want to use, and how to use the Windows Task Manager -- it's your friend.
7:00 pm – Starting with Denny Fuerst, members shared some of their favorite photos and talked about the program they use to edit their photos.
April 13, 2016 - Spring Clean Your Devices
Xth-Weekday-of-a-Month-Alternate-Formula
Denny Fuerst’s Potpourri of Photos
SCV Photo ID Game
6:00 pm – NCSA and BBB encourage everyone to make a thorough “digital spring cleaning” an annual ritual. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Better Business Bureau (BBB) are encouraging consumers (that’s us) to put cybersecurity at the top of our mind by making digital devices an additional target of our spring cleaning activities. We went through their suggestions during this presentation.
David Nix showed us how to set up the Xth-Weekday-of-a-Month-Alternate-Formula in Excel. His example was the club’s 2016 meeting dates. We saw how easy it is to change the meeting dates for a year when we changed it from the 2nd Wednesday to the 3rd Thursday.
7:00 pm – We will turn the meeting over to Denny Fuerst for two interesting photographic presentations. Denny has had a life-long interest in photography and will present a great variety of photos - some old and some newer - that he has taken during his lifetime with a focus (no pun intended) on interesting, entertaining and, perhaps, enlightening photos. Denny's collection of photos was initially taken with traditional film cameras (black & white and color), beginning with a Kodak Brownie and moving on to Nikon 35mm slide and APS (Advanced Photo System) cameras. More recently, his photos have been taken with a Canon point-and-shoot digital camera and a Nikon SLR digital camera with interchangeable lenses. With the great improvement in cell phone cameras, more of his photographic pursuits are likely to come from this option. After seeing Denny's potpourri of photos, you just may be inspired to pull out your camera or cell phone more often to record the world around you.
Following this photo presentation, everyone will be asked to participate in what Denny calls his "SCV Photo ID Game." A total of 30 photos of local SVC buildings and sites will be shown - one at a time - with the identity of the photo in question. You will be given an answer sheet to use to identify each photo. After all photos have been displayed, there will be a reveal session where the identity of each photo will be given. Some of the photos may be fairly easy for you to identify while others will be more challenging. Denny will award prizes - from his time serving as a vice president at Princess Cruises and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises - to club members who correctly identify the most photos. Over a dozen Princess and Uniworld prizes will be handed out with members choosing from the vast array of items based upon their ability to correctly identify the photos. So, if you think you know the SCV, here's your chance to shine and impress your fellow club members and take home some cruise line swag as well.
Xth-Weekday-of-a-Month-Alternate-Formula
Denny Fuerst’s Potpourri of Photos
SCV Photo ID Game
6:00 pm – NCSA and BBB encourage everyone to make a thorough “digital spring cleaning” an annual ritual. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Better Business Bureau (BBB) are encouraging consumers (that’s us) to put cybersecurity at the top of our mind by making digital devices an additional target of our spring cleaning activities. We went through their suggestions during this presentation.
David Nix showed us how to set up the Xth-Weekday-of-a-Month-Alternate-Formula in Excel. His example was the club’s 2016 meeting dates. We saw how easy it is to change the meeting dates for a year when we changed it from the 2nd Wednesday to the 3rd Thursday.
7:00 pm – We will turn the meeting over to Denny Fuerst for two interesting photographic presentations. Denny has had a life-long interest in photography and will present a great variety of photos - some old and some newer - that he has taken during his lifetime with a focus (no pun intended) on interesting, entertaining and, perhaps, enlightening photos. Denny's collection of photos was initially taken with traditional film cameras (black & white and color), beginning with a Kodak Brownie and moving on to Nikon 35mm slide and APS (Advanced Photo System) cameras. More recently, his photos have been taken with a Canon point-and-shoot digital camera and a Nikon SLR digital camera with interchangeable lenses. With the great improvement in cell phone cameras, more of his photographic pursuits are likely to come from this option. After seeing Denny's potpourri of photos, you just may be inspired to pull out your camera or cell phone more often to record the world around you.
Following this photo presentation, everyone will be asked to participate in what Denny calls his "SCV Photo ID Game." A total of 30 photos of local SVC buildings and sites will be shown - one at a time - with the identity of the photo in question. You will be given an answer sheet to use to identify each photo. After all photos have been displayed, there will be a reveal session where the identity of each photo will be given. Some of the photos may be fairly easy for you to identify while others will be more challenging. Denny will award prizes - from his time serving as a vice president at Princess Cruises and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises - to club members who correctly identify the most photos. Over a dozen Princess and Uniworld prizes will be handed out with members choosing from the vast array of items based upon their ability to correctly identify the photos. So, if you think you know the SCV, here's your chance to shine and impress your fellow club members and take home some cruise line swag as well.
March 9, 2016
More from the world of IoT
OneNote vs. Evernote
Taking a tech class via Lynda.com
6:00 pm – Judy added some interesting IoT items to the presentation before she gave it at the La Verne Computer Club – we took a look at them.
7:00 pm – OneNote vs. Evernote. Mark Thomas uses Microsoft’s OneNote as an electronic version of a paper notebook. It’s one place for all of your notes. By storing text notes, photos, audio and video snippets, handwriting and similar content, OneNote collects and organizes the information, making it available for searching as well as sharing with others. Evernote is a free App (they also have a paid version) that is the same as OneNote. I use it to keep track of what we would have, back-in-the-day, put on a post-it note.
Mark demoed OneNote and Judy showed us how she uses Evernote. We used the L.A. County Library website we learned about at the February meeting to look at taking a Lynda.com class. We looked a little bit of the classes for OneNote and Evernote.
More from the world of IoT
OneNote vs. Evernote
Taking a tech class via Lynda.com
6:00 pm – Judy added some interesting IoT items to the presentation before she gave it at the La Verne Computer Club – we took a look at them.
7:00 pm – OneNote vs. Evernote. Mark Thomas uses Microsoft’s OneNote as an electronic version of a paper notebook. It’s one place for all of your notes. By storing text notes, photos, audio and video snippets, handwriting and similar content, OneNote collects and organizes the information, making it available for searching as well as sharing with others. Evernote is a free App (they also have a paid version) that is the same as OneNote. I use it to keep track of what we would have, back-in-the-day, put on a post-it note.
Mark demoed OneNote and Judy showed us how she uses Evernote. We used the L.A. County Library website we learned about at the February meeting to look at taking a Lynda.com class. We looked a little bit of the classes for OneNote and Evernote.
February 10, 2016 - Sharing Websites
Open Office
The Internet of Things
6:00 pm – Please bring at least two addresses for websites that you find useful, just enjoy the site, etc. We’ll all go home with some new websites that we might find very useful.
Do you wish Microsoft hadn’t changed to Ribbons and miss the 2003 drop-down menus? We took a tour of OpenOffice – it’s free.
7:00 pm – Following up on our Gadgets part of the January meeting, we took a look at the Internet of Things. The questions were: Are you ready for the IoT? Are you already using some smart “things?” What are those “things?” Do you trust the cloud? Will there be enough IP addresses? Who are the big players? All this and more was covered in the presentation.
Open Office
The Internet of Things
6:00 pm – Please bring at least two addresses for websites that you find useful, just enjoy the site, etc. We’ll all go home with some new websites that we might find very useful.
Do you wish Microsoft hadn’t changed to Ribbons and miss the 2003 drop-down menus? We took a tour of OpenOffice – it’s free.
7:00 pm – Following up on our Gadgets part of the January meeting, we took a look at the Internet of Things. The questions were: Are you ready for the IoT? Are you already using some smart “things?” What are those “things?” Do you trust the cloud? Will there be enough IP addresses? Who are the big players? All this and more was covered in the presentation.
January 13, 2016 - This ‘n That Meeting
Gifts, Gadgets & Apps
7 critical things to do immediately with a new PC
Do you need these 15 software programs?
Tips – Tips – Tips for making your tech life easier
6:00 pm – Dick Beekman told us how he reads PCWorld on his Android phone. The app he uses is from Google Play (he used to use Zinio but, over time, it app left a lot to be desired).
Several members brought their new toys (gadgets) and told us about them. We looked at 7 critical things that should be done immediately with a new PC. We had many other things we thought should also be done. Do you think your new (or old) PC needs these 15 software programs? We decided we didn't like many of the 15 things and wouldn't recommend using them.
Word tips – IRS tips – tips that make your tech life easier ended the meeting.
Gifts, Gadgets & Apps
7 critical things to do immediately with a new PC
Do you need these 15 software programs?
Tips – Tips – Tips for making your tech life easier
6:00 pm – Dick Beekman told us how he reads PCWorld on his Android phone. The app he uses is from Google Play (he used to use Zinio but, over time, it app left a lot to be desired).
Several members brought their new toys (gadgets) and told us about them. We looked at 7 critical things that should be done immediately with a new PC. We had many other things we thought should also be done. Do you think your new (or old) PC needs these 15 software programs? We decided we didn't like many of the 15 things and wouldn't recommend using them.
Word tips – IRS tips – tips that make your tech life easier ended the meeting.
December 9, 2015 - 10 Holiday Shopping Tips
Streaming Videos, TV Shows….
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour will show us 10 Holiday Shopping Tips; how to close a Facebook account; Gmail e-mail address tips and more.
7:00 pm – Streaming Media with Mark Thomas, Mark Thomas Computer Support. Mark will show us how easy it is to set up a streaming media device. Show ‘n Tell will cover using a 6’ HDMI cable and Amazon Prime to view movies & TV shows, Chromecast (it will be in the raffle), an Amazon fireTVstick, Amazon Echo, a Roku2 and a network set-up. If you are streaming media, please let us know how you do it.
Streaming Videos, TV Shows….
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour will show us 10 Holiday Shopping Tips; how to close a Facebook account; Gmail e-mail address tips and more.
7:00 pm – Streaming Media with Mark Thomas, Mark Thomas Computer Support. Mark will show us how easy it is to set up a streaming media device. Show ‘n Tell will cover using a 6’ HDMI cable and Amazon Prime to view movies & TV shows, Chromecast (it will be in the raffle), an Amazon fireTVstick, Amazon Echo, a Roku2 and a network set-up. If you are streaming media, please let us know how you do it.
November 11, 2015 - Google Search Tips & Is Your Life in a Fishbowl? (From an article in The Santa Clarita Valley Signal) / How Technology has Changed the Way We Listen to Music
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour demonstrated some Google Search Tips that can help us find more specific results on Google. How much do your utilities know about you and more was addressed in Judy’s presentation, “Is Your Life in a Fish Bowl?” from information in an article by Jim Holt, Signal Senior Staff Writer.
7:00 pm – Ray Baxter, President of the Payson Area Computer Association in Arizona gave us a webinar presentation on “How Technology has Changed the Way We Listen to Music.” This was a two-part presentation: a quick review of our music listening habits during the last 65 years and a look at today’s download and streaming offerings. From 78s to 45s, LPs, the 8-track tape, cassettes, the Walkman, Compact Discs, iPods and more – Ray covered it all.
6:00 pm – Judy Taylour demonstrated some Google Search Tips that can help us find more specific results on Google. How much do your utilities know about you and more was addressed in Judy’s presentation, “Is Your Life in a Fish Bowl?” from information in an article by Jim Holt, Signal Senior Staff Writer.
7:00 pm – Ray Baxter, President of the Payson Area Computer Association in Arizona gave us a webinar presentation on “How Technology has Changed the Way We Listen to Music.” This was a two-part presentation: a quick review of our music listening habits during the last 65 years and a look at today’s download and streaming offerings. From 78s to 45s, LPs, the 8-track tape, cassettes, the Walkman, Compact Discs, iPods and more – Ray covered it all.
October 14, 2015 - Customizing Windows 10 Start Menu & Taskbar
Online Security – What you need to know to browse the Web safely
6:00 pm – Continuing with our tour of Windows 10, we learned how to customize the Start Menu and Taskbar.
At 7:00 pm, we celebrated National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) with a presentation on Online Security – What you need to know to browse the Web safely. NCSAM was created as a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. Each and every one of us needs to do our part to make sure that our online lives are kept safe and secure; this presentation will give you some resources to do that. The SCV Computer Club is a NCSAM Champion. www.staysafeonline.org
Online Security – What you need to know to browse the Web safely
6:00 pm – Continuing with our tour of Windows 10, we learned how to customize the Start Menu and Taskbar.
At 7:00 pm, we celebrated National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) with a presentation on Online Security – What you need to know to browse the Web safely. NCSAM was created as a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. Each and every one of us needs to do our part to make sure that our online lives are kept safe and secure; this presentation will give you some resources to do that. The SCV Computer Club is a NCSAM Champion. www.staysafeonline.org
September 9. 2015 - Microsoft's Edge Browser and Pedigree Charts6:00 pm – Both Internet Explorer 11 and Edge come with Windows 10 – handy, since not all websites are compatible with Edge (it’s too new). Edge is exclusively for Windows 10 and there’s a learning curve since it looks and feels quite different than previous versions of IE. Just like Windows 10, you need to take time to customize it.
At 7:00 pm, we’ll have our annual Genealogy presentation by Tom and Linda Tippets, Area Family History Advisors – Family Search. Attendees were given the opportunity to participate in the meeting by completing a pedigree chart with as much information as they have. Two members that are bringing their charts.
At 7:00 pm, we’ll have our annual Genealogy presentation by Tom and Linda Tippets, Area Family History Advisors – Family Search. Attendees were given the opportunity to participate in the meeting by completing a pedigree chart with as much information as they have. Two members that are bringing their charts.
August 12, 2015 - Windows 10 – Judy Taylour
eBay with Denny Fuerst
6:00 pm – We took out first look at Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 10. We have one member who downloaded and was not happy with how it worked with his equipment and went back to Windows 7. He told us about his Win 10 download experiences.
At 7:00 pm club member, Denny Fuerst, took us through a live demonstration of buying and selling on eBay. He has been an active buyer and seller on eBay for the past 15 years and has over 250 "feedbacks" from his activity on the site. Denny had an item listed for sale on eBay that will be scheduled to close at 8:00 pm and we saw how the bidding process worked, especially in the final minutes and seconds of an auction listing. Members were invited to bring their friends who are curious about the various aspects of eBay.
eBay with Denny Fuerst
6:00 pm – We took out first look at Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 10. We have one member who downloaded and was not happy with how it worked with his equipment and went back to Windows 7. He told us about his Win 10 download experiences.
At 7:00 pm club member, Denny Fuerst, took us through a live demonstration of buying and selling on eBay. He has been an active buyer and seller on eBay for the past 15 years and has over 250 "feedbacks" from his activity on the site. Denny had an item listed for sale on eBay that will be scheduled to close at 8:00 pm and we saw how the bidding process worked, especially in the final minutes and seconds of an auction listing. Members were invited to bring their friends who are curious about the various aspects of eBay.
July 8, 2015 - Word 2010 / 2013 Annoyances, Tips & Tricks with Judy Taylour
Elliott Stern, PC Maestro, E-mail, Security Tips & More
6:00 pm – I often wonder if Microsoft ever has regular-people focus groups when they decide to change their programs. Word 2010 & 2013 have some things that need to be changed when you start using the program plus, over time, you find tips & tricks that make it easier to use Word. If you have found some tips or tricks that make it easier to use Word….please share them at the meeting (JT)
7:00 pm – Elliott, the PC Maestro, is going to be with us via Webinar. He’s going to be talking about e-mail, security and many other computer-related subjects – it’s his new presentation
Elliott Stern, PC Maestro, E-mail, Security Tips & More
6:00 pm – I often wonder if Microsoft ever has regular-people focus groups when they decide to change their programs. Word 2010 & 2013 have some things that need to be changed when you start using the program plus, over time, you find tips & tricks that make it easier to use Word. If you have found some tips or tricks that make it easier to use Word….please share them at the meeting (JT)
7:00 pm – Elliott, the PC Maestro, is going to be with us via Webinar. He’s going to be talking about e-mail, security and many other computer-related subjects – it’s his new presentation
June 10, 2015 -
May 2015 -
April 2015 - ID Theft: Protect Yourself, Yourself
VPN -- does not stand for Very Paranoid Now
6:00 pm – Santa Clarita Valley: Four arrested in suspected Newhall ID theft ring! 6 ID theft suspects arrested at a local Walgreens! Bank of Santa Clarita ID Theft notice to consumers! Woman suspected of using identity theft to steal tens of thousands of dollars! Identity theft is a serious crime. It happens when someone uses information about you without your permission. Judy Taylour’s presentation, "ID Theft: Protect Yourself, Yourself," will cover how your ID can be stolen, how to help prevent that from happening, and what to do if you become a victim of ID theft.
7:00 pm – VPN does not stand for Very Paranoid Now. Greg Skalka, president of the Under the Computer Hood User Group in San Diego, will give a presentation on VPN (Virtual Private Network) via Webinar. It will explain the benefits of and how to use a VPN that can help keep your data secure by adding security and privacy to private and public networks, like Wi-Fi Hotspots and the Internet.
VPN -- does not stand for Very Paranoid Now
6:00 pm – Santa Clarita Valley: Four arrested in suspected Newhall ID theft ring! 6 ID theft suspects arrested at a local Walgreens! Bank of Santa Clarita ID Theft notice to consumers! Woman suspected of using identity theft to steal tens of thousands of dollars! Identity theft is a serious crime. It happens when someone uses information about you without your permission. Judy Taylour’s presentation, "ID Theft: Protect Yourself, Yourself," will cover how your ID can be stolen, how to help prevent that from happening, and what to do if you become a victim of ID theft.
7:00 pm – VPN does not stand for Very Paranoid Now. Greg Skalka, president of the Under the Computer Hood User Group in San Diego, will give a presentation on VPN (Virtual Private Network) via Webinar. It will explain the benefits of and how to use a VPN that can help keep your data secure by adding security and privacy to private and public networks, like Wi-Fi Hotspots and the Internet.
March 11, 2015 - PC Don’ts & Let’s Go YouTubing. We took a look at several Don’ts for our PCs to: make it easier for us to use them, maintain them, help with online privacy, and more. We also learned about YouTube and how we can create our own Channel, upload videos, create descriptions & tags that will entice people to watch them, delete a video, plus an easy way to download a video to our computer.
February 11, 2015 - Must-Have Utilities & Team Viewer – How to use it to help people with their computer problems and what you need to do when someone is helping you with a computer problem. At 6:00 pm We took a look at some of the must-have utilities Bob Gostischa, Avast Evangelist, talked about at our January meeting:
- CCleaner does much more than just ‘clean’ your hard drive
- Are you using Malwarebytes and Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit?
- Unchecky
- FileHippo.com Update Checker
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January 14, 2015 - Gadgets /
Security is Everyone’s Business - Knowledge is King. Ignorance leads to Computer
Infection, Identity Theft or Worse!
by Bob Gostischa, Avast Evangelist. Thanks to the members and guests who shared how they use their new gadgets. Bob G's excellent presentation covered
1) loopholes & pitfalls of using a computer and browsing
the Internet; 2) how to decrease the likelihood of becoming a victim of the
many scams that await the uniformed user; 3) find out where threats can hide in
unexpected places; 4) the difference between Privacy and Security and what you
can do to enjoy both; and 5) Android smartphone and tablet safety &
security recommendations. He also discussed programs that will keep us and our computer safe and secure.
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