Futurelawyer

Is Norton System Works "Deranged"

Link: LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard: Norton SystemWorks "Deranges" Your Hard Drive?. Jeff Beard recommends Norton System Works for computer security. The error in this ad ("derangement" instead of "defragment") creates a question, however. I have had problems with Norton products in the past; particularly because they install themselves into the taskbar without asking permission, and because the monitoring tools REALLY make computer performance sluggish. They gum up the works, and for what? I love Norton Ghost, and use it to back up my drives. However, I only load it when I need it. There are a lot of free antispyware and antivirus tools out there, and I use them. Perhaps it is the persons who buy and use Norton System Works who are deranged? (Just kidding, Jeff)

Novel Issue in Cyber Porn Case: Can Man Take Fifth re Password? | ABA Journal - Law News Now

Link: Novel Issue in Cyber Porn Case: Can Man Take Fifth re Password? | ABA Journal - Law News Now. What if the Government wants to break your computer's security system in order to charge you with a crime? Do you have a right, under the Fifth Amendment, not to help them? This seems like a no brainer to me; however, in this case, the Government is taking the position the Defendant waived his Fifth Amendment rights by admitting the existence of prohibited materials on the password protected computer. Privacy is such a shrinking concept; it is in cases such as this one, where the crime is really gross, that Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination must be protected. Once we start down the slippery slope, we will fall into oblivion.

Lawyer’s E-Mail Goof Lands on NYT’s Front Page | ABA Journal - Law News Now

Link: Lawyer’s E-Mail Goof Lands on NYT’s Front Page | ABA Journal - Law News Now. The only way to describe this one is from the TV Commercial, "Do You Want to Get Away?" Misdirected faxes have been joined by misdirected emails as a scary cautionary tale. Get into the habit of looking at the header BEFORE you click Send when you are creating emails. It is way too easy to click the wrong tab, and you could find yourself on the front page of the New York Times. We are all busy. We all get wound up in the details of our correspondence. We need to put a sign above the desk, "WATCH WHERE YOU ARE SENDING THAT EMAIL!"
And, remember, be careful out there.

Save Your Data Locally...Email Globally?

Link: Death By Email Blog: Email Archive Lost Permanently For 14,000 Users. If you needed a reason for saving your email and other program data locally; especially if you use web based applications, here is one. I would rather risk my data backups to a hard drive or backup drive on my local system than some web server somewhere that I have no control over. Until this problem is fixed, many lawyers will be wary of web based solutions. Of course, we will still, lemming like, follow the crowd to the precipice, won't we?

Most Text Messages Are Saved Only Briefly - Or Are They?

Link: Excite News - Most Text Messages Are Saved Only Briefly. We are all wrestling with electronic discovery issues nowadays. There is a proliferation of third party providers who claim to be able to glean information useful in litigation. Now, some of them are being sued by the law firms who engaged them, and are counter-suing for monies owed. Some are even getting law firms in trouble with Judges impatient with discovery problems. With all this conflict going on, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Apparently, text messages are only stored for 72 hours or so, and they then disappear into the vapor. Will text messaging replace email for sensitive communications? Should lawyers advise clients to make confidential communications via short texts? Text messaging passes through the same ether as email. Is there too much to intercept? Some carriers, like SkyTel, apparently do store text messages, which came as a shock to Detroit's Mayor and his paramour, whose romantic texts from 2003 have come back to haunt him. The only hard and fast rule is to always be aware that there is no expectation of privacy with electronic communications. Watch what you say.

Security? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Security!

Link: Excite News - Record Data Breaches in 2007, Groups Say. Privacy is dead,  and the more data that is stored electronically, the more likely it is that it will be stolen. This fact is a two-edged sword for attorneys. On the one hand, access to data is being helped by former hackers who are intimately familiar with the computer systems that store information. Lawyers hire ED companies to examine computers and drives for forensic evidence. On the  other hand, lawyers deal with confidential data that requires confidentiality, and the science behind data storage has passed far beyond most lawyers' understanding. We simply must rely on  IT types to assure us that our data is secure, and that makes us very uncomfortable. It is a scary world out there. Welcome to the new year.

How to Retrieve or Reset your Lost Windows Password

Link: How to Retrieve or Reset your Lost Windows Password. I hesitated for a moment with this post, because I don't want to help hackers or other bad persons to break into your machine. However, this information is freely available on the web, so the cat is out of the bag anyway. As I grow older, and my passwords proliferate, I sometimes find myself forgetting my logon password for Windows XP. Each succeeding iteration of Windows makes it more difficult to access a computer (this is a good thing); however, I support over a dozen computers at my office and home, and it is next to impossible to remember all the passwords. This has proven to be a real problem when I try to access my server from the road, and the screensaver has put up the logon screen. I use strong passwords (combinations of letters and numbers), so they are difficult to keep track of. This little video will give you some tips that might help you in such a situation. If all else fails, and you have imaged your drive using Norton Ghost or similar software, you can always reinstall Windows from your CD or DVD drive, and restore the data files. Don't restore the image, because that will recreate the password block. Once the data files and documents are reinstalled, you can reinstall the applications from the CDs or the Net.

LG's Vaccine USB flash drive keeps your machine disinfected - Engadget

Link: LG's Vaccine USB flash drive keeps your machine disinfected - Engadget. This USB drive from LG is an interesting idea. It contains antivirus and antimalware apps that automatically update themselves and disinfect the computer when connected to the net. If they work, this could be the answer for non-geeks who don't want to load and configure and run software solutions on their computers. It also meets the American quick fix psyche, that wants a plug and play solution to problems. Just plug it in and go. Now, if someone could invent an automatic bill paying drive that downloads money.

What, Me Worry?

Link: Giveaway of the Day - free licensed software daily. Password Manager Deluxe 3.62 - Let Password Manager Deluxe keep your passwords safe!. I don't need Password Manager, Deluxe or otherwise. Even though it is a free download today at Giveaway of the Day. I am an old man, whose passwords are safely locked inside my aging brain, where they are safe from prying eyes and minds. Heck, they are so safe, I can't even remember them. How safe is that?

Hackers control PCs while users unaware | U.S. | Reuters

Link: Hackers control PCs while users unaware | U.S. | Reuters. I have posted about backups before; I have posted about phishing before; I have posted about viruses before; however, this article shows what happens after your computer is infected with a virus. Unless you want to be the proprietor of a zombie farm, that sends malicious software to thousands of other innocents, you need to learn about security, you need to install an antivirus and antispyware package, and you  need to know that computer security is your responsibility. Lock that virtual door. No one else will.
P.S. Thanks to Alan Schoolcraft at ProDoc for the heads up.

Phishing Emails about Phishing

I just received an email, purportedly from PayPal, that included this screen. The email purports to link to a PayPal page about protecting one self from phishing emails. The irony of this is compelling. People are so concerned about computer security that they forget that criminals are clever, and that one of the best social engineering tools is to appear to be concerned about the very crime the victim is afraid of. Thus, terrorists and criminals will dress as policemen or security personnel to evade detection. Watch out for any email that purports to be about protecting you from spammers and phishers. Don't click on a web site address in the text of an email, ever. If you must check it out, let your mouse hover over the link, and look at where it is really sending you. Then, you can type the basic website address into your browser, if you are that curious. If the actual site is different from the one in the email, don't go there. Be careful out there.

Email privacy? I Don't Think So.

Link: Encrypted E-Mail Company Hushmail Spills to Feds | Threat Level from Wired.com. Lawyers with subpoenas trump privacy in the real world. Hushmail has marketed itself as an email encryption service that guarantees the security and privacy of emails sent through the company's servers. As proof that privacy is an illusion in an Internet age, a Canadian court has ruled that Hushmail must open its servers and decryption algorithms to litigants who convince a Judge they have a right to look at email sent by a target of Federal investigators. I suspect that U.S. Courts would also consider their subpoena power trumps the private agreement to keep email confidential. So, unless you have a privilege, such as attorney client; and, even then, probably, no email sent over the Internet will ever really be private. Be careful out there. If you are on the other side of this controversy, you need to be aware that you have discovery power, if you can convince a Court of your right to see.

Gov't Says: No Right To Privacy

Link: Death By Email Blog: Gov't Says: No Right To Privacy. Can the Government look at the content of your email stored on a remote server? If you use web-based email, you should be concerned about the Warshak case. The Government can subpoena your email from your ISP, without your knowledge. If you store your email in the Internet Cloud, be careful. It might rain.

Eight Effective Methods to Avoid Internet Phishing Scams | MarvQuin, LLC

Link: Eight Effective Methods to Avoid Internet Phishing Scams | MarvQuin, LLC. I haven't posted about phishing and other scams lately; so, it is about time. Most of us are now aware of phishing, and the identity theft issues that arise from it. Here are some of the best techniques for avoiding becoming a victim. Don't be a fish. Be careful out there.

Excite News - E-Mail Outage Hits Some BlackBerry Users

Link: Excite News - E-Mail Outage Hits Some BlackBerry Users. Here we go again. As I sit in the airport waiting for my flight, I read about another BlackBerry outage. When you put all your mobile email eggs in one ISP's basket, and run everything through the mother ship, this is what can happen. So, BlackBerry users, if you want dependable email, with options, get a Treo. Pick a reliable ISP, and use it for your mobile email. You'll be glad you did.

SystemRescue - Preserve Your OS -

Link: Main Page - SystemRescueCd. Every now and then, it is a good idea to reinstall Windows, with a fresh version. No clutter, no files, etc. Then, you can do a clean install of your programs and data from backup. This is a great way to eliminate the flotsam and jetsam that accumulates like gunk in any operating system. The problem with this process is that you have to reinstall and redownload all the Windows updates that have accumulated since your CD was published. This can take hours, and  is a pain. SystemRescue CD uses Linux utilities to create a clean image of your reinstall, and avoids the pain. Try it. You'll like it. It  should keep you going until you switch to Linux completely.

Excite News - Phishing Attack Plunders Job Site

Link: Excite News - Phishing Attack Plunders Job Site. Phishing attacks are becoming more sophisticated. I recently received a phishing attack email minutes after an Ebay auction. The legitimate email said that I won the auction. The phishing email said that I lost the auction, but that I could click a button and allegedly go to a website with similar items for sale. Luckily, the emails came within minutes of each other, and I was able to determine the legitimate one. Similarly, the phishing attack in this Excite article, against Monster.Com, used personal information gleaned from hacking the site, which information was used to send emails to users with legitimate looking purposes. The similarity in these schemes is that both requested that the reader click on a link IN the email. Never do this. Type the web address into your browser if you must check it out. Since the scammer will usually pretend to be a legitimate site, it is highly unlikely they have taken control of the web name. I solved the problem by going directly to the Ebay and PayPal sites from my browser. From there, it was easy to see which email was correct. Be careful out there.

Windows Made Me Do It

Link: Giant, synchronized reboot (Windows Update) smokes Skype. Skype says that the Windows update process, in which computers all over the globe restart after installing the weekly Microsoft updates to fix bugs, caused the Skype servers to shut down. In effect the restarts caused a kind of denial of service attack; unintentional, but devastating. Oh, and by the way, the dog ate my homework, and the check is in the mail.

Ride The Lightning: INQURING MINDS DEMAND THE SEX WITH ALIENS STORY

Link: Ride The Lightning: INQURING MINDS DEMAND THE SEX WITH ALIENS STORY. Sharon Nelson of Sensei, a leading electronic discovery and forensics firm, has launched a new blog, Ride The Lightning , which contains some excellent discussion of the tools and techniques of electronic discovery. At the least, her blog highlights why lawyers need to hire experts to conduct forensic analysis in electronic discovery matters. She also knows how to get to the top of search engines. Just post about aliens, sex and computers at one time. This is a great story, and a testament to belief in magic. It also is a cautionary tale for those who believe that electronic discovery and computers are magical instruments with mystical powers. It made me recall the post-apocalyptic world in the Planet of the Apes movie. The survivors were worshiping a nuclear rocket, and the incantations were positively scary. Thanks for the story, Sharon. Now, we will both be at the top of the engines today.

Carry A Backup Drive With You? Why Not?

Norton Ghost My experience the other day upgrading my notebook hard drive to a 120 Gigabyte WD Scorpio got me thinking. After imaging the old drive, which contained about 45 Gigabytes of data, I now had a brand new drive running XP and Ubuntu Linux in large, spacious partitions. I have said it before, but who could fill up this huge new drive? I set up a separate 15 Gigabyte partition for family photos and home video and document files, and still have plenty of room. What if I am on the road, however, and my drive crashes? I will be far away from my imaged drive, which is kept on a separate Western Digital external drive. Then, I had my eureka moment of the week. Why not keep a current drive image on the old drive? It holds 80 Gigabytes, and my main drive will likely never get bigger than that. It is a simple reverse backup process. Image the new drive to the external drive. Pop out the new notebook drive, slide in the old, and restore the current image to the old drive. Slide out the old drive, slide the new one back in, and the old drive can be carried in the briefcase when I travel. Backup is important; redundancy is better. Now, go forth and image your drive.While I am thinking about it, I have used just about every backup and imaging tool out there. Norton Ghost is, by far, the easiest, most dependable, and best, of the bunch. FutureLawyer recommended.

McAfee SiteAdvisor - Phishing Quiz

Link: McAfee SiteAdvisor - Phishing Quiz. I don't use McAfee products; not because they aren't quality antivirus and antispam solutions, but because I use other free ones. However, McAfee has a great little quiz on Internet scams that even I didn't ace. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about fake websites and such, but I only got 7 out of 10 right in this quiz. See how you do. You might learn something. The SiteAdvisor plugin is free to download, and might catch things the anti-phishing plugins might not. You are using the latest version of Firefox with the built-in anti-phishing plug in, right?

Excite News - MySpace Finds 29,000 Sex Offenders

Link: Excite News - MySpace Finds 29,000 Sex Offenders. Need a reason to monitor your kids' use of the Internet? Need to know why I say you must educate yourselves about computers and the Internet, other than to provide better client service, and be more productive lawyers? Case in point, MySpace, the social networking site, has found and removed over 29,000 registered sex offenders who had set up pages with them. Do you think removing their pages will keep them from trolling for future victims? Of course not. Do you think there are more than 29,000 dangerous people trolling the Internet for future victims? Of course there are. Be active. Be involved. Monitor your kids. Be safe out there.

Catching Phishermen - What are the Limits?

Link: Excite News - School Conducts Anti-Phishing Research. How far should we go to find and punish "phishermen", those identity theft crooks who "phish" the Internet for unsuspecting victims, seeking personal information that can be used to steal identities and money, and are the fastest growing form of crime in the world? Indiana University researchers used students as "passive participants" in a study in which IU faculty researchers pretended to be phishers, and sent fake emails to study phishing behavior. Phishing, as you may know, involves fake emails which seek to draw a recipient into scams that promise big rewards for conduct that a clear thinking person would realize are illegal. They could not succeed without duped victims. The crime is insidious because the perpetrators ply their schemes from Nigeria or neighboring countries, and are now moving to Iran and other countries beyond the reach of U.S. authorities. The cost to U.S. citizens and the U.S. Treasury for law enforcement and other costs is in the billions of dollars.

Infected or not - Find out if your PC has virus, spyware...

Link: Infected or not - Find out if your PC has virus, spyware.... This free scan from Panda Labs will tell you whether your computer is infected with one of over a million know viruses. Try it for free. You may be surprised. Some estimates put the number of infected computers at over 25% of the world's systems. Scary.

Virus and antivirus information. Panda Software

Link: Virus and antivirus information. Panda Software. Panda Software makes one of the best antivirus software packages out there. Their labs are first-rate, and their security info page will educate you about current threats to your computing security. You need to be aware that new virus threats appear every day, and you need to protect yourself. You need to know the definitions of spyware, viruses, phishing, hoaxes, and you need to know the signs to look for. As a reminder, don't open email attachments unless you know where they come from, and are expecting them. Don't ever go to a bank, financial, or other website from a hyperlink in an email. Use your browser, or type the URL yourself. Be careful out there.

How to Disable Vista's User Account Control : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

Link: How to Disable Vista's User Account Control : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech. If you didn't take my advice, and are now using Windows Vista, you are getting very familiar with User Account Control. UAC, as you now know, interrupts even the most mundane task with an annoying dialog box that asks "Are you Sure You Want to Do This?" or something similar. You must click Allow to continue. After a few dozen of these, some users just want to pick the damn thing up and throw it out of the window. Don't. Read this post by Christopher Null, who will show you how to turn off User Account Control. If you choose to do this, though, do it at your own risk. You will still need AntiVirus and Anti-Spyware software. But, UAC is kind of like a policeman saying he will protect you, and then telling you to arrest the criminal yourself.

Death By Email: Web-mail subpoenas complicate e-discovery

Link: Death By Email: Web-mail subpoenas complicate e-discovery. Roger Matus reports here on a Massachusetts case, in which an attorney is fighting a subpoena of all her client's GMail from Google by the opposing party. Google advises that it complies with court process and subpoenas, which highlights the risk of keeping email on Google's servers. Where is your email archived? Of course, Roger has personal reasons for highlighting this problem; his company sells email servers and software. But, for the time being, you should be aware of where your firm and client emails are being stored. This, of course, begs the question of the emails you send. Once you send it to someone else, they control where it gets stored. Dicey. I was already wondering about Google's stated policy of keeping Google search histories for 18 months. On the same topic, Roger points to this hilarious Jon Stewart Video which highlights the stupidity of some of the things put into emails.

Firefox and IE together brew up security trouble | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone

Link: Firefox and IE together brew up security trouble | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone. Well, the latest security flaw in browsers is interesting. It seems that the company you keep may be dangerous to your computer health. If you have both Internet Explorer and Firefox, and you open IE before using Firefox, a dangerous security hole can be opened, thus exposing Firefox users to remote control of their computers. As Firefox becomes more popular, attacks on it will become more common. The obvious solution is not to use IE at all. Duh.

15 free security programs that work

Link: 15 free security programs that work. I have been having such fun lately that I haven't bugged you about computer security in a while. So, in a serious tone, I remind you, once again, to back-up, back-up, and back-up again. You can't do it too often (back-up, that is). Security on a computer is not that different from home or office security. To be effective, you have to think about it on a regular basis. Here is a list, with links, to 15 FREE security programs for your downloading enjoyment. They're free; but they work. So, lock that metaphorical door, and keep the dogs in the house.

Sarotech's Cutie Bio portable HDD sports fingerprint scanner - Engadget

Link: Sarotech's Cutie Bio portable HDD sports fingerprint scanner - Engadget. Here is a little portable hard drive that answers the question of security. I carry smaller versions of these around, and I am always asked: "What if you lose it, or it is stolen?" This little drive provides an answer - it contains a fingerprint scanner that will prevent access to its data. Great idea.

Buy.com - Cavalry 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive with OneTouch Back-up Software - CAUO37500

Link: Buy.com - Cavalry 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive with OneTouch Back-up Software - CAUO37500. I am not normally a fan of off-brand computer stuff, but I bought this Cavalry USB 2.0 external drive anyway. I couldn't turn down 500 gigabytes (half a Terabyte) for a net price of $99. I haven't got the rebate yet, but I plugged this guy into my office server, set Norton Ghost for automatic every other day backups, and set it to keep at least 5. It works like a charm, and I never have to touch it. I have a rolling list of full network server backups on a small removable drive, password protected, and don't worry about network crashes anymore.

Fuel Cell Charger lasts 30 Hours - Here Now

I n exciting developments, MyTreo.Net is now selling Fuel-Cell Chargers that will recharge cell phones and similar electronics for up to 30 hours without A.C. power. I will be carrying one of these in my bag. Fuel cell disposable technology is going to revolutionize the battery industry. Here is your chance to get one of the first consumer products.

Excuse Me? - Google to Reduce History of Personal Searches - New York Times

Link: Google to Reduce History of Personal Searches - New York Times. Pardon me for laughing, but Google's vain attempt to pacify privacy advocates by reducing to 18 months, from 24 months. the time that it retains search histories of its users, is laughable. While the lawyer in me searching for information in pending litigation might want to examine the search history of an opposing litigant, the citizen in me is downright outraged over the fact that more and more private information is now in the hands of faceless, nameless, bureaucrats working for a monster corporation. Sorry, Google, but you grew so fast we didn't notice that you became Microsoft lite.

Death By Email: "I don't have the resources" defense takes another blow

Link: Death By Email: "I don't have the resources" defense takes another blow. Roger Matus, of InBoxer, writes about recent litigation in which Judges are taking a dim view of companies who are attempting to test the limits of the "I don't have the resources" defense to compliance with EDiscovery requests. "Make all reasonable efforts" does not, it appears, permit a company to claim they only have "One I.T. guy" for 243 employees. Of course, the case law supports companies like Roger's , InBoxer , which provides an inexpensive, turn-key, easy to use solution, for trapping ALL email traffic in a company, and also provides software to retrieve it at any time. I suspect that a lot of EDiscovery vendors are smiling at the latest decisions, which evidence an attitude by Judges that says "I don't care what you have to do, if I think a discovery request is reasonable, do what you have to do to comply".

Email archiving, electronic discovery, and content monitoring appliance.

Link: Email archiving, electronic discovery, and content monitoring appliance. E-Discovery. It seems that everywhere you look nowadays, someone is talking about it. If you are a litigator, you have already been exposed to it, in one way or another. There are a lot of experts out there, and they all are telling you about the risks, and the new Federal Rules, and how to find electronic evidence. I had a nice chat the other day with Roger Matus, the CEO of InBoxer, which sells appliances to law firms and corporations, large and small, that are designed to store and index and retrieve email. Recent horror stories about emails that have been altered, or email evidence that has not, through design or human error, been provided in discovery, with horrific results. InBoxer sells a plug in box that uses VMWare to create a virtual server, which talks to the InBoxer software, and captures, indexes and stores securely, ALL email coming in or out of a network. Very innovative. and simple to install and use. After reading this Article about E-Discovery Horrors and Headaches , I was ready to sign up. How about you?

� Mozilla patches ‘critical’ Firefox memory corruption crashes | Zero Day | ZDNet.com

Link: � Mozilla patches ‘critical’ Firefox memory corruption crashes | Zero Day | ZDNet.com. Even Mozilla has its bad days. There is a new patch out for Firefox, still the best browser on the planet, which corrects some bugs and flaws in the system. If you are using Firefox, go to Mozilla.org and download version 2.0.0.4 today. At least you know this will be the last bug fix for a while. Think about patch Tuesday if you are still using Internet Explorer.

Palm issues security fix for Treos - Engadget Mobile

Link: Palm issues security fix for Treos - Engadget Mobile. Sometime this week, Palm users are anxiously awaiting the maintenance release for the Treo 700p. The release promises to fix the only two real problems with the perfect operating system; long pauses when loading some programs, and a tendency to crash with some third-party software. In the meantime, this security fix will make it difficult or impossible for Treo thieves to access data on a stolen device. Since my Treo is glued to my hand, they would have to take the hand also, so I am not worried.

LinkScanner Lite (exe), from Exploit Prevention Labs

Link: LinkScanner Lite (exe), from Exploit Prevention Labs - Lying around in a hospital bed causes one to consider all the broken bodies being fixed, and all the ways in which the damage could have been prevented. Life lesson. Take care of your body, and it will take care of you. The same goes for your computer. This free little utility scans suspicious websites before you get to malicious malware hidden there. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

� Defeating UAC with a two-stage malware attack | Zero Day | ZDNet.com

Link: � Defeating UAC with a two-stage malware attack | Zero Day | ZDNet.com. In addition to not keeping FutureLawyer from blogging, my emergency hospital stay and surgery has also not prevented the hackers of the world from continuing their hacking. Vista, that most secure operating system ever, is proving most easy to crack, and has become a real embarrassment for Microsoft. Non-privileged shortcuts can intercept the now infamous User Account Control (UAC) privilege elevation prompts in Vista, creating all sorts of problems for Vista machines. Nurse, bring me some more of that morphine drip. I feel a major headache coming on.

Symantec Security Response Weblog: MS Needs Your Credit Card Details?

Link: Symantec Security Response Weblog: MS Needs Your Credit Card Details?. A new and more sophisticated phishing scam is making the rounds, and you need to be aware of it. Users of Windows are familiar with the Windows activation screen. Microsoft occasionally requires the user to call the mother ship, in order to verify that they are using a legitimate copy of the software. I have other issues with activation, including false negatives, but I will leave that for another time. For the time being, be aware that Microsoft does NOT ask for credit card information during the activation process. If you see a screen that asks for a credit card, DO NOT give the information; you are being scammed. Common sense will tell you this, but sometimes we leave our brain at home, don't we? The FutureLawyer will NOT be a victim of this particular exploit, anyway, as I resolved for the New Year NEVER to give Microsoft any of my money again.

Hacker Cracks a Mac at Security Conference - Yahoo! News

Link: Hacker Cracks a Mac at Security Conference - Yahoo! News. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. Grant Griffiths and others have been beating me over the head with the alleged security superiority of the Mac OS for some time. It is beginning to look like Mac OSX just needs some attention from the hackers. Apple's release of a patch for 25 (count 'em) security holes in the OS means that Mac users are about to find out what it is like to be a Windows user. You know, big target painted on back, wide deer eyes blinded by headlights, that sort of feeling.

Excite News - Toshiba Enters Portable Storage Market

Link: Excite News - Toshiba Enters Portable Storage Market. There is no longer any excuse for not backing up all that essential data lawyers create and keep. Toshiba's new external hard drives, starting at $130 (around $100 street) for 100 Gigabytes of storage in a size smaller than a postcard, make the "I forgot to backup" excuse no longer relevant. Just plug in one of these small drives, power up Norton Ghost or one of a host of other comparable programs, and press a button. Nowadays, the biggest security threat to law firm data will be the physical security problem for all those tiny storage devices you have laying around.

U.S. Agencies Fail Cybersecurity Tests - Yahoo! News

Link: U.S. Agencies Fail Cybersecurity Tests - Yahoo! News. When I get through being depressed about the state of law firm computer security, I can start worrying about the Department of Homeland Security. Now, there is something to really worry about. Since I am more worried about cyberterrorism than I am about just about anything, this gives me pause. How can we allow the Government agency charged with protecting us to get a D in information security? Excuses like "It's a work in progress", and it's a "horrendous, complicated deal", don't fill me with confidence. But, then, my favorite pop psychologist once said that "worry is a useless emotion", so I won't worry. Right.

Cisco Fixes Wireless Security Holes - Yahoo! News

Link: Cisco Fixes Wireless Security Holes - Yahoo! News. As if Windows operating system security flaws weren't enough, now we have to worry about hardware like Cisco's access points and wireless LAN controllers. If you said "What?" when you read that, I understand. Most law firms farm out the operation of their networks and software applications. However, solo lawyers have the same problems, and security in the law firm is an all the time proposition. After a while, it is a human reaction to be numbed to the complexity of these security risks. It is like being told that caffeine is good for you in one study, and that caffeine will kill you in another. After a while, we don't pay attention, do we? Computer security is a relative thing. Just don't stop paying attention.

Ten Ways Hackers Breach Security, from Global Knowledge - White Papers, Webcasts and Case Studies - ZDNet

Link: Ten Ways Hackers Breach Security, from Global Knowledge - White Papers, Webcasts and Case Studies - ZDNet. This White Paper from ZDNet lists ten top security threats, and ways to protect yourself. You have to become a member of ZDNet, which is free, and you will get access to many articles of use to lawyers concerned with computer issues, and security.

How to Avoid Falling Into the Phishing Hole - Yahoo! News

Link: How to Avoid Falling Into the Phishing Hole - Yahoo! News. Here is a new phishing scam that doesn't involve clicking on a suspicious email. You may recall that emails will often contain links to spoofed web sites of legitimate companies; primarily banks, online purchase sites, and such, which mine personal information entered by unsuspecting users. That is why you should NEVER click on a link in an email, even to a site you visit regularly. Type the web address manually. Well, the new scam, "cross-site scripting", takes advantage of Web 2.0 interactive sites. In the current case, a phishing Ebay listing was put up, that asked the user to email the lister directly. The spoof took the user to a fake listing page. Be alert, fellow fish. There are people out there with big hooks.

Vista - Don't Try This At Home

Link: Researchers question Vista security after ANI exploit. The fact that the latest Windows hacker exploit affected all versions of Windows, including Vista, does not give us confidence that Vista is more secure. In fact, Vista may have some old Windows security flaws AND be very annoying. One of Microsoft's new security "innovations" is to pop up a screen every time a program wants to do something that Microsoft thinks might modify something or have the ability to do so. If you have seen the recent Apple commercials, you already know what this is like. Big Brother standing over your shoulder, saying "Cancel or Allow" to every question. This is kind of like playing "Mother May I" with your computer. After a while, the human response is to turn the thing completely off. Then, what you have is a bloated, obscenely expensive, incompatible with many apps, version of Windows XP with a pretty interface. Is this any way to run a universe?

Wi-Fi WEP Keys Now Crackable in One Minute : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

Link: Wi-Fi WEP Keys Now Crackable in One Minute : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech. Do you have a wireless network at home or at the office? Do you secure it with encryption keys? The older routers, both b and g, use an ecryption algorithm known as WEP (wireless encryption protocol), that, as this article highlights, can be cracked in under a minute. This is somewhat like locking your front door with a twistee tie. The newer protocol, WPA,  is not much better, but, since it is newer, it is tougher to crack. However, no wireless network is really secure, and you should be careful. The biggest risk is for public Wi-Fi networks, and, as I have opined before, the best security in public is not to use Wi-Fi at all. Get an EV-DO or HSDPA subscription from Verizon or Sprint. Be safe out there.

Blogger posts Windows Vista SP1 fixes on Web site

Link: Blogger posts Windows Vista SP1 fixes on Web site. I like being right. In addition to all the problems the new Vista security scheme creates; we now learn that there are more than 100 bug fixes in SP1 for Vista, which have been leaked by a blogger. Of course, I don't need to install it, since I passed on Vista in the first place. Maybe I will change my mind about Vista in a year or so, after a couple thousand fixes.

Laptop case for SuperMan

Link: Laptop case, Rugged laptop case, waterproof laptop, rugged pc case, pc case. More powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. Okay, maybe not, but this Otterbox laptop case is what SuperMan would carry. I recently got one of the Otterbox rugged notebook computer cases for review, and I can report that this is one tough hombre. I have stepped on this thing (and I weigh a lot more than I used to), hit it with a hammer, dropped it in a swimming pool, (it isn't waterproof, but has a drain hole, and I would classify it as water-resistant), kicked it around the office, spilled coffee on it, burned it with a cigar butt, and just about anything I could think of. I am pleased to say that my notebook computer remained safe inside. My only negative comment about this thing is that it is HEAVY. But, I suppose that is the price you pay for sturdy and safe; at least, until the Government releases that magic metal they found in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.

JiWire Hotspot Helper Wi-Fi Security VPN Software

Link: JiWire Hotspot Helper Wi-Fi Security VPN Software. One of my favorite newsletters is published by JiWire, which focuses on the use of wireless Internet at public locations. This utility is an essential tool for those who rely on public hotspots for Internet access. It prevents access to personal information, and protects against the latest threat of spoofed WiFi sites. It can be tested free for 10 days, and, if you don't have an EV-DO or other broadband wireless account, it can save your bacon.

Email Archiving and Storage Management Solutions for Compliance and Electronic Discovery.

Link: Email Archiving and Sto