Last modified February 07, 2012

Below are summaries and resources for Cafe Workshop topics that we have offered in the past, and may be repeated in the future.  Please visit the Cafe Workshop Request page if you'd like to suggest a topic, or even the Cafe Feedback page. We do hope you find these useful, and if they are, please let us know!

Remember, the value of these workshops lies in the discussion. So if you missed one, don't be afraid to ask that it be repeated with YOU present!

Quick links:
Oh! My Word
I know your password
What's the CLOUD? How can I use it?
I've locked my doors - what about my home WIFI?
Cloning or migrating a computer

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Oh! My Word

"Oh! My Word" covered how you can simply control the formatting of text in MS Word to create really great looking documents. Below are two links that expand on this presentation's materials. The one from Florida Gulf Coast University is a typical web page using text and examples. The Youtube link provides a video covering this topic.

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I know your password!

This workshop covered several aspects of password security.

There are several dos and don'ts for password security:

• DON'T use the same password for multiple sites or programs
• DON'T use a password with simply your pet's, child's, spouse's name
• DON'T respond to ANY email requesting your password or login information
• DO use passwords with both numbers and letters
• DO change your password for important sites on a regular basis
• DO use a different password for different sites and programs

The last DO is best accomplished with a "password manager". This can be a program on your computer (eg Password Safe or KeePass) or a service on the Web (LastPass). All of these will let you use one password to access a database of your passwords (so you don't have to remember more than one). All of these will allow to generate a super-secret password for each program and site, and then "paste" that password into your login for a site. All of these have many other features - take a look at the links given.

Final tip - if you visit a site that wants your email (and create an acccount with a password), but you really only plan to be there once, take a look at 10 Minute Mail. It gives you a dummy email and email account for 10 minutes - then it simply disappears.

The first three links here have info, both introductory and more advanced into password managers. The next three are links to various password managers.

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What's the CLOUD? How can I use it?

A look at the buzz on "Cloud Computing", music, data storage and backup. Find out how to backup or store your stuff with no hard drive and access from everywhere.

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I’ve locked my doors - what about my home WiFi?

Computer security begins at home.
We discussed various dos and don'ts in how to set up your home network so that it's not accessible to electronic prowlers.

Some useful links on the topic:

And a great detailed description.

Bob's Five Important Steps:

1. Change the router's admin password (and username)
2. Select WPA as security
3. Change the SSID (router's name)
4. Turn off Universal plug and play (versus port forwarding)
5. Turn off WPS !! ... See next button
6. (Optional extra) Don't broadcast the router's name
7. (Optional extra) Setup a Mac address filter

For teenager computers, consider two routers:

For (very) advanced users consider replacing your router firmware with DD-WRT ... (offers a lot more control):

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Cloning or Migrating a Computer

How can you make the move from the old to new (computer) with the least amount of culture shock.

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Never grow up – using a VM to clone your old computer.

What's a virtual machine? A "VM" is simply a program running on a computer that completely recreates another computer environment. Mac computers use this to run Windows. In this workshop we will actually go through the process of creating a VM on a Windows 7 machine use it to run a copy of Vista. In fact, the copy will be one of an older computer whose user doesn't want to give it up yet.