SB – Security
** = One of the choose three series of Bill James’ presentations for your meeting).
**Another level of security for your Windows PC. Admin versus Standard User to sign on to your Windows 10/11 PC.
Bill James, Computer Club of Oklahoma City
Creating a Safe Environment on Facebook. This presentation covers the advantages and disadvantages of being on Facebook. Learn what you need to do to be more secure when using the app. Don’t put your privacy at risk; choose carefully when you sign up and customize your settings. What to do about friend requests and how to avoid scams, fake news, ads that drive you crazy, and more.
Judy Taylour, SCV Computer Club
Cybercriminals Are Targeting Seniors: How to Stay One Step Ahead. Identity theft, phishing, vishing,
poofing, and other types of fraud increasingly target older adults. According to 2025 Federal Bureau of Investigation data, people age 60 and older filed more than 201,000 complaints, with reported losses totaling nearly $7.75 billion. That is a dramatic increase from 2024.
Scammers continue to develop new and more sophisticated ways to target older adults. Some of the most prominent include:
• AI-powered impersonation scams using cloned voices, images, or videos to impersonate a grandchild, family member, government official, or other trusted person.
• Investment and “pig butchering” scams that build trust through romance, friendship, or social media before steering victims toward convincing but fraudulent investment opportunities.
• Tech support impersonation scams in which criminals claim your computer is infected, gain remote access, and then steal money or personal information.
• Government and benefit impersonation scams in which victims are threatened with the loss of Social Security, Medicare, or other benefits unless they pay immediately.
• Cryptocurrency scams, including schemes that pressure victims to send money through cryptocurrency ATMs or kiosks.
This presentation will explore these evolving scams, explain how they work, and provide practical strategies you and your loved ones can use to recognize, avoid, and report fraud—so you can stay one step ahead of the scammers.
Judy Taylour, SCV Computer Club
Keeping Your Data Private with VeraCrypt. VeraCrypt is one of the most popular “on-the-fly” encryption programs. It enables you to store sensitive data on your PC in an encrypted format and access that data normally without constantly thinking about encrypting and decrypting it. VeraCrypt is based on the older TrueCrypt application and is free and open source.
Topics in this presentation include:
– Creating and using encrypted containers
– Encrypting flash drives
– Encrypting your laptop’s hard drive
– Backing up your encrypted data
– Caching passwords – Using hidden container
Mark Schulman, Central Florida Computer Society
ID Theft: Protect Yourself, Yourself. Some town, 225,000 residents, USA:
Four arrested in suspected ID theft ring
Six ID theft suspects arrested at a local Walgreens
Bank ID Theft notice to consumers
Woman suspected of using identity theft to steal tens of thousands of dollars
Four out-of-towners accused of mailbox vandalism, identity theft
Identity thieves reassembled shredded documents
Former Physical Therapist convicted of Identity Theft
Identity theft is a serious crime. It happens when someone uses information about you without your permission. Judy’s presentation covers 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.
Judy Taylour, SCV Computer Club
Imposter Scams: How to Spot Them Before They Cost You Money. Scammers are experts at pretending to be someone they’re not. In this engaging and senior-friendly presentation, you’ll learn how today’s criminals use phone calls, emails, text messages, pop-ups, social media, and fake websites to impersonate trusted organizations and individuals.
Topics include government impostors, fake bank fraud alerts, tech support scams, grandparent scams, romance scams, QR code scams, scareware, cryptocurrency fraud, Medicare scams, utility shutoff threats, subscription renewal scams, and more.
Filled with colorful illustrations and practical advice, this presentation teaches attendees how to recognize warning signs and protect themselves by remembering three simple words:STOP • VERIFY • THEN ACT
Judy Taylour, SCV Computer Club
Securing your Communications, Events, Files, and On-line Activities with Proton. You do everything possible to prepare for the unexpected and keep your family safe. But extending this protection online is difficult unless you’re particularly tech-savvy — until now. The Proton Family plan lets you protect your loved ones by giving them access to all Proton services and premium features. Up to six family members share 3 TB of storage space, and everyone gets their own encrypted email address, calendar, secure storage for their files, and VPN to browse securely.
John Kennedy, East-Central Ohio Computer Users Group
**Security/Privacy Windows 11 (3 mini-presentations–see Operating System). Microsoft Defender protects against all types of malware, but it also manages numerous other security features. Make sure your settings are what you want.
Bill James, Computer Club of Oklahoma City
How to Secure a Home Wireless Network. Many wireless routers do not default to the most secure configuration. Make sure you are not the “low-hanging fruit” that someone will decide to attack. It is surprisingly easy to make sure your network is secure. Chris Taylor, President of the Ottawa PC Users’ Group, will show you how easy it is. (60 minutes)
Chris Taylor, Ottawa PCUG
Protecting Your PC. The average time it takes for an unprotected computer to be compromised after connecting to the Internet is under 15 minutes. Don’t let it be yours. Chris Taylor, President of the Ottawa PC Users’ Group, will show you the simple steps you need to take to keep your PC from being hacked. And best of all, it can be done for free. (90 minutes)
Chris Taylor, Ottawa PCUG
STOP • VERIFY • THEN ACT – A Senior’s Everyday Scam Prevention Guide. In 2026, scammers are increasingly using text messages, phone calls, emails, fake websites, and AI-generated voices to target seniors. The biggest change is that scams now often look very convincing and feel urgent or personal. This presentation covers 20 of the most common scams seniors are seeing this year.
Judy Taylour, SCV Computer Club