Futurelawyer

Where Does My Email Go?

The Story of Send. I have always gotten questions about the security of email. And, since I have moved to GMail for regular business work, I get a lot of questions about data security. I always refer the questioner to the old way of sending information, on paper, in an envelope, through the U.S. Postal Service. If a criminal wants to get at your mail, email or otherwise, and they have the technical knowhow, it can, of course, be done. However, it is far more reasonable, in my mind, to rely on the security of data transfer over the Internet, than to rely on the security of paper being carried by human beings across the country. I am ignoring, for the moment, those who say a lawyer or law firm should have a vanity domain. I have one, at futurelawyer.com; but, I still use good old gmail for most stuff. I have yet to have a client, or prospective client, hire, or not hire, me because I use my gmail address. That said, if you want to watch a cool little slide show, from Google, about how your email gets to its destination, watch this one. If somebody really wants to steal my email, they would have to break Google encryption to do so. 

Kaspersky Calls Apple "10 Years" Behind Microsoft in Security

Ride The Lightning: Kaspersky Calls Apple "10 Years" Behind Microsoft in Security. Back in 2008, I did a debate for the ABA Journal in which I took the PC side, and The Mac Lawyer took the Apple side. One of his claimed advantages for the Apple OS was that there were "zero" viruses for the Mac, and 100,000 for the PC. I suggest that he and the other Apple users who thought that their computers were safe from malware read this post by Sharon Nelson, and the speech by Kaspersky, a leading software security company. Welcome to the real world, Apple. No viruses or malware; how's that workin' out for ya?

Another Acronym To Watch Out For

Microsoft backs away from CISPA support, citing privacy | Security and Privacy - CNET News. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing And Protection Act (CISPA) is making its way through Congress. Microsoft, an early supporter, has apparently heeded recent privacy activist arguments that its language goes too far. In essence, it permits the Department of Homeland Security and Governmental agencies fighting cyberterrorism to share threat information with private companies. We walk a fine line when we task our Government agencies with protecting us from terrorism, when we try to write a bright line they cannot cross without invading individual freedom. However, the language is very broad, and very vague, and, well problematic. This is a task for lawyers with a facility for language and a healthy respect for personal privacy. I don't want the job. Do you?

For Lawyers, Google Drive Legalese Isn't About Document Ownership

Legalese in Google Drive "terms of service" worries users - The Denver Post. There is a lot of opinion floating around about the "terms of service" language in the new Google Drive service agreement. As I said in my post on the topic, it was never unclear that Google isn't claiming ownership of documents stored in the cloud. I understand that Google needs licensing rights to provide its service. However, the language needs to be clarified to be more specific about the use of the documents by Google. While there is qualifying language in the unlimited license, ("so that your content works better with our Services"), that language is vague, and I am most concerned about the right to communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. Google doesn't need those rights to perform its services, and lawyers can't give a third party such rights in client confidential documents. I would welcome any of my readers with intellectual property law experience to chime in here. Am I wrong? I am not calling Google "evil" here; but, lawyers have special responsibilities when dealing with confidential documents and third parties.

Google Drive. All Your Files R Usable By Us.

Who owns your files on Google Drive? | Internet & Media - CNET News. An Internet flap has immediately risen about the Google Drive terms of service. Google is not, for the record, claiming ownership of your files. However, Google is claiming pretty complete rights of reuse, for the stated purpose of "improving its service", whatever that means. For lawyers, the language is problematic because client confidential documents cannot ethically be placed in the hands of a third party that claims the right to republish them. So, while I will store forms and personal photos on the service, I will wait for a change or a clarification before I entrust any client documents to the service. Read the terms of service. What do you think?

Your Money Or Your Debit Card? How About Both?

This Skimmer Is Why You Should Be Nervous at ATMs. If you are like me, you get most of your walking around cash from one of these devices. And, you don't always use the one at your local bank. Even if you do, however, there is no guarantee that there isn't a clever device planted that will steal your debit card information, and take a photo of your hand while you type in your PIN number. How can you protect yourself from the bad guys? First, always cover your fingers while you type the PIN number. Assume that someone is watching from above. Second, get online with your bank, and check your account daily. If someone is using your card numbers, you will know it within 24 hours. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Be careful out there.

Let The Cloud Drive Wars Begin

Google preparing to launch Google Drive this week with up to 100GB of paid storage? | Android Central. When Google launches Google Drive this week, with a rumored 5 free Gigabytes of cloud storage, and up to 100 Gigabytes of paid storage, the other cloud storage services, such as Dropbox, Box, Evernote and my favorite, Paperport Anywhere, will be hard pressed to compete. If you get a free account with each of them, and can compartmentalize your cloud storage requirements, you could store everything in the cloud for free. I have been testing Paperport Anywhere for all my scanned stuff, and love it. I am still not going to store client confidential stuff in the cloud; but, it seems that is where we are headed. Are you comfortable with security of data stored in the cloud? This reminds me of the debate over sending email over the Internet. I used to hear that it wasn't a secure method of transmission, because the data could be intercepted when parked at some remote server somewhere on its way to its destination. My answer always was "So putting confidential info on a flimsy piece of paper, and sticking it in an envelope, and handing it to a postal employee, and sending it through the mail, and having it sit in a mailbox somewhere until the recipient picksit up, is more secure?" The test will always be what is a "reasonable expectation of privacy", and "reasonable" will always be impossible to define. Risk. It's what we do, isn't it? 

If You Don't Learn From The Past You Are Doomed To Repeat It

How to Remove Your Google Search History Before Google's New Privacy Policy Takes Effect | Electronic Frontier Foundation. Much was made of Google's centralization of its privacy policy in March. However, it is actually easier to keep your personal information and browsing history private now. You can, of course, delete your browsing history any time you want in Google Chrome by signing in to your Google account, and clicking the toolbar in the upper right corner. Click the history button, and delete away. Of course, a valid subpoena will be able to access any information still stored on Google's servers for a while; but, deleting your history is only the first step if you want to keep some semblance of privacy. The second thing you can do is to browse in incognito mode. Again, this only keeps the information private at your end; the websites you visit can still identify you. To stop that, you need to find an anonymizer program from a third party. Most of us don't need that level of privacy; but, it is available if you want it. Finally, the new Google policy will permit you to prevent Google from sharing your information across all of its apps, by limiting information gathering to search history only. There are benefits from Google knowing everything, as the information is used to make your other apps better at predicting your needs. But, if you don't want that, just go to History and sign in to Google. Then, you can pause web history except for searches. Privacy is largely dead on the Internet; but, there is still some control available to you, the user. Take advantage of it.

Don't Choose Your Hotel Based On Internet Availability

The Best and Worst Hotels for Wi-Fi, 2012 Edition. The thing I love most about a tablet with a 4G LTE radio on board is that I don't have to read articles like this. I don't have to decide on a hotel based upon whether there is free WiFi or not, and I don't have to worry about public WiFi security everywhere I go. I do not understand why anyone would buy a tablet without one of these radios; except for cost. And, at $50 a month for 5 Gigabytes of band width, and a free WiFi Hotspot application so that all your other devices, and your family's devices, and your friends' devices can connect simultaneously, makes the choice a no brainer. I know. I know. Some of you will say that you don't mind searching for a WiFi hotspot when you are out and about. But, do you know where that WiFi hotspot has been? Do you spend time sanitizing the connection? Are you sure you aren't being spoofed? When you have access to the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network, there aren't too many places you can go in the United States where you will not have instant on Internet, no searching necessary. And, when I am home or at the office, my tablet automatically connects to my home or office WiFi, so I seldom have to use my bandwidth. Spare yourself some grief and aggravation. Get a 4G LTE radio equipped tablet. If you don't want to spend $50 a month, you can get 2 Gigabytes for around $30. I figure I save about $50 every time I don't have to search for public WiFi, and spend 15 minutes on security.

Now They Tell Us! An Open Letter To Microsoft

End of Windows XP Support Era Signals Beginning of Security Nightmare - Slashdot. Microsoft has announced that it will end support for Windows XP in two years. Huh? For a dead OS, and one that has allegedly been dead for 3 years, it is a surprise that Microsoft hasn't figured out that many users are using XP and are perfectly happy with it. I have been giving away old computers running XP, and the users are happily browsing away on the Internet, and using them for games, word processing, and many other things. By the time Microsoft pulls the plug, these systems will probably still be functional and running; although most users have long since moved on to Windows 7 and, soon, Windows 8. Security nightmare? Maybe. But, for a person who has minimal access to computers and the Internet, I suspect that software security will be the last thing on their minds. Mr. Gates, you have so many billions invested in charitable endeavors. How about investing a little in keeping XP secure for the millions of persons who can't afford a new OS?