THE ICON-Newsletter of the Interactive Computer Owners Network March 2020

WHAT’S INSIDE Page

March & April Schedules ………………..… 2

Word of the month ……….… 2

Interesting Sites to

Visit on the Internet ..…...… 3

Minutes of February 8 ……...4

What’s a Girl to Wear ...….. 4

Google Apps Made Easy..... 5

Internet Finds…………........ 6

MailWasher Pro……......….. 7

Smartphone Map Apps vs

Dedicated GPS Devices..… 8

Rare Diseases……...……… 9

Ask Leo—How to Find a File

on Your Computer……….. 10

ICON Membership.

Application …….…..……... 15

ICON Officers ………...…. 15

Announcements ……........ 16

Mission Statement …...…. 16

T he ICON

March 2020

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 2

Technology Word of the Month

“USB Hub”

Be sure to check the website before leaving home

for any last minute changes

Program Preparations for March, 2020

Saturday, March 14 The Library Center

(The Harrison Room)

10:30 a.m. SIG —

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12:30 p.m. Workshop—

1:45 p.m. General Membership Meeting

Saturday, March 28, The Library Center ( Room A)

10:30 a.m. SIG

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12:30 p.m. Mini Seminar

1:45 p.m. Advanced Technology Forum

Program Preparations for April, 2020

Saturday, April 11 The Library Station (Frisco Room)

10:30 a.m. SIG

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12:30 p.m. Workshop

1:45 p.m. General Membership Meeting

Saturday, April 25 The Library Center ( Room A)

10:30 a.m. SIG —

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12:30 p.m. Mini Seminar

1:45 p.m. Advanced Technology

Forum

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 3

Thought for the Day

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds dis-cuss events; small minds discuss people.”

——Eleanor Roosevelt

Interesting Sites to Visit on the Internet

Nancy Preffitt ICON Member ngpreffitt (at) juno.com

MORE FREE MOVIES! If you’re looking for new movies to watch all the time, you might want to investigate Red Box. I know, it’s a little red box that sits at the front of door of McDonalds and many other shops. But they’ve just started this free service with commercials. There is no signup, no registration, just open the app and watch away! (It’s nice to be able to pretend that there’s a bit of privacy left in the world.) Here’s a nice explana-tion of what and how from Carolyn Nicander Mohr at Wonder of Tech. https://www.wonderoftech.com/redbox-free-live-tv/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wonderoftech%2FrpzL+%28The+Wonder+of+Tech%29vv

LONGER PASSSWORDS/PHRASES? Passwords have been a very important part of our lives ever since we started dealing with computers, but they haven’t been very successful at doing their jobs. The FBI has now chimed in and suggested us-ing three common, unconnected words in order to make detection harder. This article from ZDNET ex-plains it very well. (Make sure to look at the comic website that’s referenced – it is pretty uncouth but it reminds me of the early internet when everyone said whatever they wanted to.) http://threewordphrase.com/house.htm https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-recommends-passphrases-over-password-complexity/

GOOGLE AND APPLE HAVE REWORKED THEIR MAPS Both of the biggies in maps have reworked their maps and they sound great. If you use them at all, please read all these articles to show you their new items. This address leads to one article. Then follow the links that are underlined. Then when you’ve digested that, there is another review with good expla-nation that pops up six hidden tricks for Maps and four ways to use Maps without driving.

Then, go back to the original article and the Apple article is right below that one. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/google-just-updated-google-maps-how-to-use-its-new-commute-tools/?ftag=CAD3c77551&bhid=21042733941345069767521215589583https://www.cnet.com/how-to/google-just-updated-google-maps-how-to-use-its-new-commute-tools/?ftag=CAD3c77551&bhid=21042733941345069767521215589583v

MACH1 – FREE APP FOR ROAD SERVICE Mach! Is a new app which provides a service call when you need one, but there is no membership or yearly fees. You pay for the service when you use it. You can set up your profile at anytime so you’ll be ready for use anytime or where. Check it up here and see what you think.

Users can create their account ahead of time, adding vehicle and payment information for a truly simple and on-demand option for roadside assistance. You can create your profile at any time, but pay for the service only when you use it. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mach1-roadside-assistance/id1446907454?ls=1

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 4

Minutes of 8 February 2020

The ICON meeting at Westminster Presbyterian Church was called to order by Andrew Cummins, Presi-dent.

Minutes were read by Mary Phillips. Motion to approve by Gary Geise; second by Thom Taylor. Carried.

Treasurer’s Report given by Shirley Emerson. Motion to accept by Gary Geise; second by Thom Taylor. Carried.

Old Business: None

New Business: A Spring Celebration at the Kearney Street Café. Shirley will check it out for the second Saturday in April.

Linux Mint with Cinnamon is on the flashdrives given out last month.

Adjournment

Respectfully submitted, Mary Phillips, Secretary

What’s a Girl to Wear? Mary Phillips, Secretary, Interactive Computer Owners Network (ICON) Mary (at) iconusersgroup.org

The latest item I’ve seen in The Week (March 6, 2020) in the “Innovation of the Week” is a futuristic-looking “bracelet of silence” designed by computer scientists at the University of Chicago that can prevent Alexa, Siri, or Google from eavesdropping according to Reporter Kashmir Hill in The New York Times.

“The bracelet emits ultrasonic signals ‘imperceptible to most ears’ — other than dogs — but the high-frequency sound can jam Amazon’s Echo, or any other mi-crophones in the vicinity. With more consumers worried that their con-versations around connected devices ‘could end up on a tech compa-ny’s servers,” this new ‘anti-smartwatch could come in handy. This cy-berpunk-styled gadget is just the latest attempt at ‘privacy armor.”

At ICON’s last meeting we had an APCUG video, Dr. Ron Brown, giving a presentation called Saving your Life with Wearable Technology. Dr Brown particularly talked about smartwatches and activity trackers that can take your blood pressure and measure your heart rate. He gave as

an example the newest Apple 3 Series Watch. He also mentioned others such as Samsung and Fitbit. He emphasized that a low or high pulse can be indicative of a pending stroke or afib. Dr Brown also men-tioned glasses from Aira to help the blind, and an ITBra that can diagnose breast cancer.

We found an “electronic skirt” and basically it has sparkly led lights operated by a small circuit board connected with wires to where the lights are located. We also found heated

jackets like the heated coat the young lady who visited our last class told us about.

Perhaps most exciting of all is what’s happen-ing at Drexel University. Researchers there have developed a way to coat yarn with con-ductive MXene materials to make durable func-tional textiles.

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 5

Google Apps Made Easy – Learn to Work in the Cloud Author: Terry Flanagan, Club Librarian, GVR Computer Club, AZ October 2019 issue, Greenbytes www.ccgvaz.org Newsletter (at) ccgvaz.org Just added to the club library is GOOGLE APPS MADE EASY – Learn To Work In The

Cloud. Google Apps is Google’s response to Microsoft Office and Li-breOffice. The table below lists the various functions and the names used. What makes Google Apps different? First and foremost Google Apps is web based. You do not download and install a program on your computer. You use your web browser, preferably Google Chrome, to go to www.google.com and log into your account and there they are. You do not have to be concerned with updates, maintenance, and backup is-sues. They are also platform or operating system independent. It does not matter if you

are using a M/S Windows, Apple MAC or Linux computer, an Android smart phone, iPhone or iPad. The applications and your files are there in the cloud for you to access from wherever you are. There are several advantage and disadvantages to working in the cloud. Being on the cloud makes it easier to share your files with others, which makes collaboration easier. There is no need to send email attachments back and forth or copy files onto flash drives. Also, all of your data will be consistent be-tween your devices. If you make changes in Google Docs on your PC and later open the file on your iPad the changes are there. Even if you save the file locally to your computer it will be synchronized to the cloud version. The disadvantages are that you must have an internet connection since most of the things you will do with these apps are cloud-based and done online. The applications do not have as many features as the other office suites and some may have security concerns about their data being on

the cloud. From the chart above, you will note that each of-fice suite has appli- cations that the other does not. Google Apps does not have a data-base module, but this is not a frequently used applica-tion by home users. Many common da-tabase func-

tions can be handled by a spreadsheet. M/S Office and LibreOffice do not have a photo editing module, but there are a number of good stand-alone programs to perform those tasks. Google Forms stands out as a unique application. Forms does what the name implies. You can easily create forms to gather information or take surveys. The data is automatically transferred to a spread-sheet and reports created to summarize the results and display them in easy to understand charts. One final point to mention – notice the bottom line in the chart above. Google Apps are free along with 15 gigabytes of cloud file storage. More space is available for a fee.

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 6

Interesting Internet Finds October 2019 Author: Steve Costello scostello (at) sefcug.com

In the course of going through the more than 300 RSS feeds, I often run across things that I think might be of interest to other user group members.

The following are some items I found interesting during the month of September 2019.

How To Reinstall Windows Without An Installation Disc https://askleo.com/how-to-reinstall-windows-without-an-installation-disc/ This question comes up all the time at user meetings. Leo Notenboom provides several excellent an-swers. Basically everything he says in the post boils down to being ready before the need comes up. Is Linux Really Immune To Viruses and Malware? Here’s the Truth https://www.leetvofficial.com/is-linux-really-immune-to-viruses-and-malware-heres-the-truth/ Linux is becoming more popular now, especially with support for Windows 7 coming to an end. Before you switch you should be aware of the virus and malware issues. How (And Why) To Use Google’s Chromebook Simulator https://www.howtogeek.com/439256/how-and-why-to-use-googles-chromebook-simulator/ If you are like me and considering buying a Chromebook, you should check out this post. 4 Things To Look For When Buying A USB Hub https://www.maketecheasier.com/things-look-out-for-buying-usb-hub/ There are still a lot of USB devices around, and less USB ports on computers these days. If you don’t have enough ports on your laptop, or desktop, you will need a USB hub. This post tells you what you need to look for to make the best purchase. (Note: I have several hubs that I use often.) How To Optimize Your Google Drive Storage https://www.online-tech-tips.com/google-softwaretips/how-to-optimize-your-google-drive-storage/ If you use Google Drive storage (and if you have a Google account you should) it should be optimized. This post explains how to optimize the storage. Encrypt Public WiFi With Firefox Private Network For Secure Connection https://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/12/windows/internet/plugins/encrypt-public-wifi-with-firefox-private-network-for-secure-connection.html If you use Firefox there is now an option to have a free secure connections. Check out this post to learn all about it. It is not the best option, but is better than no VPN at all.

**********

This work by Steve Costello is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

As long as you are using this for non-commercial purposes, and attribute the post, you can use it in part, or whole, for your newsletter, website, or blog.

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 7

Review: MailWasher Pro: Another Level of Protection Author: Jim Fromm, Editor/Webmaster, MOAA-The TUG, HI October 2019 issue, The TUG newsletter www.the-tug.org editor (at) the-tug.org

Our September meeting was mostly Q&A; one of the questions received via email was about Mail-Washer Pro. I am going to save some keyboard clicks and refer to it as MWP. It is a utility that lets you look at the headers of all the emails in all of your mailboxes before downloading. It is very useful if you have multiple mailboxes. I have 12 email addresses, (don’t ask), and eliminates the ads, solicitations, requests from Amazon for reviews, etc. before they ever make it into my mail program. Besides saving space, it decreases the chance of getting bit by malware. Here’s a portion of the opening screen.

You have three immedi-ate choices. Check for new mail, Wash (delete) mail and Select the mail program you want to use. Messag-es are listed in order received (default) or you can click on the title bar to separate

them to your liking. Clicking on the box in the Delete column will select those emails for deletion. When you’ve finished picking the ones you don’t want, click on the bar of soap icon. They will be deleted from the listing—but—like a bad penny, they are not completely gone. The messages are moved to the Re-cycle bin and will remain there until you clean it out.

If you want to recover one, or more, or those in the Recycle bin, merely right click on the email and se-lect Restore. You’ll need to have designated an email address to send them to. They will be sent to that address and show up in MWP again.

After you’ve decided which ones go and which ones stay, click on Mail Program. Your designated mail program will launch and download the mail into their respective Inboxes.

• If you’ve signed up for a number of ezines that you no longer want and have been unable to unsub-scribe, click the box in the delete column.

• If you receive emails urging you to verify your subscription, for which you’ve never signed up for, click the box.

• If you get email from companies offering you discounts on products that you’re never going to buy, click the box.

Simple as that.

You can mark messages as spam and block them via sender, and even domain.

Avoid viruses, spam, junk mail and other pesky emails with MWP. Works with all email programs. I use Outlook 2019. Set-up is easy; MWP will import the settings for your existing email accounts.

Hooray!!, there is a free 30-day trial version. You can use it with full functionality for 30 days and then, subscribe or take your chances and do without it.

Travel to https://www.firetrust.com/products/mailwasher-pro# to get the trial version or pay to help the authors.

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 8

Smartphone Map Apps vs. Dedicated GPS Devices Author: Dorothy Fitch, Green Bytes Editor, GVR Computer Club, AZ October 2019 issue, Greenbytes, www.ccgvaz.org, Newsletter (at) ccgvaz.org

I recently heard an interesting report on a local television station about the pros and cons of using your Smartphone vs. a GPS device to find your way when you travel. I am certain-ly not an expert on this topic but wanted to share a few things I discovered as well as some links so that you can learn more, too.

I hadn't really thought about it, but perhaps the big-gest difference between the two is that Smartphone map apps use cell tower signals to pro-vide your location and generate maps. GPS devices, such as Garmin or TomTom, use satellites for posi-tioning. What this means is that if you are in a remote area that doesn't have cell coverage, maps on your phone will likely not work.

Other interesting considerations: GPS devices are more accurate—to within 15 feet your location— because they are using satellite technology.

Smartphone locations are accurate to about 164 feet. Your location is determined by triangulating signals from several cell towers.

A Smartphone app uses your phone's battery (though you may be able to charge it in your car via USB). Beware, however, that on a recent trip, my Android phone was plugged in. During the half-hour trip, the phone's battery level dropped by 4% because the power used by the app was greater than the rate of charging.

A GPS device will plug into your car's cigarette lighter or USB port.

Using a GPS device will leave your Smartphone available for other purposes (though not when you are driving, of course!).

CA Smartphone app will use up mobile data, which may be of concern if your phone service doesn't in-clude an unlimited data plan.

GPS devices often come with a way to mount them to your dashboard, which makes it easier to check your route.

The Google Maps Smartphone app gives you up-to-the-minute accident reports. It even prompts you to respond as to whether the accident someone reported earlier is still there. It provides an estimated time delay, as well as alternate routes. Some GPS devices offer traffic alerts as well.

Using the Google Maps Smartphone app, I was surprised one time when I entered the address of my destination, which was a store. I got immediate feedback that the store had already closed for the day. Very useful information to know (and saved me a stop). Many GPS devices include lifetime map updates. This can be handy, as new housing developments are constructed. You can also download (or purchase) maps for foreign countries. You can likely use your Smartphone app abroad, but I haven't tried that.

Continued on page 9

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 9

Continued from page 8 Smartphone Map Apps vs. Dedicated GPS Devices Some GPS devices can store your trip data, which you can then download to a map, where it displays your route. This is particularly interesting if you are hiking or on a boat. If you are car-shopping, you may be offered a package that includes a built-in GPS system. However, that option is likely to cost much more than the price of a hand-held separate device. Articles on the subject:

Do I need a dedicated GPS device if I have a smartphone? Can you trust your phone's GPS driving directions? Smartphone vs. Dedicated Car GPS (PND) The 7 Best Traffic Apps of 2019 44 Google Maps Tricks You Need to Try

TECHNOLOGY BOON TO THOSE WITH RARE DISEASES Maryellen Amato, M.D. (retired physician and ICON member) Springfield, Missouri meamato (at) gmail.com In a previous article, I talked about how the Internet helped me research various types of illnesses. This was especially useful when I encountered a disease that was rare or un-commonly seen or when it was the middle of the night when I didn’t have any of my col-leagues to consult. One of our officers, Mary Phillips, spotted a young lady with such a disease. She was attending a meet-ing next door to our recent ICON gathering. Mary noticed the young lady because she had an unusual metal “contraption” or orthotic on her right wrist, hand and fingers. She graciously allowed us to take a picture of it. The “contraption” on the hands was to help her exercise her hands so the muscles don’t atro-phy. She explained that she was born with a rare disease that caused muscle weakness as well as difficulty maintaining body temperature. Her doctors thought her brain was not sending the right signals to her body to regulate temperature and/or her body was unable to respond to those signals. This makes it dangerous for her to go outside in cold weather, and because of this, she must wear coats, gloves, and socks with heaters. Since I’m not involved in an outdoor occupation or in a winter sport like skiing, I did not know that such clothing (with battery packs and chargers) existed. She said she is able to locate what she needs on the Internet and much of what she buys comes from China. When I googled “coats with heaters” I got 24,400,000 results in 1.01 seconds. Wow! I can’t imagine comparison shopping for this type of specialized outerwear without using my computer. For someone for whom this type of equipment is a medical necessity and not a luxury, she is fortunate indeed to have been born after computers and the internet were invented!

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 10

“I'm looking for [… some filename …] on my machine. I know it's here, but I can't track it down. What am I missing? How to I find the file?”

How To Find a File on Your Computer

As you might guess, that's a composite question. It reflects many different people asking roughly the same question in different ways.

How do I find a file I know is on my computer?

There are a couple of ways, and there are a couple of “gotcha's” as well, so let's look at how to track down that file you're looking for.

Windows Search

The traditional way to locate a file in Windows is the Search item on the Start menu. Windows 10 makes this simple.

Click on the Start button and just start typing the name of the file, or some portion thereof. What you type will be dis-played in a search box (which may or may not already have been pre-sent on the taskbar), and results will begin to ap-pear. Once you stop typing and Windows “catches up”, you’ll see a list of results, as shown at left. If you don’t see what you’re looking for right away, type more of the name. In my example at left, the “Best match” is the file I was look-ing for. Infor-

mation about the file is displayed at the right, including its location on the hard disk, along with links to open the file or the folder in which it’s contained.

Continued on page 11

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 11

Continued from page 10 How To Find a File on Your Computer

Searching your entire computer

By default, Windows Search searches only a predefined set of locations. Those include your desktop and the Libraries (such as Documents, Music, and Pictures) shown in the left-hand pane of Windows File Explorer.

You can instruct Windows Search to search your entire computer by changing a setting.1 Run the Set-

tings app, and search for “search”. Click on Windows Search settings when it appears. Click on Enhanced to add the rest of your computer’s hard disk, with the excep-tion of excluded fold-ers, to the search. You can examine the list of excluded fold-ers and remove any you want included in search by clicking on it and then on Re-move excluded folder.

Windows File

Explorer Search

Run Windows File Explor-er, click on This PC, and the search box near the upper right will indicate “Search This PC”.

Type the name, or partial name, of the file into this search box.

Continued on page 12

Searching Windows settings

Search box in Windows File

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 12

Continued from page 11 How To Find a File on Your Computer

Quickly available results may be displayed — if any of those are what you need, just click on it to open the document listed. If not, click the right-pointing arrow that appeared when you started typing to per-form the search.

The search may take some time.

You can open a doc-ument directly from the search results by double-clicking on it; open the folder con-taining the file, by right-clicking on it and clicking on Open file loca-tion; or copy or move the file as you like. You can open a doc-ument directly from the search results by double-clicking on it; open the folder con-taining the file, by right-clicking on it

and clicking on Open file location; or copy or move the file as you like.

Windows File Explorer also includes several additional ways of tailoring your search. Click on Search Tools, which appears at the top of the window when you type into the search box, for a selection of addi-tional ways to customize what will be found.

Searching in Command Prompt

Since I’m an old-school command-line kinda guy, I often turn to the Windows Command Prompt. To fire up a Windows Command Prompt, right-click on the Start button and click on either Command Prompt or Command Prompt (Admin) to search administrator-only locations. Enter: cd \ (followed by the Enter key) to make the current directory the root of the drive. Now enter: dir /s /a filename

Where “filename” is the full name of the file you’re looking for. “/s” means “check all subfolders”, and “a” means “show all files, including hidden and system files”.

The asterisk character (“*”) is a useful addition when you don’t know the full, exact, filename.

Continued on page 13

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 13

Continued from page 12 How To Find a File on Your Computer For example, searching for “internetsafety*” begins a search for any file whose name begins with “internetsafety”.

Performing a search in the Windows Command Prompt.

The asterisk, called a “wild card”, can appear elsewhere, including at the front of what you’re searching for. For example, a search for “*.pdf” would return all PDF files on your computer.

Footnotes

1: This setting was introduced in the Windows 10 1903 update.

NATIONAL HUG A G.I. DAY — March 4 As the only day on the calendar that is mnemonically a military command, March 4th recognizes Nation-al Hug a G.I. Day. Gather around your servicemen and women to give them a hug. It’s simply a way to show your support. With either a pat on the back or hearty handshake, be sure to give both past and present G.I.s your appreciation. While G.I.s refer to Army personnel, the day encompasses all those who have served in the military. So, hug those Jarheads, Wingnuts, Squids and Coasties, too!

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 14

PLEASE! Please Notify us of Change of Address. Each time the newsletter goes to the WRONG ADDRESS, the Post Office charges ICON an additional fee of $0.70 post-age to notify ICON of a change of address. So when

you move or go out of town, please e-mail: mary@iconusersgroup.org

THE CONTENTS AND OPINIONS OF THE ARTICLES IN THIS NEWSLETTER ARE THE OPINIONS OF THE AUTHORS. NOT

THOSE OF THE ICON USERS GROUP.

SPRING EQUINOX

MARCH 20

Technology Word of the Month: “USB Hub”

A USB hub is a device that expands a single Universal Serial Bus (USB) port into several so that there are more ports available to connect devices to a host system, similar to a power strip. USB hubs are of-ten built into equipment such as computer cases, keyboards, monitors, or printers.

USB cables transfer data between two pieces of equipment similar to a city bus transferring people from one location to another. The speed of transfer is different for some ports. A USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 have different transfer speeds. PC Magazine suggests using USB 2.0 ports for slower equipment like key-boards and mice, and using USB 3.0 for transfers like to an external hard drive for backup. Look at the ports on your laptop or desktop and notice the color of the small pads. The USB 3 pads are blue.

Look at your laptop, desktop, flashdrives and peripheral devices and you’ll see one or more small rectan-gular ports about a ½ inch by ¼ inch where Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors can be plugged in. This is the most common type; it’s called an A type. There are smaller ports called mini USB and micro USB ports and connectors for phones, cameras, scanners, printers, etc. Type B is the shape of a win-dow with an arched top usually used with printer cables. A new type called Type C is oval in shape and can be inserted either upside or down whereas the older types could only be connected in one direction because small pads in both the connector and the port must match up. — Mary Phillips

USB HUBS USB Ports

USB 2

USB 3

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 15

ICON MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Make Check to ICON — Mail dues to: ICON Users Group

1325 W Sunshine #169, Springfield MO 65807-2344 NAME _______________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS ______________________

ADDRESS _________________ HOME PHONE __________________ CITY ________________________ STATE _____ ZIP ______________

SPONSORED BY ______________________________________________________ DATE _______ YEARLY DUES $20.00 — PLUS $5.00 APPLICATION FEE

VISIT ICON’S WEB SITE AT

www.iconusersgroup.org

GO TAKE A LOOK!!

ICON OFFICERS

The Census Goes Digital Dick Eastman · March 3, 2020 · Legal Affairs · No Comments

Genealogists are usually experts when it comes to the census records in the countries where their an-cestors lived. However, did you know that the 2020 U.S. census will use the internet to answer census questions, rather than filling out a paper form or providing those answers to a census taker in person, at their home?

That should be cheaper – a plus for a budget-strapped Census Bureau – and could help ensure maxi-mum turnout and accuracy of the count. However, not everyone has internet access or is willing to fill out the census forms online. For those individuals, census officials will target old-fashioned “snail mail” forms and in-person visits to those locations, without needing to spend time chasing households that have already responded.

If everyone responds digitally, the census online system will have to handle nearly 130 million responses – one for each household in the country. However, even that will not be perfect. For instance, many of the responses may be sent by computers or smartphones that have been hacked or have malicious soft-ware installed.

One potential problem this raises is that someone trying to respond to the census may find themselves instead submitting their information to some other group, one that seeks to illegitimately harvest their personal data for profit.

You can read more in an article by Naomi Schalit in The Conversation web site at: https://theconversation.com/the-census-goes-digital-3-things-to-know-130146.

THE ICON March 2020 PAGE 16

———- ———-

ICON (Interactive Computer Owners’ Network) is a non-profit organization dedi-cated to sharing information about technology, and helping others more effectively learn to use computers and emerging technology.

We provide instructor led “Hands-on Classes”, “Moderated Workshops and Group Discussions”, “One-on-One Help Sessions”, and “Presentations” by individuals ranging from college level instructors, public service organizations, the business community, and our own members who are knowledgeable about specific topics.

Classes cover everything from beginner level to advanced skills, and discussions cover a wide range of topics from managing the various operating systems, to dig-ital photography, genealogy, office applications and web development.

Visitors are always welcome at all ICON functions

Check out our current schedule inside this newsletter...

Or by visiting: www.iconusersgroup.org

And https://tinyurl.com/yyldtz5e OR https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=iconinteractivecomputerownersnetwork

Visit the “Calendar” to find the time, date, and location of topics or classes that interest you and attend as often as you wish. See you soon!

———- GIRL SCOUT’S DAY

MARCH 12

Please submit articles for the April issue of THE ICON by March 15, 2020 to Mary Phillips at mary (at) iconusersgroup.org