May 17

Michael McCort, BS, CCFT, CCFS

From forensics-data.com

Covered computer forensic evidence

What is Computer Forensics?

The computer forensic specialist takes several careful steps to identify and retrieve evidence that exists on the subject computer system. They protect the subject computer system during the forensic examination from any alteration, damage, data corruption, or virus introduction.

Discovery of all files on the subject system. This includes existing normal files, deleted yet remaining files, hidden files, password protected files, and encrypted files.

Recovers all of discovered deleted files. Reveals the contents of ‘hidden files’ as well as temporary or ‘swap files’ used by both the application programs and the operating system.

June  21

Internet Browsers

March 15

IOGEAR 

 IOGEAR makes great products to enhance and make computing easier. They have a wireless USB to VGA video card (GUW2015V) which enables individuals to add multiple high-resolution displays to their notebook or desktop PCs via a WUSB connection. DisplayLink’s network display technology is the first to provide the high image quality and performance of VGA / DVI connections over USB and Wireless USB. By using WUSB to communicate wirelessly to monitors, projectors and TVs, IOGEAR’s new WUSB Video Adapter helps eliminate cable clutter on the desktop, in meeting rooms and at home. The WUSB to VGA Video Adapter’s performance includes instantaneous mouse and keyboard movements, output resolutions up to 1680 x 1050 and 16.7 million colors, as well as smooth DVD video playback. It will be commercially available in mid-2008.
IOGEAR's new MiniView™ Extreme Multimedia KVM and Peripheral Sharing Switch brings extra value to conventional KVM switches by offering USB peripheral sharing capabilities, audio and microphone support, and multi-platform support for Windows ®, Mac, and Sun systems using either USB and PS/2. You can save money and space by eliminating the need for multiple monitors, keyboards, mice, and peripheral devices such as printers, scanners, zip drives, and more. Up to 127 different USB devices can be daisy chained from this KVMP switch. Sharing speakers and a microphone also offers extra value and convenience for the users.
They gave us a discount for 35% off purcashes from their website - for one week.

Download video of the meeting - Right click here (88MB) choose "Save Target As"

April 19

Sling Media

Take your living room with you is a slogan that explains the purpose of the Slingbox. This is ―Digital Convergence, between TV-Satellite-Cable-DVRs-Laptop PC and mobile devices with no service fee.

Clip+Sling gives users the ability to ‘placeshift’ their television content to a desktop or laptop computer located just about anywhere. SlingPlayer 2.0 is packed with new features: in addition to the revolutionary Clip+Sling, SlingPlayer 2.0 will include a program guide of channel listings and a local video buffer that gives customers DVR-like controls. The program guide allows Slingbox owners to see exactly what shows are available on their home TV, no matter where they happen to be. Because SlingPlayer 2.0 uses a broadband Internet connection to stream video to the PC, Sling Media is able to use that same connectivity to give customers an easy-to-navigate view of their programming guide and supplemental content. Just like a DVR, the new SlingPlayer 2.0 video buffer allows users to pause live TV, fast forward or rewind instantaneously. The video buffer, temporarily stored on the PC or Mac, gives customers complete viewing flexibility even if they don’t have a DVR at home.

The Slingbox™ PRO-HD is its next generation product that is capable of streaming HD content from a home television source, including over the air HD digital signals, HDTV cable or satellite receivers, or HD DVR’s, to a laptop or desktop computer in and around the house. In addition, when paired with Sling Media’s new SlingCatcher, Slingbox PRO-HD will transmit the HD signal to another TV in the house. In fact, customers who have a high speed broadband connection that features upload speeds of 1.5 – 2 Mbps or higher, Slingbox PRO-HD can even stream in HD outside the home to the office, to a hotel room or even to a remote TV when using SlingCatcher.

Download video of the meeting - Right click here (61B) choose "Save Target As"

January 19
CES Review - what to look forward to and what not to bother with.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) sponsers the Consumer Electronic Show (CES). It is the preeminent show promoting growth in the $148 billion. 175 Conference sessions designed to help educate attendees on the latest consumer electronics industry trends. Last years show drew a record 27,020 international attendees, with overall attendance totaling 143,695. This year Monday, January 7 - Thursday, January 10, 2008 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas Hilton, and Sands Expo and Convention Center/The Venetian. It has 2,700 exhibitors, more than 1.7 million net square feet of space, and more than 175 conference sessions and 300 speakers.

February 16
Wolverine

Empower yourself with USB
Wolverine makers of fine multimedia, and data storage units, and players.

• 3.6” wide view angle color LCD

• From 80GB to 250GB Storage Capacity

• Built-in 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader

• Display JPEG, Bitmap, Tiff, Text and RAW images

• Print directly to printers

• Multi Format Music Player: MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC & CDA

• Multi Format Video Player: MPEG-1, MPEG-4, WMV9 and Xvid

• Built in Microhone

• Built-in FM Radio and Recorder

• Built-in connection to TV and Stereo System

• Portable Digital Video Recorder (DVR); Record Video Directly from TV/DVD/VCR/Camcorder

November 17, 2007
Remote accessing computers

Have a friend or relative always asking how do you do things on the computer? Instead of always driving over to their house, how about just logging onto their computer and showing them how to do it. They watch how you do and it saves on gas cost, and your sanity. Showed how LogMeIn works well to show someone how to do things, but can not execute a program on the remote site. GoToMyPC can however. LogMeIn has a free version to connect to one computer. GoToMyPC will cost you some money each month.

December 15, 2007

We disscued our favorite utilities and websites. We will also discuss what to look for with some common Christmas gifts like GPS units, cameras, or computers.

September 15, 2007
Applian Technologies

With the Audio Video Streaming Capture Suite you can :

• Record thousands of radio shows.

• Capture video from Online TV stations.

• Instantly convert your recordings to many popular formats, including several iPod options.

• Download streaming video clips from Windows Media™, Real™ and Flash™ formats.

• Save Podcasts or Radio shows as bookmarkable files on your iPod.

• Make MP3 files or CDs from any captured audio.

• Record from radios or any other device attached to your PC.

• Record playlists from Digital Music Services, and save each track as a separate MP3 song file or CD with artist, album, title and genre information.

• Pause, rewind, fast-forward and record live Web radio.

• Trim, chop, split and join MP3 files.

• Make screen capture videos.

• Record and pause recording from the microphone, and save to high quality MP3 files.

• And more!

October 20, 2007

Making Your Computer More Secure

Peter Berghammer  a computer security expert came and told us about the Back Hat and DEFCON conventions. He also told us how to make them more secure.

Download video of the meeting - Right click here (429MB) choose "Save Target As"

Mr. Berghammer, CEO of the Copernio Holding Company, a veteran of the aerospace, semiconductor and optical disc industries, was Vice President of Sales & Marketing Avolo LLC until 2001. Berghammer also served as Director of Worldwide Communications for Fairchild Fasteners (NYSE: FA), and its optical disc group. He also was a Special Projects Manager for EDS (NYSE: EDS) conducting research on database and future media interactivity.

July 21, 2007
Desktop Publishing Your Pictures

Dave Murphy gave us a great talk on how to do a self-published a book of  photographs. He described the decisions he made in planning the book, in image selection and editing, in selecting the book layout and cover design, and in the selection of a book layout program. He describe his printing choices and their comparative costs. He showed a home-printed copy of his book, as well as the final version from a local Print Shop. He concluded that printing costs have now become so reasonable that many photographers will choose to self-publish their work in the future. But still not cheap. Printed on his home printer and self bound was over $200 each. After searching around he found a printing place that printed 25 copies for $90 each.
Dave was born and raised in England. Educated as an aeronautical engineer he chose to travel the world before settling into a career of designing commercial airliners at Douglas Aircraft. His varied activities and extensive travels have provided opportunities for a large collection of photographs spanning a period of over fifty years. He has made presentations on Digital Photography and Photographic Composition to photography groups and was a judge at this years Los Alamitos Photography Competition.

August 18, 2007

RIDATA’s fun, new YEGO is a unique, multi-function USB flash drive featuring two additional USB ports. This allows the user to connect more USB devices and expand their computer’s capabilities. The YEGO features true Plug & Play technology, is USB 2.0 compliant, transfers data up to 480Mbps and is powered via USB port. Bright, tie-style LED lights indicate usage status. The YEGO USB Drive is available in five bright colors and capacities ranging from 128MB up to 4GB.

Features:

• Novel Design with two additional ports

• Tie style of LED indicator become independent

• USB drive plus two extra USB ports

• Capacity: 128MB, 256MB, 512MB , 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB

• Compliant to USB 2.0 specification with full-speed transfer up to 480Mbps

• Power Supply: Powered via USB port. No external power or battery needed

• Power save: Support power saving mode to reduce power consumption

• LED indicator: LED indicates usage status

May 19, 2007
Vista and Microsoft Office 2007

Stephen Rose Network and Training Specialist from OCGPROS.COM came  to tell us all about the new Vista Operating System and explain the differences between the Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. And, we all loved the presenation. Is it more secure, and do you need it? The new Microsoft Office has a  different interface with new features, the change is dramatic at first, but once you get use to it you will love it. If you want to see how the meeting went download the video - Right click on the links and chose "Save Target As" warning the full file lasting 1 hour 44 minutes is 457Mb click here or in sections the first two cover Vista, the third and fourth go into Microsoft Office 2007 with the fourth going back onto Vista first is 30 minutes at 258Mb Second is 25 minutes at 94Mb the Third is 24 minutes at 43Mb the Fourth is 26 minutes at 52Mb.

June 16, 2007

Danean MacAndrew, “The Radio Lady”

Video of the meeting - Right click and choose Save Target As

Do you miss Amos ‘n’ Andy?
Do you wish The Lone Ranger would ride again?
Do you want to laugh with Jack Benny?
All of these shows and more, right at your fingertips!

If you have a computer, you’re ready to listen!
Thousands of Old-Time Radio Shows available in MP3 format! She gave the attendees a free, 92-episode sampler CD of old-time radio shows.

March 17, 2007

CyberDefender

CyberDefenderFREE will protect you against spyware, viruses, malware, adware, phishing scams and dangerous spam. This inclusive Internet security suite is completely free and is supported by safe and discreet advertising.

CyberDefender Early Detection Center has all of the easy-to-use features of CyberDefenderFREE but doesn't have advertising. Use it to fight spyware, viruses, malware, adware, phishing scams and dangerous spam. Cost is only $11.99 for a one year subscription.

April 21, 2007

CMS - Makers of great backup protection:

BounceBack creates an exact copy of your computer hard drive enabling you to replace your failed hard drive with your backup drive or boot directly from your external backup drive (Mac only).

• Native file format backup: Files are instantly accessible on any PC!

• Bootable Backup: Boot from your backup drive for instant disaster recovery.

• Backup to any hard drive or any mounted network volume.

• Supports scheduling and multiple backup sets.

• Quick Restore provides a simple method of retrieving data.

The hardware ABSplus Desktop Backup solutions are available 80GB to 750GB. He brought discount coupons for those at the meeting

January 20, 2007

CES Coverage

February 17, 2007

HDTV for the consumers

Walt Ordway showed us the history and development of HDTV. You can also go to www.dtv.gov, or DTVtransition for more information.

November 18, 2006

Movie/Video editing

Terry Currier showed some of the different video editing programs he used and reviewed

December 17, 2006

Our favorite utilities

We showed some of the utility programs which makes computing easier

September 16, 2006

ADS Tech

DVD Express DX2

• Transfer video from VHS tapes, digital or analog camcorders directly to DVD or CD

•  Real-Time hardware conversion produces the best DVD quality results

•  Make Movies for your Sony PSP, Apple iPod or Zen Vision!

•  Capture audio and video via the USB port to your computer hard drive or    "Direct to Disc" (CD or DVD disc)

•  Exclusive "Audio-Lock" technology for perfect lip synch

•  Capture video directly to popular video formats; DVD (MPEG-2), SVCD,    VCD (MPEG-1), MPEG-4 and DivX

October 21, 2006

D-Link

Product Features:

• Protects Your Home Network from Viruses, Worms, and Other Online Security Threats

• Prevents Your Child from Downloading and Installing Unwanted Applications

• Provides An Easy-to-Use Web-based Control Panel for Setup

ALL-IN-ONE INTERNET SECURITY ADAPTER

D-Link’s SECURESPOT Internet Security Adapter (DSD-150) is a complete all-in-one Internet security solution that provides several key features including network protection, firewall protection, virus protection, spyware protection, identity protection, pop-up blocker, SPAM blocker, and parental control - all in a palm-sized box. Provide around-the-clock protection for your data and personal information with the SECURESPOT Internet Security Adapter.

July 15, 2006

CyberDefender

CyberDefender Security Toolbar

The first anti-phishing and anti-hijacking toolbar

• SafeSearch™ Protects Your Internet Searches

• Fast Frequent Searches

• Anti-Phishing Technology

• Spyware and AntiVirus Alerts

Join the CyberDefender Anti-Phishing Network for real-time protection against nasty email attacks, or worse! The CyberDefender Security Toolbar ensures that you are protected against known threats, scam sites, hijacking and phishing, and it also protects your passwords and other sensitive personal information. As a member of CyberDefender’s secure high speed client-to-client relay network, you get real time alerts and fast updates with the industry’s first early defense technology.

August 19, 2006

Video of St. Silicon the computer comedian

May 20, 2006

Peter Berghammer talked about the new High Definition formats of HD-DVD and Blu ray as well as the security landscape. Of particular interest in these new standards is not only the Internet connectivity required for next generation devices (and the ambiguous area of transmitting this data as part of the user agreement), but also that this new form of protection actually shifts the burden of legality to the consumer, rather than the manufacturer.
Mr. Berghammer, CEO of the Copernio Holding Company, a veteran of the aerospace, semiconductor and optical disc industries, was Vice President of Sales & Marketing Avolo LLC until 2001. Berghammer also served as Director of Worldwide Communications for Fairchild Fasteners (NYSE: FA), and its optical disc group. He also was a Special Projects Manager for EDS (NYSE: EDS) conducting research on database and future media interactivity.

June 17, 2006

Panda Software
dynamic of malicious software (“malware”)

Previously, virus writers wanted to win notoriety from their chaos, so epidemics of viruses, spyware, and other threats were highly visible in the media. Technological advancements such as the Internet and e-mail gave viruses more ways to spread – fast. Cybercriminals are now more interested in profit than fame, so today’s malware is usually hidden to avoid detection – making the threat even more dangerous.