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April-June 2007

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Region 2
(VA, MD, DC, DE, NJ)
by Gabe Goldberg, Advisor
ggoldberg@apcug.net

The Princeton, NJ PC Users Group http://www.ppcug-nj.org/ recently featured Joseph Perignat speaking on home computer security, a topic important to us all. Perignat is an independent consultant to home and small business personal computer users. He also teaches home personal computer fundamentals at Bucks County Community College. He has spent over 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry responsible for Information Technology Departments. Most recently he has been a speaker on Security for the Home PC to several organizations. His talk was described:

There are bad folks trying to do bad things to home personal computer users. They want to get hold of your personal information and use it for illegal purposes. They want to use your personal computer to spread spam. Some may even try to cripple your computer.

This presentation is aimed at the home personal computer user and covers security terminology and the ways personal computers can be compromised. The Speaker will show you what you need to do to stay out of harms way. He will provide information on where to go for further information on personal computer security and where to obtain free personal computer security software to protect yourself.

The Newark, DE "Senior Surfers" Computer Club, located in the Newark Senior Center http://www.nscseniorsurfers.com/ featured a Windows Vista overview by Dick Scott, described:

The folks in Redmond WA (Microsoft) have provided a presentation titled “See what Vista is all about.” For those who have found the version of Vista they "needed" there will be "opportunities" to share your earliest Vista experiences with the club, you are on the leading edge!

Another Baltimore Computer Users Group http://www.abcug.org/ is mostly made up of PC ‘home’ users, whose interests include: internet surfing, graphics, digital photography, productivity software, games and almost anything related to computing. A recent meeting discussed key internet topics like name domain services, e-mail forwarding/filtering, and website hosting. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend meetings.

The Lake Monticello, VA Computer Users Group http://lmcug.apcug.org/ Web site opens with the cheery greeting, "Computer users helping other computer users in the community of Lake Monticello. Welcome! You are not alone. We can help you get the most out of your personal computer." Who can argue with that?! Their holiday meeting featured "Cool Christmas Gifts," descriptions and price comparisons on various products -- everything from Playstation 3 to digital cameras, laptops, cell phones, and Windows Vista. A 2007 meeting described Windows Vista, the long-awaited new operating system from Microsoft. The meeting covered what Vista is like, what's needed to run it, and features and benefits it offers over other operating systems. It highlighted the stunning new Aero interface and explained how to find out if Windows Vista is for you.