What’s here
This page will contain a summary of the topics coming up and links to more information covered in the sessions to date. Previous years’ topics are available at the bottom of this page.
Please email your topics in advance to .
Classes are cancelled on dates when the Committee of Management meets. These dates for 2025 are (normally the fourth Thursday of the month):
| 27 February | 27 March | (no meeting in April) | 22 May | 26 June |
| 24 July | 18 September | 23 October | 20 November |
End of year
06 November is the LAST CLASS for 2025! Class breakup on 13 November – please contact Pat Lynch to join in. No class in the last week of term due to Committee meeting.
Zoom link
The Zoom link to the session is NOT here. Please find this in your emails – then make sure you know how to find it in future. The same link will be used all year.
Upcoming Topics
| Topic | Requested by | Expected date |
|---|---|---|
| Questions we didn’t deal with or finish: | ||
| Will quantum computers break passkeys? | 06/11/2025 | |
| How ChatGPT works – it’s a “word calculator” | 06/11/2025 | |
| What should we focus on in 2026? | 06/11/2025 | |
| Using AI to read ancient documents – see here, here and here | Vijay | 14/08/2025 |
| Safari settings to clear cookies – instructions | Christine | 15/05/2025 |
| How to remotely wipe your phone or tablet if stolen | Rosalie | 19/06/2025 |
| Backup your devices – part 3 How to backup email Mac backup, iCloud drive | 24/04/2025 | |
| Turning off OneDrive is hard – avoid storing files in OneDrive, disable OneDrive in Office 365, How to disable OneDrive automatic folder backup on Windows 11 | various | |
| IOS 18.3 Mail app features and options | Alfred | 13/03/2025 |
| Clearing storage on Android Removing Temu app – Android and iPhone | Rob | 13/03/2025 |
| VPNs – what they can and can’t do (briefly) | Yoko | 06/03/2025 |
| eSIM | 06/03/2025 | |
| How to lock down social media: facebook, messenger, Telegram, Instagram | 13/03/2025 | |
| Keep your accounts active | 13/03/2025 | |
| Sharing a photo album | Theresa | 13/03/2025 |
| Automatic vs manual updates | Helen | 13/03/2025 |
| Manage your digital legacy – no need to book for in-person session | various | Sometime in Term 2 |
| Internet of Things (IoT) – my doorbell | ||
| Windows 10 support expiry – what to do | ||
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) | ||
| Misinformation | ||
| Quantum computing | ||
| Cloud storage | ||
Topics by week
| Week | Date | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06/02/2025 | Security Review. The notes for this session can be downloaded here: – colour slides for viewing online – print version (2 slides per page) |
| 2 | 13/02/2025 | Security Review week 2. The notes for this session can be downloaded here: – colour slides for viewing online – print version (2 slides per page) |
| 3 | 20/02/2025 | – Scam warnings – DHL scam, QR code ‘quishing’ – Updating Windows – why is restart better? – Spam and junk emails in Thunderbird – Pay ID – what is it, what can you use it for – Spontaneous car fires – is a smartphone to blame? – Internet of Things (IoT) – my doorbell – Windows 11 auto lock timing see: https://windowsloop.com/how-to-turn-on-or-off-dynamic-lock-in-windows-11/ – external keyboards eg Logitech K580 |
| 4 | 27/02/2025 | NO CLASS – CoM meeting |
| 5 | 06/03/2025 | – Scam warnings: SMS pop-up bank message scam, Facebook messenger scam (virus download in image) – Creating an account with Google or Facebook login – security issues? – Chrome browser extensions – how to check and delete any suspect extensions – How to hover safely over a link – Turning off OneDrive is hard – avoid storing files in OneDrive, disable OneDrive in Office 365 – IOS 18.3 Mail app features and options |
| 6 | 13/03/2025 | |
| 7 | 20/03/2025 | BACKUP PART 1 Download the notes for this session: – colour slides for viewing online – print version (2 slides per page) Issues that arose: – Backing up an Android phone to Google cloud – How to Fix WhatsApp Storage Full Issue on iPhone – Turn off photo download in WhatsApp (Android and iPhone) – Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (the closest equivalent with a Lightning connector for phones before iPhone15, seems to be the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter) |
| 8 | 27/03/2025 | NO CLASS – CoM meeting |
| 9 | 03/04/2025 | BACKUP PART 2 Download the notes for this session: – colour slides for viewing online – print version (2 slides per page) |
| TERM 1 break | ||
| T2W1 | 24/04/2025 | BACKUP PART 3 (to be revisited in Term 2, Week 2) Download the notes for this session: – colour slides for viewing online – print version (2 slides per page) |
| T2W2 | 01/05/2025 | InfoStealers – re news item on bank details on dark web – colour slides for viewing online – print version (2 slides per page) |
| T2W3 | 08/05/2025 | Passkeys – what are they and how do they work passkeys.com, AskLeo video |
| T2W4 | 15/05/2025 | Finding content on a long page – Reload the page, Use FIND (Ctrl-F) to find within the page InfoStealers – what is good anti-malware software? – See AV-Test, AV-Comparatives – note the ALPHABETICAL listing – Most antivirus software now include web filtering and blocking capabilities (windows report.com) Scam warnings – META’s new AI chatbot email storage full Backing up your email: – Outlook download, Google Takeout Parental controls – See article at esafety.gov.au, videos at youtube.com/@FamilyTech/videos also guided access on iPad Chrome – new features: now allows you to search, select and copy text from a PDF! Pin history to a sidebar And on a mobile device you can use Google Lens to find a selection from your screen. |
| T2W6 | 29/05/2025 | Scams – Read URLs carefully! Backing up your photos: – Option: Download ALL your photos from iCloud, see https://support.apple.com/en-us/111762 Banking online – it’s probably safer to use the banking app on your phone than to login using the browser on your Windows computer. Windows 10 end of support – what will we do? Part 1 |
| T2W7 | 05/06/2025 | Backing up your photos: – Option: Download ALL your photos from iCloud. See https://support.apple.com/en-us/111762 See this video: https://youtu.be/19ifjvhIJ4k?t=467 |
| T2W8 | 12/06/2025 | Windows 10 end of support – what will we do? continued. |
| T2W9 | 19/06/2025 | Backing up your photos: – Option: Download ALL your photos from iCloud. More info. Safari settings to clear cookies – instructions |
| T2W10 | 26/06/2025 | NO CLASS |
| T3W1 | 24/07/2025 | NO CLASS |
| T3W2 | 31/07/2025 | Scams – fake sites in search results, “infostealers”, data breaches Can you find out who owns an unknown phone number? – Not really, only sites that list people’s experiences with phone numbers |
| T3W3 | 07/08/2025 | Scams – ATO, job offers, IDCARE, banking Windows & Zoom camera (checked camera permissions – not solved) Check the health of your laptop battery Telstra Message2Txt Check on running programs? Windows clipboard – turn on clipboard history – saving email contents in Word vs pdf (hint – Word uses clipboard) |
| T3W4 – T3W7 | 14/08/2025 – 04/09/2025 | Scams – banks now doing more checks; more on 16B password “breach”; AI scam detectors – Truyu (Commbank), Bitdefender Scamio, Norton Genie; Chrome updates – Google password manager – is it safe? “Australia’s most secure data centre”? Passkeys for two accounts on the one device will be held separately. Not a problem. “unverified” phone calls (Telstra) indicate scams Resetting an Android phone – effect on syncing? Security issues – password manager and Windows 11 update Scams 28/08 incl Ghost Stores |
| T3W5 | 21/08/2025 | |
| T3W6 | 28/08/2025 | |
| T3W7 | 04/09/2025 | Browser extensions can be dangerous – check which, if any, you have installed. |
| T3W8 | 11/09/2025 | Scams – IDCARE ad Patch Tuesday – why updates are important More on Windows 10 end-of-support – buying a new computer? Notes Part 1 – colour slides best for viewing on screen – handouts – 2 per page, best for printing if you have to Notes Part 2 (mostly buying a new computer) – slides in colour – best for viewing on screen – handouts (2 slides per page) best for printing Passkeys – VicRoads are bringing in Passkeys, updated AskLeo video incl comments on lost passkeys |
| T4W4 | 30/10/2025 | – Scams – iPhone calendar scam – Windows 10 update error 0x80073701 – Passkeys – What I learned about my tech while travelling – eSIM (Saily) worked well. Wise worked well but was it cheaper than Visa? Hotel wifi is poor – I used a VPN and also moved to mobile data. – iPadOS26 – is this enough to use instead of a computer? I struggled with it, but managed to do most things – and I was trying to do some complicated tasks. – Quantum safety |
| T4W5 | 06/11/2025 | – Scams – “Cloud” scams – Updates – don’t forget your browser – Safely disposing of an old computer – wipe your hard drive – Passkeys – what if you lose your passkey? MyGov passkeys, VicRoads dropping passwords in favour of passkeys in 2026 |