Neil Muller
Host Paul Woolard opened the October meeting, once more joined by an increased audience, again from home via Zoom. Paul announced that starting this month, videos of each presentation will be available on the East SIG website after consent from the presenter. The first presentation of the night was George Skarbek presenting his normal Q&A segment. With most members on their computers during lockdown, more questions than normal were asked this month.
[John Hall, convenor of the Video Production SIG] If you look on the Video Production SIG website, you’ll find links to various video editing programs that you can use, from the very simple to the more advanced.
[Author] Microsoft Video Editor is now bundled with the Microsoft Photo Editor and can be hard to find. In Windows 10 click on the Windows Start button and type Video Editor. Audience members recommended downloading the original Microsoft Movie Maker from the Microsoft Store, saying it was much easier to use than the Windows 10 version. A tutorial on the Windows 10 Video Editor by Kevin Stratvert titled “How to use Free Windows 10 Video Editor” can be found at https://tinyurl.com/j3zk5b9x.
Figure 1 – Microsoft Photos – Videos App
Figure 2 – Zoom
Figure 3 – Ebay
Following Q&A, Trevor Hudson played one of his videos on “How to trim MP3 files using Audacity”. (Refer https://tinyurl.com/4asva36p ).
Audacity is a free and widely respected sound editing program, with features rivalling many commercial programs. Trevor’s video uses a single mp3 sound file which he manipulates using the various tools on offer with Audacity. He commences by showing how to delete a silent passage in the audio file. He shows which tools to use on Audacity’s menu to select the passage to be deleted and then how to delete it. The video then showed using different tools and technique, how to insert a silent passage of set duration into the sound file.
Using the same mp3 file, Trevor then showed how to trim and time shift (i.e. move) the sound file, again highlighting the tools needed and how to use them. He finally played the sound file before showing how to save the file within the “Export” menu. Audacity can save audio files in a number of formats and Trevor demonstrated this by selecting to save the file as an mp3 audio file. For anyone using Audacity for the first time, this would be an ideal introduction to get you started.
Figure 4 – Audacity Trim, image taken from Trevor’s video
The next presentation was by Dave Botherway on the scam aspects of “On-line Shopping”. As October was Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Dave set out to investigate firsthand the type of scams found on Facebook Marketplace and on Ebay after being scammed when assisting a relative with a hard to buy item.
There are many ways scammers can connect with you in today’s digital world. Messages to your private email or mobile phone number, should raise a red flag. When using email watch out for unsolicited messages that fall into the following categories:
Things to do if you think you’re being scammed
Figure 5 – Scam Detector
A good reference for security tips can be found on the website www.MakeUseOf.com titled “50+ Security Tips to Protect Yourself When Browsing Online”. https://tinyurl.com/z7sfd7y2. The tips are broken up into topics such as Passwords, Web browsing, Social media, Antivirus, Data, Email, Software and Smartphones.
Dave’s first experience shopping on-line was in 2004 when he first enrolled on Ebay. He mainly uses PayPal for payment because of the added protection and over the years has experienced few problems. When recently asked to purchase a product for a relative, that failed to turn up, Dave made a successful claim against PayPal. This sparked his interest in scam buying where items for sale appeared too good to be true.
When starting out this investigation of on-line scams, Dave ensured:
To research how the on-line scams work and what happens thereafter, Dave’s investigation was told in the following three stories.
Story 1 – Dave received an unsolicited offer via Facebook at UUHBH.com for a 2021 Apple iPad Pro selling at US$95.99. This iPad is currently selling in Australia for $1,899. Dave paid with PayPal and waited a month – then after contacting the seller twice and receiving no reply, lodged a claim with PayPal. Dave then described the process for making a PayPal claim. His claim was quickly accepted and a refund received.
Story 2 – A legitimate story on Facebook reporting the sale of outdated Dell Inspiron 17” Laptops appeared following Microsoft’s announcement it would no longer be supporting Series 7 CPU’s. The article stated these laptops were being sold at bargain prices to clear old inventory. As there was possibly some truth to the offer, Dave tried a second attempt knowing PayPal would protect him if this was another scam. Contacting the seller about the progress of the sale again proved fruitless, so another claim was made on PayPal. The claim was readily accepted and the refund was back into his bank account in two days.
An interesting aspect of this story was after the PayPal claim was accepted and a refund received, an email arrived from the seller with a genuine tracking link. Dave followed the tracking link each day and finally a parcel did arrive. When opened, the parcel revealed a small pillow case or cushion cover, not the laptop he ordered.
Story 3 – An offer on Facebook for a Mystery Electronic Box was the final scam Dave investigated. The cost was $0.01 but at the very last stage of the order US$19.90 was requested for postage and handling. Dave checked the sellers email address on ScamDoc, which gave the lowest reliability rating of 1%. As this was a research project, Dave continued with the purchase. Again, a tracking link was received which Dave followed till the parcel arrived. When opened, the parcel revealed a legitimate 3 in 1 USB cable, that could have been purchased for $3.90 on Ebay.
Figure 6 – ScamDoc
In conclusion Dave offered the following advice when shopping on-line for bargains
Audience Comments & Questions
The nights final presentation was one out of the box, on a topic that most of the audience knew nothing about. The topic was “Wi-Fi Calling” and was presented by Stewart Bedford. After his presentation, most of the audience were seen reaching for their smart phones, checking whether their phone featured “Wi-Fi Calling”. In the report that follows, is a virtual copy of Stewart’s PowerPoint presentation. I’ve done this with Stewart’s permission, due to the quality of the presentation and to avoid missing any important details, on a topic I feel many others will also be unaware of.
Stewart commenced outlining his phone, a current model Samsung A20 costing around $200. This is one of Samsung’s cheaper models but still comes with Wi-Fi Calling. Stewart started investigating Wi-Fi Calling when he noticed this option was turned off on his new phone. He had no idea what it was at first, so this prompted his interest to investigate further.
Firstly, some Mobile Phone tips
Flight Mode
Flight mode switches off the phone’s connection to Wi-Fi networks. Stewart outlined how you can still make calls and use the internet with Flight Mode turned on. Using the technique described below however, you cannot receive calls.
Uses for an old mobile phone without the need for a SIM Card
There are a number of uses for an old discarded phone with its SIM card removed
Wi-Fi Calling
VoLTE
A smart phone needs to be able to make voice calls over the 4G network (i.e. use VoLTE) to be able to make voice calls using “Wi-Fi Calling”.
What is Wi-Fi Calling
Requirements for Wi-Fi Calling
Features of Wi-Fi Calling
Setting the phone for Wi-Fi Calling
The following screen captures from Stewart’s presentation show how to turn on Wi-Fi Calling and VoLTE on his Samsung A20 smartphone.
Figure 7 – Wi-Fi Calling on the Samsung A20 (Screen capture from Stewart’s presentation)
Figure 8 – Wi-Fi Calling Preferences on the Samsung A20 (Screen capture from Stewart’s presentation)
Figure 9 – Enabling VoLTE on the Samsung A20 (Screen capture from Stewart’s presentation)
During questions that followed the presentation, it became obvious the settings for Wi-Fi Calling & VoLTE are not universal and differ between phone manufacturers. Below in Figure 10 are screen captures of Wi-Fi Calling and VoLTE settings for a LG V30+ smartphone. The Wi-Fi Calling settings for the LG are similar to the Pixel 4A according to a Pixel 4A owners in the audience.
Figure 10 – Wi-Fi Calling settings on a LG V30+ Smartphone.
Why use Wi-Fi Calling
Wi-Fi Calling is an answer to the mobile black spots, even in urban Melbourne.
Summary
An update from Stewart.
When Stewart gave this presentation, Wi-Fi Calling was a recent discovery for him. After an additional 2 weeks Stewart was able to offer the following update.
Since I made the presentation, I have had some time to evaluate Wi-Fi calling. In the settings, If I select my ‘calling preference’ as ‘wi-fi preferred’, my phone will initially try to direct my call via my router, should the signal from the wireless router be weaker than the mobile phone service signal then VoLTE is automatically selected. If I select ‘mobile network preferred’ then the phone will try VoLTE first, if the Wi-Fi signal is stronger, it will be selected.
The Wi-Fi Calling icon on my phone is also intermittent even sometimes when I am quite close to the router. If you switch on flight mode and re-engage your Wi-Fi you cut off the mobile signal leaving the router as the only option for Wi-Fi calls, even if under normal circumstances it may be the weaker signal.
What I have found like yourself, is there seems to be no logic to Wi-Fi signal strength which is affected by obstructions, walls etc. or even rogue interference from electrical equipment from you or a nearby source. This sometimes causes weak signals near the router and stronger signals elsewhere. Changing the channel in your router’s settings can sometimes cure this. Most people leave their router on the default channel, so if your neighbours are transmitting on the same channel you are, then this can cause interference. Also of course your router may be the cause. I have just ordered a new one.
As I sit here, I am less than 1 metre from the router on the other side of an interior wall, my phone is showing VoLTE as the stronger signal. If I move to another room further away the WiFi calling icon will appear as the stronger signal.
The whole process is seamless, if you have set up your phone for Wi-Fi Calling and Wi-Fi Preferred then when you make a call the strongest signal is automatically selected, firstly Wi-Fi Calling is selected, if the VoLTE is the stronger signal, then it is selected, if you happen to be in an area where there is no VoLTE then 3G is selected. Switching between these options is automatic and seamless