Hello All,
This is a re-post of a free APCUG webinar
Ralph Sutter

APCUG
Wednesday Workshop
January 28, 2026
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Anatomy of a Scam: Why are so many people becoming victims?
Staff Sergeant Tara Hardin, Triad Director
Oklahoma County Sheriff?s Office
 
Windows 11 ? Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks
Rob Truman, Vice President
Computer Booters of Sun Lakes

Register here https://forms.gle/ii1a4DawJPSKCyGP9
You only need to register once.
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration.
On January 27, 2026, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS
Anatomy of a Scam: Why are so many people becoming victims?
This presentation explains how today?s scams work and why so many people are falling victim to fraud. From fake phone calls and emails to social media and online schemes, criminals use emotion, urgency, and deception to trick people into sending money or sharing personal information.
Join us to learn how scammers gather information, manipulate trust, and pressure victims. The presentation also provides simple, practical tips to help recognize warning signs, slow suspicious situations down, and protect financial and personal information.
Whether you are protecting yourself or a loved one, this session will give you the tools to spot scams before they cause harm.
 
Windows 11 ? Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks
When you unpack a new Windows 11 laptop or desktop, the operating system often arrives with more than just the OS: promotional games, trial utilities, vendor utilities, and background helpers that quietly launch at startup. Do you want to take control, eliminate Microsoft tracking, boost your computer's performance, or perform a cleanup and remove clutter? Join us as we examine a variety of Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks for the Novice to help make your copy of Windows 11 ?Not Suck?.
 

Hello All,
What follows is an early draft of the resources about which I will be speaking at the SLO Bytes General Session of 01/04/2026. On that day, I will be subbing for our usual presenter, Alan Raul

SLO Bytes General Session Resources

Caltopo; Freeware Mapping Software:  www.caltopo.com
Caltopo Tutorials:  https://training.caltopo.com/all_users/getting-started

Using Irfanview, Place your GPS enabled images on a Google Earth Pro Map
Download Irfanview from https://www.irfanview.com/64bit.htm
Download Google Earth Pro from https://www.google.com/earth/about/versions/
You take pictures with your smartphone and you have not turned off location, Press the letter e in Irfanview.  You can then choose to upload that picture to Google Earth Pro

Adam Savage compares Apple Thunderbolt cable to cheap USB C cables
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD5aAd8Oy84  Worthwhile for Interesting details on Thunderbolt cable but it?s a flawed comparison akin to matching a bicycle against a car

Kevin Stratvert Free Movies on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhxtAfpi4Ow
Kevin Stratvert Top 20 Google Maps Tips & Tricks: All the best features you should know!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beeNMoXuxPg

Every SSD Type Explained In 8 Minutes  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or-RheltPrc

Ways to Add Storage to Your Computer
Leave an SD card in your computer?s card reader slot. A 128 GB SD card stays in my Lenovo laptop

Attach external drives via USB C/Thunderbolt

Sutter Storage on Coolermaster Computer https://www.fullbean.com/computer/sutter-drives.pdf

Add Docking Stations
CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock - 18 Ports, 98W Charging, 40Gb/s Thunderbolt 4, USB-A/C, 2.5GbE, 8K/6K Displays, Mac/PC/Chrome Compatible $379.99
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09GK8LBWS/

OWC Thunderbolt Hub https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1603440-REG/owc_owctb4hub5p_thunderbolt_hub_adds_3_thunderbolt.html  $128.99

ZikeDrive Z666 USB4 40Gbps NVMe M.2 SSD Enclosure $119.99
https://ziketech.com/products/zikedrive-usb4-40gbps-nvme-m-2-ssd-enclosure-z666 

StarTech USB 3.1 Dual-Bay Dock for 2.5"/3.5" SATA SSDs/HDDs $90.00
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-10Gbps-Dual-ay-Dock-SATA/dp/B00XLAZ9KC

Powered USB Hubs
Arcodot 9 in 1 USB C  Adapter
https://www.amazon.com/USB-Hub-Acodot-Multiport-Adapter/dp/B0BKPYY8BC?th=1  $16.99

External Device for mounting NVME m.2 Drives
Riitop NVME to USB Enclosure Adapter  (Out of stock)
https://www.newegg.com/riitop-nvm2c-sl-enclosure/p/0VN-006F-00033

USB Adapters
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-USB-to-USB-Adapters/zgbs/pc/3015402011

Plugable 3-Port USB 3.0 Hub with Gigabit Ethernet Port (not powered) $34.95
https://plugable.com/products/usb3-hub3me

Not Computer Related
Alpenflow Fuel Transfer Valve for Propane Canisters  $11.95
https://www.garagegrowngear.com/products/alpenflow-fuel-transfer-device-by-alpenglow-gear

Project Farm:   https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm
Garden Hoses  https://youtu.be/-W-kHV_t-So?t=1113
Oil Absorbent Products  https://youtu.be/JyAuzc7993M?t=1096
Double A Batteries https://youtu.be/7eloV0mp6CE?t=1080
Plastic Tarps  https://youtu.be/L6ush2x6tB4?t=1142

CA Glues Tested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vR15u0vmms
Elmers Gorilla Krazy Loctite Scotch Original Super Glue
Best at Twist (torque wrench) ? Elmers  https://youtu.be/_vR15u0vmms?t=416
Best at tensile strength (pulling up) ? Loctite https://youtu.be/_vR15u0vmms?t=526
Best at inches supported (sliding along pipe) ? Loctite  https://youtu.be/_vR15u0vmms?t=667
Best at price per gram ? Loctite   https://youtu.be/_vR15u0vmms?t=671

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement from APCUG
Ralph Sutter
---
Tune up your security for 2026
Protect Yourself and Your Community From Scams and Identity Theft
Gema de las Heras, FTC Consumer Education Specialist
and
Test Driving Linux
John Krout, Member, Presenter, and Author
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
 
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/jMjDYARZtg3H8utGA
 
 After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. You only need to register once. On December 9, 2025, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS:
Protect Yourself and Your Community From Scams and Identity Theft
Join the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to learn how to spot and stop the scams going after retirees? life savings. Gema De las Heras will offer easy, practical tips and introduce new free tools you can use and pass along to help protect your friends, family, and community.
 
Test Driving Linux
This presentation is for anyone who wants to prepare for a hard drive (HD) or solid-state drive (SSD) failure, and for anyone who wants to try Linux as an operating system without installing it on their HD or SSD.
 
You will see that the Linux version John chose, Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop, closely resembles Windows, which reduces the learning challenge quite a bit. You will learn how to prepare your Windows computer to start Linux from a USB device, how to obtain Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop, and how to install it on a USB drive. You will also learn what the term desktop means in Linux.
 
The Linux Mint Files app, the equivalent of Windows File Explorer, can read your computer's HD or SSD and let you copy files from it, even if Windows itself can no longer start up.

Private Internet Access VPN 3.7.0
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/private_internet_access_vpn.html

How It's Made: A Miniature Network-Attached Storage (NAS) Device
https://youtu.be/12lqrpUwgNc

Inside Intel?s $20 Billion Chip Factory in the US
https://youtu.be/UDmW-pGzsWs

Leica Camera AG
https://youtu.be/UDmW-pGzsWs?si=1gpEyE0mDTFNAoKm&t=721

Frame - When business meets engineering, FRAME is your new source of information. Designing, prototyping, building, or even destroying, our daily life is surrounded by processes of all kinds, each more interesting than the next.
https://www.youtube.com/@TheFrame

Ubuntu 24.04 Flavours: Kubuntu, Budgie, MATE, Cinnamon & More
https://youtu.be/4pXKqCVijOw

Building the PERFECT Linux PC with Linus Torvalds
https://youtu.be/mfv0V1SxbNA

Rechargeable LED Headlamp, 230? Illumination Headlight with Motion Sensor, Lightweight, Weatherproof, 2 Light Source Head Lamp Flashlight
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096M68534?th=1

Synology DiskStation DS1525+ 5-Bay NAS Enclosure
https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DS1525+
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1903687-REG/synology_diskstation_ds1525_5_bay_nas.html

Alan's current hardware in use. You can click an item of particular interest or download all the files as a single ZIP file (recommended).
http://tinyurl.com/5n7ywhx5
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/c04bq4vbprfh1yvo4vdfm/h?rlkey=xxcr2i3oh2j3xggxhxb5yjw6q&dl=0

Ralph's LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8 14"
https://www.fullbean.com/computer/linux-lenovo/linux-lenovo.html

Hello All,
This is an announcement that I received today from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

APCUG
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
November 19, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am, MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Artificial Intelligence (AI): fun and helpful tips
Chris Taylor, President
Ottawa PC Users? Group
 
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/Fu3F86M4vVz4xGpP9
 
 After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. You only need to register once. On November 18, 2025, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION:
Artificial Intelligence (AI): fun and helpful tips.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have exploded over the last few years. They can supercharge your web searches & help you find the most relevant information, generate images & videos from text prompts, summarize web pages, meetings, YouTube videos, & PDF files, assist with tasks in your programs, and help with creative writing, among other things. Chris Taylor from the Ottawa PC Users' Group will demonstrate how easily it can be done and how to avoid the dreaded "AI hallucinations." And you can do it all (well, most of it) for free.