Inclement weather closings: SenCom follows the Shawnee Mission School District’s Inclement Weather Procedures.



Senior Techies SIG for February 12, 2024, has been canceled due to inclement weather.



 

February 12, 2025
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY ALLIANCE/STAY SAFE ONLINE 
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION

with

 Shivani Cowper, Operations Manager; Jen Cook, Sr. Director of Marketing; Creative Director Arturo “Efe” Morales; and Content Director Barry Eitel
 
SMARTWATCH HARD FALL DETECTION
with
John Krout, Presenter & Newsletter Contributor
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society

 

Wednesday, February 12, 2025, 11:00 am CT
Register once here – https://forms.gle/QyYtgTuTmNR2PjX27

Registration closes on February 11 at 8:00 pm CT
Use SenCom’s official name when you register:
Senior Computer Users Group of Greater Kansas City
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration (see below). On February 11, after registration closes at 8:00 pm Central Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.

Stay Safe Online Focus Group Discussion. Our first Workshop is a special open discussion with representatives from Stay Safe Online (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – CISA – a part of DHS). They highly value your unique insights about your peers and seek your input during a focus group sharing of ideas on several key questions. This feedback will help shape a presentation designed for seniors and contribute to developing a new website, printed workbook, and direct mail piece. Additionally, volunteer-led sessions help attendees do things like check for operating system updates, enable MFA on essential accounts, etc.

We made a big impression on Lisa* at her presentation on Cyber Security. “It’s a big investment, so that’s why we’re hoping for input from your group. Your participation is invaluable, and we look forward to your contributions!”
*Lisa Plaggemiera, Executive Director, National Cybersecurity Alliance (A Whole Lot of BS (Behavioral Science) about Cybersecurity)

Smartwatch Hard Fall Detection. Smartwatches are micro marvels. The hard fall detection feature,  though, is not yet perfected.

You will learn the basics of how a hard fall is detected, what the watch does to nudge its users and find help when a hard fall is detected.

Your presenter bought a refurbished smartwatch and did not know Hard Fall Detection was enabled. He was awakened more than once when the smartwatch falsely detected a hard fall. After the first time, he researched ways to control that feature.

Learn the options to control Hard Fall Detection, your presenter’s chosen option, and why it works well for him. No more sleep interruption!

 ##########

  • What are your biggest challenges with technology in general? For peers that you help with their tech (who are not as tech-savvy), what do you think their biggest struggles are?
  • How do you keep other seniors abreast of the latest scams targeting them? Who do people listen to? Where do they usually seek out or learn about this type of information?
  • Do you think configuring MFA on most apps is easy? (Gmail, Amazon, Meta, your bank, etc.) What would make it easier?
  • Do you use a password manager – why or why not? What do you think would increase password manager use among seniors?
  • Who do you look to for information about staying safe online?
  • Would you use or recommend a “how to” guide (online or printed workbook) for basic cyber hygiene best practices to a friend?
  • When trying to implement security best practices (MFA, reporting a scam or phishing, using long, unique passwords, running updates, etc), what are your biggest challenges or barriers to those actions? What do you think they are to your less tech-savvy peers?

We are looking forward to seeing you this Wednesday. Do you have a presentation you have given to your group? Please volunteer to give it at one of the WWs. Have you enjoyed a presentation at one of your local meetings? Let us know. Thanks, Judy & John (jtaylour@apcug.org — jkennedy@apcug.org

Copyright © 2025 APCUG, All rights reserved.

 




SenCom is on Facebook. See the access instructions below to find our Facebook Group page (SenComKC).  Check it out!  Share your favorite SenCom moment or interaction.

To access the group page:

  1. Log into your Facebook account.
  2. On your computer, click “Search Facebook,” left-hand corner (to the left of the home icon, on your mobile device, in the middle of the screen on top, then type SenComKC (not case sensitive).
  3. Search results should give you “Groups” and under that, you will see SenComKC. To the right of your search results, you should see a “Join” button. Click the button to request to be a member of this Facebook group.
    .


*  Volunteers Needed  *

SOS! NEEDED NOW!  Volunteers to help our Board of Directors fill the board positions of Vice President and Program Director. If interested, please email me or another Board Member. Our email addresses are on the “Board of Directors” page under the “About Us” menu. Remember, this is your organization; please help us keep it healthy and growing!!
LITTLE OR NO COMPUTER SKILLS REQUIRED.
Lou Risley, 913-298-0575 or sencomprez@gmail.com
.


CDC information on the Coronavirus Outbreak →


 

GEEK FREE
By Joe Callison
28 January, 2025

Migrating to a New Windows Computer

If you want to migrate your existing user files, Microsoft apps, and Windows settings from a Windows 10 computer to a new Windows 11 computer, there is an easy method provided by Microsoft. It does require using a Microsoft account, which you already have if your Windows 10 account shows an email address in your profile instead of a Local Account, or you have an Outlook email account or a subscription for Microsoft 365 (Office). If you do not have a Microsoft account, you can create one. If you do not already have a subscription for Microsoft 365, you will need to sign up for at least the monthly Microsoft 365 Basic plan for $1.99 which can be terminated before the next monthly billing if you wish after completing the migration. This will provide you with 100GB of cloud storage to perform the Windows Backup System feature found in the Apps list on the Windows 10 computer.

As you go through the process of setting up the new Windows 11 computer, use the same Microsoft account email address and password used for the Windows 10 computer. One of the setup steps will guide you through the process of restoring your data that was backed up to your Microsoft account to the new Windows 11 computer. However, non-Microsoft programs will not be restored using this process.

After verifying that everything that can be transferred to the new computer has been completed, you may wish to perform a Reset on the Windows 10 computer if you are going to dispose of it or give it away. This feature is found in Settings, Recovery, Reset this PC.

See the following steps:
Read More →

 



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FOR~GO
(For Geeks Only)

By Joe Callison
9 December 2024

Windows 11+

If there are things about Windows 11 that bug you or you would just like to customize it beyond the built-in capabilities provided by Microsoft, take a look at https://windhawk.net. This collection of open-source customization mods may have just the features you wish Windows 11 had. A review of its capabilities can be found at Windhawk is one of the coolest Windows customization tools I’ve ever seen

If you would rather try a Linux distro that looks like Windows 11, take a look at three of the best possibilities at 3 free Linux distros that look and feel like Windows | PCWorld

Lastly, if you intend to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 eventually but have been holding off because of all the reported problems, I have just completed the updates on two different brands of laptops, both about 3 years old, and had no issues. The updates did take much longer than expected, and I took the precaution of creating system image backups before performing them. Interestingly, I have not really noticed any changes that stand out as of yet, perhaps because they are not AI PCs.

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Thank you for all that you do

Hi Joe,

We hope you and your team are achieving all your year-end appeal goals (and more!) Remember, as you use our tools during this busy time, our team and our partners are here to answer your questions and help you find the best resources to meet the moment.

Our team is in awe of how the Senior Computer Users Group of Greater Kansas City Association, Inc. is making its mark on the world. We see how you are continually asked to do more with less, yet still create meaningful change in your community. It is such a joy to engage with you and the over 325,000 nonprofits around the globe who are leveraging Microsoft resources to drive this positive impact.

Your stories inspire us every day and we are grateful for your tireless work.

Thank you again for all that you do, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration in the year ahead.

Regards,

The Microsoft Tech for Social Impact Team
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SenCom gratefully acknowledges the
following organizations for their support:

Google Fiber

City of Shawnee:
Parks & Recreation Department

Johnson County Library:
Central Resource, Oak Park


SENCOM IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT KANSAS CORPORATION
UNDER THE IRS 501(C)(3) RULES



 

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