NEXT MEETING Sunday, May 19th at 2pm NOTE    Change of Location at Jackson Hewitt 2221 Lee Road, WINTER PARK, Fl 32789 Directions - Map Speaker: Bob Gostischa Protecting Yourself, Your Computer, and Your Identity It’s common wisdom that avoiding suspicious web-based content and especially ‘dodgy’ websites will keep you safe on the Internet.  Unfortunately, that sort of information is ‘old and outdated technology’. Internet security (protecting both your computer and your identity)  can however, be demystified. This presentation focuses on normal computer users, rather than “IT geeks,” and clearly explains the following topics: Protecting yourself from virus, worms, Trojans, rootkits and, botnets. Computer safety tips How to spot phishing attempts How to recover when your email account has been hijacked Email etiquette Social networking safety tips Software installation safety tips Other free software used to create layered protection Features and benefits of Avast's free antivirus program Android Smartphone and Tablet safety and protection recommendations Join presenter Bob Gostischa, as he simplifies, clarifies, and demystifies your computer, making your Internet experience a safe, secure and, enjoyable one.   About the Presenter: Norbert “Bob” Gostischa, after a successful career in banking, enjoys his retirement as an enthusiast IT security expert,  most notably for Avast Software.  Avast is the creator of avast! antivirus software. The Avast website has a discussion and help forum,  where Bob has been helping with security-related and general computer issues since 2004.  He has contributed over 20,000 forum interactions.  I’m proud that this presentation has been approved by the AARP: http://createthegood.org/volunteer/opportunity-details/19507 avast! Antivirus is currently the most used antivirus software in the world.  Avast has been making security software for over 20 years and has more than 160 million users worldwide.  Although my presentation is not a sales pitch for Avast, mentioning Avast and their Software in your announcements, would still be appreciated since they pay all the bills.  There is no charge to the Club, Usergroup or, Organization for my services.    Click here  to view a short video describing the topics covered in the current presentation. You can also learn a little  more about these presentations in my Blog avast! Now Free for Schools, Universities and Libraries   Windows SIG:  12.30pm before the General Meeting   Hewie Poplock leads this group with information about using the Windows Operating System. This includes all versions of Windows ,including XP, Vista and Win7. Bring your questions about Windows or any computer questions to be fielded by a room full of computer enthusiasts. The questions will be answered during the Windows SIG or during the "Askit Baskit" portion of the main meeting. JOIN THE DISCUSSION...find answers - Window SIG Website Mike & Hewie's Blog. Upcoming Meetings & Events CFCS Virtual Digital Photo & Video SIG  -   While you are thinking of it, register today at https://apcug.ilinc.com/perl/ilinc/lms/event.pl Be sure to choose the CFCS Digital Photo SIG, as there may be other meetings available. To subscribe to the Digital Photo SIG eNewsletter: http://eepurl.com/rDjSP To read the current Newsletter on line: http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=77ef5ab7f6956c886ef7515b0&id=b1b3c6fa3c&e=f17c75b208  (This changes from month to month) To view previous meetings:

Click here to read our weekly eNewsletter.

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Excerts from CFCS Tech SIG

If you cannot view this video Click Here

 

Free OReilly Webcasts

OReilly Media has a variety of free technical webcasts Please go to their website for details and registration.

Ink - Toner - Solid Ink - POS & Cash Register Ribbons - Save 30% to 70% on Ink & Toner Supplies

Please support the Central Florida Computer Society by purchasing your ink, toner and Printer Supplies from our web store.
http://cfcs.InkRaiser.Com

CONFERENCES

 

2013 FACUG’s 4th Technology Conference@Sea
Saturday, December 7 - Sunday, December 15, 2013

Details on website

 

Video from APCUG’s 2013 Winter Virtual Technology Conference (VTC) .

The VTCs are gaining popularity with user group members and attendance is growing with each conference. The sessions are 50 minutes in length and offer attendees the opportunity to ask questions via a chat window. Videos from conferences can be found on APCUG’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/apcugvideos.

 

 

 

The Recycle Bin

by Stan Wallner,  President Emeritus, CFCS

Stan, a CFCS member since 1984, has served in many offices over the years, and is now on the BOD as President Emeritus. Separately, he is a local IT consultant, "“PC Doctors Make House Calls," offering his services on-site, at your office or home - for PC and Laptop Up-grades, WiFi, Networks, Virus & Spyware removal, Troubleshooting both hardware & software, at reasonable rates (discounts for CFCS members!).
You can con-tact him at smwallner@yahoo.com or 407-862-2669.

Category "A" - Primarily For Monitors, Printers, Scanners that still work, and PC's that are repairable, with exceptions as noted:

#1 Missionary Computer Fellowship; "MCF"(407-422-9265) or email us ( in-fo@mcf-orl.org ) .
Donations can be brought directly to 725 West Central Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32805, on Tuesday or Thursday (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.).
This is west of I-4, near North Parramore Ave and West Washington Street.

We'd been told last year that they were shutting down, but they didn't. We just got these details - they are still rebuilding PC's, sending over 40,000 overseas over the years, and also providing them to local people in need:
"What we need:

• Volunteers to work on computers. No experience needed - we will train you!
• Pentium I11 computers or faster. They don't have to work. We can fix them.
• Monitors less than 10 years old, especially flat screens. They need to work. We don't fix monitors.
• Currently working printers and scanners.
• Any Windows operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 7.
• Mice, keyboards and speakers and video, network and sound cards
• Hard Drives greater than 40 GB (We will SE CURE CLEAN all HDs)
• CD/RW and DVD/RW Drives
• Memory DDR213 256 MB or above
• Microsoft Office software
• Cash (any denomination!)

How can we help you?:
Are you a missionary or involved in a mission?
Are you a church group or a non-profit? Could you use a computer system or repair of an exist-ing computer system?
If so, please call (407-422-9265) or email us ( in-fo@mcf-orl.org ) . Donations can be brought directly to 725 West Central Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32805, on Tuesday or Thursday (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.). This is west of I-4, near North Parramore Ave and West Washington Street.

#2  Southeastern Data, at 142 Park Road in Oviedo, FL 32765 (Off Alafaya Trail, just north of E. McCulloch Road);
phone 407-971-4654 Their hours are 8:00 am til 5:00 pm, Monday thru Friday.

 They've been very helpful in allowing CFCS members to drop off most recyclables with no service charge, for quite some time; greatly appreciated! SE Data offers free recycling with the exception of monitors and terminals with cathode ray tubes, CRTs and terminals which are $3.00 each. TVs with cathode ray tubes need to be evaluated, but most are $0.60/lb. Displays with LCD/LED screens are accepted at no charge and most likely can be purchased, working or not. You can come by anytime, but a heads up call would be appreciated for large loads. Also, do let them know you are involved with CFCS.
SE is also a great place to pick up parts and accessories, and they accept trade-ins against purchases and they will even outright purchase your components. Their hours are 8:00 am til 5:00 pm, Monday thru Friday.
Southeastern Data is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified and offers shredding of hard drives, tapes, optical media, cell phones and small electronics at their facility and on site. And, since they will do also accept items that DO NOT work, they do truly fit in both Category “A” AND “B!!”

#3 Orlando Recycles, Inc.
They are at located at 5014 Forsyth Commerce Road, #4, Orlando, FL, 32807, just off Forsyth, about 1/2 mile east of 436 and south of Colonial. Their hours are from 9:30 to 5:30. You do not need to call them.

They have changed their policies in that they will no longer be able to provide us with any revenue, and will no longer be able to pick up materials from my house. They are still a viable place to recycle, and there is no charge to you for items like CRT's, TV's.

You can take things on your own - just go there. No need to say you are involved with CFCS; just leave your items with them if they are open. AND, you can even go when they are closed - they have an outdoor Drop Box there, al-ways open and available! Since they do also accept items that DO NOT work, they do truly fit in both Category "A" AND "B!!"

#4 Goodwill. They have recently changed their policy, and WILL now accept WORKING Monitors including CRT’s if not too old, Printers, Scanners, PC's, DVD, CD or Hard Drives at all of their locations, including the manned Trucks around town.

#5 Salvation Army. They also accept WORK-ING Monitors including CRT's if not too old, Printers, Scanners, PC's, DVD, CD and/or Hard Drives at all of their locations.
They do not sell them in their stores, but Auction them off at their W. Colonial location, every Mon, Wed, and Fri, at 9:00 am, along with other various items that either did not sell or are damaged.

#6 Vietnam Vets. They also accept WORKING Monitors including CRT's if not too old, Printers, Scanners, PC's, DVD, CD and/or Hard Drives at all of their locations. They do sell them in their stores.

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Category "B" - Scrap Only - For Monitors, Printers, Scanners that DON'T work, PC's that are too old, and/or NOT repairable, etc.

#1) A1 Assets (www.a1assets.com) is the parent company of Refresh Computers. Their address is 1100 Charles Street, Longwood, FL 32750. They have both drop-off and pickup services available. If there is a large quantity, they can pick up for you, but there may be a fee, depending upon the quantity and quality of the items.
Most items are free of charge to drop off. The only exceptions are CRT Monitors and TV's at $3.00 per item under 21 inch. Larger TVs and monitors could be as much as $10 each.
An appointment for drop off at Charles Street is not needed, but is not a bad idea if dropping off a truck load. The Phone number is: 407-339-7030.
If you only have a small quantity of items (1 to 4 items) you may drop them off at one of the Refresh Computer Stores. Locations are found on the A1 Assets web site at www.a1assets.com. An appointment/phone call is not needed for small drop offs.

#2 Best Buy Stores.
All local stores; no need to con-tact them first. All items above; all at NO CHARGE, limited to three items per visit. The only exceptions are CRT Monitors or TV's. First, there is a maximum size of 32", and there will be a fee of $10.00 each. However, they do immediately return the $10.00 to you in the form of a Cash Card!
You can go to www.bestbuy.com/recycling for more info, or CALL ‘24/7’ 1-888- BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289)!

#3 Recycling Directory: http://earth911.com/
This is a directory containing information for recycling over 240 different products that are free for consumers. There are over 127,000 locations and programs that people can search to find local recycling and disposal resources. Thanks to Mike Ungerman and Hewie Poplock for sending this to me - includes County places, and for example - Staples, many others, by ZIP. It is thorough! (However, what is not mentioned on this site, for exam-ple, is that Staples just mentioned CHARGES $10 EACH for any PC, Printer, CRT or LCD, even Hard Drive! Only small items, such as mice and key-boards are free. So I would say 'caveat emptor' applies! Call or go first, as I did!

#4 Seminole County Residential Electronics ecycling; http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/envsrvs/solidwaste/electronics.aspx
Where can I recycle my e-scrap?
The Seminole County Solid Waste Management Division accepts e-scrap at the Central Transfer Station's Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Facility. The e-scrap is accepted during regular working hours.
1950 State Road 419; Longwood, Florida 32750
HOURS: Monday - Saturday, 7:30am - 5:30pm, (except certain holidays)
Who can recycle e-scrap?
The electronics recycling program is available for all residents of Seminole County for e-scrap generated in your home. This service is FREE OF CHARGE for residential households. Contact Seminole County's Solid Waste Management Division Customer Service Team at 407-665-2260 for more information.

We will be adding to this list. There are additional places, and we want as many listed here as possible for our members’ convenience! If you have suggestions or comments, send an email to presidentemeritus@cfcs.org.

 

Affliliate Programs

Folding at Home distributed computing project -- people from throughout the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. The goal: to understand protein folding, misfolding, and related diseases.

CFCS is participating in this worthwhile project that uses the spare computer cycles of your computer when it's not doing anything as a member of the "super computer" team. Learn more about it at http://folding.stanford.edu.

If you decide to download and install the client, join our team to give CFCS credit for the work your computer accomplishes by entering in team number 70013.

Articles

Hewie's Views and Reviews. Each month Hewie Poplock writes for the CFCS Newsletter. This is the link to his website where you can read his latest Edition. You can follow Hewie on Twitter

 

The solution to this disaster is to regularly backup your computer's hard drive. This is the most important thing that every computer user should do to protect their system and files. With a good backup, you can restore your hard drive to the way it was before the crash. You will have your computer running again in a matter of minutes. Your important data files are safe from being lost. What a difference having a backup makes when your hard drive crashes on you.

Running backups is not that difficult using the latest technology and following the right backup approach. Our presenter this month will show you a quick and simple backup process that is also the most effective. He has years of experience in this topic and will show you his Perfect Backup Approach that is used by thousands of users around the world. With it, you can also easily get a good backup system running on your computer or greatly improve the way you are currently backing up your system. This is perhaps the most important computer presentation you will hear this year, so don't miss it.

Gene Barlow has been a presenter in the user group community for over 25 years. He spent his career with IBM in various technical and managerial positions. Back in the 80's when IBM first introduced the PC, Gene and a small handful of others establish the IBM PC User Group program. He spent the last 15 years of his career with IBM working with user groups all over the world, supporting this effort from every aspect. Gene has since retired, started his own consulting business called User Group Relations, and now lives in beautiful southern Utah, close to Zion's National Park. His presentations are interesting and easy to understand. So, don't be left out, be at the meeting this month for some important information.

 

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