Futurelawyer

Internet Everywhere - How Fast Is Your Hotspot?

Sluggish Hotspot Made Faster With One Setting. Gone are the days when a mobile lawyer had to find a hotel lobby or airline waiting area or hotel room with a cabled or WiFi Internet connection. No longer are we subject to insecure WiFi hotspots, with spotty reception, or hotels that want an arm and a leg for Internet access. I am old enough to remember crawling under a motel room bed to find the phone jack so that I could connect a dial up modem that could hardly handle a text based email transmission. These days, the biggest problem is learning how to connect your phone to a 5Ghz connection for fast hotspot data. For less than $15 a month, I have several devices (phones and tablets) that can use up to 40 Gigabytes of hotspot data a month, which is enough for all my Internet needs when traveling in the RV, and that includes TV streaming. You don't need Cable TV. You don't need Satellite TV. You don't need to call the front desk about the spotty WiFi. Learn to use your Smartphone Hotspot, and better yet, have a second phone to use as a Hotspot. It is secure. It is easy. Just make sure you configure the Hotspot to the fastest connection you can use, either 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz.

Can You Take A ScreenShot On Your Phone?

How To Take A Screen Shot On Android. Ediscovery is a burgeoning field in law; primarily because most of us now keep our lives preserved in digital form on computers, and tablets and smartphones. So, when I read this article on how to take screenshots on a cell phone, it occurred to me that scrrenshots are a good way to preserve evidence. Want to prove what was texted, emailed or saved to the photos app? Check the screenshots. For regular use, this is a good way to show something to someone who isn't available at the moment. I love the fact that, by setting up Palm Swipe on my Samsung phone, I can save a screenshot anytime by swiping right with my palm. The screenshot is saved to Google photos and preserved forever. Be careful, however. Digital is as forever as it gets these days.

GoodSync - Protect Your Files And Data.

GoodSync. Lawyers create thousands of documents in their careers. They also create the same business and personal records as everyone else. Years of scanned documents, receipts, photos, pleadings, and all sorts of data that are essential to life and practice. Before computers, paper files contained this information, and they needed to be stored in file cabinets, rooms, storage facilities, and all sorts of places the required physical security. These days, all of that data can be stored on a thimble sized digital device. Your computer contains your life, and needs to be protected. I needed, and found in Goodsync, a backup and syncing program, that, for under $30 a year, makes file backup simple. Every poem, every pleading, every bit of data, is automatically backed up and synced, on MicroSDs, USB drives, and in the cloud, whenever I want. I try to run it every day. If my hard drive crashes, I have several copies of my essential files in several physical locations. The software has a free 7 day trial for 99 cents. Do you know where your files are?

Lawyers - You Should Be Using Signal For Text Messaging.

Signal Is Catching Up To WhatsApp In The Text Messaging Space. Lawyers who deal with client confidential information all day are tempting fate if they aren't using secure, encrypted from end to end, text messaging apps. Computer and data security is risky enough these days, and, while perfect data security is impossible, lawyers are required to use reasonably available means to protect client confidentiality. Signal is free. Signal looks and works just like your current text messaging app. Signal is encrypted from end to end.  There is a phone app and a Windows app. Why aren't you using it?

Are You Worried About Your Privacy On Social Media?

We all want privacy in our personal communications. So, it is somewhat disingenuous of us to complain about the lack of privacy in social media, when we choose to post our secrets on the public wall of Facebook, and in other places. Of course, we all want to be loved, and respected, and cared about, so that is the intended goal of the things we put out there. But, the opinion of others should be the last thing we worry about. The Stoics tell us that the only thing over which we have control is our own actions or reactions to events. That said, there is a way to protect yourself from the problems engendered by membership and use of social media, and Facebook in particular:

Sometimes I Feel Like A Voice Crying In The Wilderness.

Got A New Laptop? Here's How To Keep Your Data Safe. I realize that my computer security posts for the rest of us is like preaching to the choir. Most of you already do these things. But, now that Windows 11 will force you to take a look at new hardware to take advantage of Windows 11s hardware security, you should also know how to set up that new laptop so that you are protected, and your data is protected. First, install Malwarebytes or another rock solid Anti-malware and anti-ransomware software solution. Then, setup two factor authentication wherever you can. Then, become knowledgeable about phishing scams and how to avoid them. Then, be proactive about installing updates as they become available. Then, only use messaging or chat software that is encrypted end to end. For me, Signal is the best choice. Then, do not use public WiFi in hotels, waiting rooms, stores, restaurants, or anywhere else without a front end VPN application. I use PureVPN, but there are many competent programs out there. Be careful out there.

Sir, Do You Want Your Mobile Phone Call Stirred Or Shaken?

T-Mobile Is Fighting Back Against Scam And Robocalls. Today, children, we are going to learn about another acronym that has a lot to do with your smartphone security, and your protection against scammers and robocallers. Recently, I have noticed that T-Mobile is identifying Scam calls for me, and alerting me when the call comes in that a scam call is ringing. I can then easily reject the call; although, out of curiosity in the beginning, I was answering a couple to see what kind of scammer was calling. One clue is a notification that the call is on a recorded line. Hang up immediately. Recordings of your voice can be used to create a false narrative in which you sign up for something. But, I was curious about how T-Mobile was identifying the calls, and I discovered the acronym STIR/SHAKEN. STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs) is a method of verifying that phone calls made over IP are actually coming from the proper origin by having the caller ID signed by the originating carrier. All the major carriers are using it, and it is one part of an industry wide effort to reduce significantly the number of scam and robo sales calls we receive. Thanks, T-Mobile, for creating a buffer between me and the scammers.

Why You Absolutely, Positively, Want To Get Windows 11.

OK Microsoft, You Win. I'm Buying A Windows 11 PC Is it possible that buying the wrong computer could be legal malpractice? Well, the rules say that lawyers must have a "reasonable" knowledge of technology such that they are reasonably able to be current enough to protect client confidential information stored in their computers. And, since Windows 11 requires a computer that supports modern hardware virtualization which puts processes in containers that are difficult to access for malware, and which protect boot processes at the firmware level, it is conceivable that a lawyer using a computer, say 10 years old, who is hacked by a malware program that wouldn't affect a more recent computer, might be at risk. At least, if you are serious about security, it goes without saying that you should certainly take advantage of any technology available to you to protect your data, and that of your clients. Yes, I know, it is impossible to be completely secure; but, that doesn't mean you don't put security cameras on your home or office, and put decent locks on the doors, and are alert about your surroundings. And, I also know that it is a bummer to live in a world in which we need to be conscious of security issues. But, here we are. Be careful out there. And, look carefully at the need to use the latest technology available to you.

 

Computer Security - Best Ransomware Protection Is Malwarebytes.

White Paper - Defeating Ransomware. The best way to protect against criminals is to present a difficult target. Nothing is completely secure. However, computer users and companies who want to protect against ransomware can make themselves too difficult to attack. Holding a business' data hostage, is a scary prospect. Lawyers who need to protect their clients' confidential information have a lot to lose. For these reasons, the first thing I do with a new computer is install Malwarebytes Premium, and keep it running in the background 100% of the time I am using the computer. It attacks ransomware on four levels, none of which I understand. But, I am better protected than the normal user, and what more can you ask? So, read this white paper, and be safe out there.

Do Not Download Windows 11 Preview - Really, Don't Do It.

How To Download Windows 11 Preview. How brave are you? How curious are you? You have a dependable Windows 10 machine that you use every day of your working life. Microsoft uses new versions as a guinea pig lab. You are now able to download and install a Preview edition of Windows 11. It will contain bugs and glitches, and not all the features. You should not risk your computer by doing it. I really mean it. Please don't. You aren't listening, are you? Jeez.