[Trainer-Talk] November 10 Phone Conference: How to Stay Safe and Secure While Shopping Online

[David Goldfield]

Shopping for products is one of those activities which we all need to do and which we pretty much take for granted, as it's such a necessary activity, whether it's purchasing food for our sustenance, items for our homes or gifts for others. During this time of year, many of us purchase gifts, either for ourselves or for friends and family. The computer has made shopping so much easier and convenient and provides many advantages for those of us who are visually impaired. With mobile devices such as  smart phones, tablets and even iPods, shopping is even more convenient. We can now pull our phone from out of our pocket or unlock our iPad, fire up an app and browse a store's virtual shelves from practically anywhere. However, there's a dark side to this amazing level of convenience. Computers can be hacked and we've all heard horror stories about how this occurs, both with well-known corporations, as well as with individual consumers. Just one virus can not only cripple a computer by corrupting and deleting files but account credentials, such as your credit card information and account passwords, can be stolen. We're also now hearing about a newer type of malware known as ransomware, which makes all of the files on your computer totally inaccessible unless you pay a specific amount of money to cybercriminals.
With all of these threats, it's no wonder that some people may be very afraid to perform an activity as simple as purchasing a product online. Is it safe to engage in these activities? Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves against these form of attacks?
The good news is that we can do quite a lot to protect ourselves. This is the topic of the next phone meeting for the Philadelphia Computer Users' Group for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Computer security expert Jackie Mcbride of Brighter Vision Technologies <https://brighter-vision.com/> will talk about the topic of online security and how to stay safe and prevent being a victim of a cyber attack. Even if you don't engage in online shopping, this topic is relevant to any of us who use computers or mobile devices to go online. Jackie will also take your questions about this important topic. In her own words, here's a bit of information about our next guest speaker.

From Jackie Mcbride ...
  I'm a veteran in the security trenches for 25 years. My first exposure to computer security took place in 1992, when a boot sector virus took out a blind children's services computer, & I couldn't fix it. I vowed I'd never be in that position ever again. I'm trained in computer forensics & am a certified Cisco Networking Academy instructor. I've primarily worked on PC's till 2010, when I switched my emphasis to websites. Since that time I've hosted, developed, & repaired websites, including those that have been compromised. I still clean malware from PC's when the need arises. But I try very hard to prevent people from becoming victims, as opposed to having to clean up the mess once a compromise has occurred. The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year for the cyber thugs, & I'd like to try to keep folks from being victimized, if possible.
I recently finished my book entitled "My Site's Been Hacked, Now What?" & I hold a support contributor badge on the wordpress.org forums.
On a personal level, I'm a mom, a grandmom, & a pastor's wife. Hobbies include singer/songwriter/musician & creative writing, w/an emphasis on trying to make biblical times & characters real to modern readers. In that context, I'm the technical heavy lifter for an online creative writing group.

Date: Friday, November 10
Time: 8:00 PM Eastern time

To participate, the number to call is
(712) 432-3900
When prompted for an access code, enter
391477, followed by the pound key.



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David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist WWW.David-Goldfield.Com<http://WWW.David-Goldfield.Com>
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David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist WWW.David-Goldfield.Com<http://WWW.David-Goldfield.Com>