PATACS Meeting Details Page

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Arlington & Fairfax Sessions -
Arlington Meetings in Person!
Fairfax In-Person Requirements
All Sessions Available via Zoom
Meeting Access Will Be Sent via Email

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Details of Monthly Meetings

Not a Member? Want to Attend Our Zoom Sessions?
Arlington Email: arlmtgs(at)patacs.org Fairfax Email: ffxmtg(at)patacs.org

-Meeting - in Person and via Zoom
- See Above Banner
OPCUG Members Welcome! PATACS - Arlington
First Wednesday, Sep 2nd, 2026 7 PM

Please Come Early & Help with Meeting Setup!
Meeting Location: Carlin Hall Community Center,
5711 S. 4th Street, Arlington, VA 22204
Zoom Session: Details Sent via Email
Using Zoom

AI Toolbox:
My Favorite New Discoveries
of the Year
Hewie Poplock,
Sarasota Technology Users Group and
Central Florida Computer Society

.

Arlington Meeting Info & Maps

HAVE YOUR COMPUTER QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

The program planners for our First Wednesday PATACS meetings in Arlington are looking for topics that members would like to have explored or questions answered - this is your opportunity to have a say in topics addressed at this meeting. This is a smaller meeting than the Fairfax meeting, and it allows for much more interaction between members than is possible in Fairfax. And there's the post-meeting Pizza and Salad SIG, the post-meeting social at a nearby restaurant - another value-added feature of your membership! Please send your suggestions to our meeting program planners at arlmtgpgm@patacs.org.

Not a Member? Want to Attend Our Zoom Sessions?
Arlington Email: arlmtgs(at)patacs.org Fairfax Email: ffxmtg(at)patacs.org

OPCUG / PATACS Joint Meeting,
Saturday, September 19th, 1 PM 3rd Saturday
Meeting In-Person and Via Zoom - See Above Banner
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Tallwood, TA1
4210 Roberts Road, Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Fairfax Meeting Info, Maps Agenda / Meeting Info

In Person Requirements -
OLLI Health and Safety Protocols

Coffee, Soda and Individual Snack Packages will be available.

Identity Theft Prevention
and Recovery for Older Adults
Presented by Elle Martin
Identity Theft Resource Center

Participants will understand why older adults are targeted, how scams are evolving each year, and how AI is being used by scammers. They will learn practical ways to prevent scams, what to do if victimized, and where to find free, trusted help.

Elle Martin is a retired law enforcement officer with 18 years of experience serving and protecting her community. She began her career with the Provo City Police Department, where she worked as a patrol officer for 6.5 years. Elle later continued her service at Brigham Young University, initially as a patrol officer and then promoted to Sergeant over Crime Prevention. During her time at BYU, she also served as a Victim Advocate, where she worked closely with students who had experienced various forms of trauma and victimization.

Elle is trained in trauma-informed practices and has extensive experience working with victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, identity theft, and scams. Her work included developing personalized safety plans, connecting individuals to critical resources, and collaborating with the Family Justice Center to provide comprehensive support to those in need.

After retiring from law enforcement, Elle continues her passion for victim advocacy by joining the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) on its Community Outreach team. In this role, she presents to special populations, including seniors, students, victims of domestic violence, and other special populations, about the dangers of identity theft and scams, while highlighting the free resources available through ITRC.

Learn in 30:
DNS Privacy
Presented by Geof Goodrum

DNS Privacy The Domain Name System (DNS) is a fundamental computer service that translates human-friendly network addresses (like patacs.org) into computer-friendly numeric addresses (like 96.231.36.36). Most of us never think about it, but service providers can use DNS to track where we go on the Internet and what online applications we use. This is valuable information to marketers such as advertising services, grocery stores and others that you give away through your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and “free” WiFi hotspots. If you value your privacy, this Learn in 30 session will provide ways to secure DNS on your computer, home network and smartphone to limit snooping on your Internet access, limit exposure to malware and improve your device’s network performance.

Geof is a retired US Government scientist and technology enthusiast who has been active in Computer User Groups since 1984. Geof has been a user and advocate of the GNU/Linux operating system and Open Source software since 1994 with professional experience as a programmer, system administrator, network administrator, data engineer, system engineer and system architect. Geof also enjoys hiking and completed a thru hike of the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail in 2018.