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Contents1) New RAK Events!2)
TBCS Classes
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| Saturday, March 27th | TBCS Resource Center |
| Thursday, April 29th | Palm Harbor Library |
| Thursday, May 27th | Gulfport Library |
The one that occurs at our Resource Center will accompany another Open House. I'll be announcing details as the registration times draw near.
2) TBCS Classes
Adobe Photoshop CS
Some students have requested that we hold a class on Adobe Photoshop CS. Once again our own Stan Ashbrook has risen to the occasion to comply with that request. Stan's latest creation will be a 6-week course that will take place on Saturday mornings beginning on February 21st. This will be 12 hours of instruction for a total cost of $60. This is NOT a hands-on class.
Details on what will be covered can be found at: http://computerphoto.org/pages/photoshop.html
All class sessions will take place on a Saturday from 9am to 11:30am (2-hour classes with a 30 minute break).
Classes will be held on 2/21, 2/28, 3/6, 3/13, 4/3 & 4/10.
Note: Stan must skip the last 2 Saturdays in March due to a prior commitment. Therefore, the last 2 classes will be held in April.
Windows 101
Jan Norman's next Basic Windows class will begin the first Friday in March. It will take place over 4 Friday afternoons from 1-3pm beginning on March 5th. Jan's very popular class is 8 hours of instruction for $40. Ya better sign up fast because it's half-full already.
Classroom Registration
All of our classes meet at our Resource Center in Clearwater. We charge a flat fee of $5 per classroom hour which comes with a money-back guarantee if you're not happy with the instruction for any reason. In order to register for any of the classes (or if you have questions), please send an email to the club secretary, Jan Norman.
3) SIG Stuff
Monday, February 9, 7-9pm
Photoshop SIG. Led by Stan Ashbrook
This month we'll look into the world of 3rd party filters available for Photoshop. Stan
Tuesday, February 10, 1-3pm
Novice SIG. Led by Jan Norman
EVERY Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday, February 10, 7-9pm
Internet
Development SIG.
Dave Dockery
We're meeting as usual - followed by the O'Keefe's Social.
Wednesday, February 11, 6:30pm
Board of Directors
meeting.
Board meetings are open to all our members. They take place at the Resource Center. Come on and join us to see what's going on at TBCS.
Thursday, February 12, 7-9pm
Web Design SIG. Led by Jim Cook
Digital Video SIG. Led by Howard Poindexter
This is the only SIG we have that meets sporadically. Click on the link above to send Howard an email and let him know that you're interested in attending. He will schedule a night when he has enough interested people signed up.
4) Doc Rants Again: "The SpyBot Swindle"
I've been recommending a free spyware removal program for quite some time now called SpyBot. Recently, a couple of people I recommended this to told me that they had downloaded a program called SpyKiller instead. At first, I assumed that they had just been sloppy when they went a'searchin'.
When I decided to check on this, I realized that the problem is one of deception. Various search engines are accepting paid advertising from the purveyors of competing spyware products. Since "SpyBot" has successfully become one of the most recommended downloads, their competitors have purchased links, then used the term "spybot" on their sites to make themselves look like the Real McCoy.
SpyKiller says they will scan your disk for free. Weeell, they do scan your disk for free, but they charge you $30 to remove the spyware that they find. I heard that at least a couple of these look-alike programs are spyware themselves.
Please pass the word not to reward these jerks for misleading advertising. I sent a NastyGram to Google asking them to drop paid links that practice deception.
SpyBot's full name is "SpyBot Search & Destroy". If you google "spybot search" you will get the correct product. Found at:
http://www.safer-networking.org/
Doc
5) Scams
Medicare Drug Discount Cards
Medicare warns that people are going door-to-door to discuss the new Medicare-approved drug discount card. No card sponsors have been approved as of this writing. Please report them to Medicare's toll-free hotline: 800-633-4323.
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Modem Hijacking - only a problem if your computer is connected to your phone line!
Another Internet scam is apparently causing unsuspecting consumers to receive phone bills for hundreds of dollars. This scam starts when you attempt to close a popup window that, instead of closing, downloads and installs "dialing" software on your computer.
The dialing software merrily dials phone numbers that charge exorbitant connection fees. You end up receiving a phone bill with outrageous amounts charged to you.
What can you do about this? The truly paranoid can disconnect their phone line any time they are not logged on to the Internet. Let's face it, if your computer doesn't have a physical connection to your phone line, I guarantee it's not going to make calls.
Most (but not necessarily all) of these dialers will be downloaded to you as what is called an "ActiveX Control". You can configure Internet Explorer's Security settings to make sure that this software is NOT installed without your awareness and permission.
- Click on: Tools --> Internet Options --> Security
- Set slider to Medium.
If you have set your browser to the Custom level, then make sure that you have configured the "Download signed ActiveX controls" setting to "Prompt". Now Internet Explorer will ASK for your permission before it downloads and installs any software.
Doc