Futurelawyer

Where In The World Is The Futurelawyer? Not With Carmen San Diego

Companies are (still) selling your phone location data without consent | Android Central. Corollary to the California lawsuit against the Weather Channel over the sale of GPS data to third parties, this article points out that cell carriers sell location data to third parties all the time. This time, it is the "shady middlemen" who are the culprits, because they buy the data and then sell it to anyone they want. All three of the largest carriers deny that they are selling to "shady middlemen"; but, no one has yet defined that term. Here's a modest proposal, cell phone carriers. Pay me $10 every time you share my location information, and we're good. Otherwise, just call me on my phone, and I will be happy to tell you where I am at any given moment. I can assure you, I am not with Carmen San Diego, wherever she is.

Los Angeles Sues The Weather Channel

City Attorney of Los Angeles Sues Popular Weather App Claiming Deceptive Collection and Sharing of Geolocation Data | Proskauer - New Media & Technology - JDSupra. The headline caught my eye. Los Angeles sues the Weather Channel. Say what? Is California upset about too much sunshine? Too much rain? Upon further reading, the issue comes down to whether the typical user gets enough information about what his location data will be used for. In order for smartphones to be more useful, the handy little GPS chip we use to navigate around, must be able to track our movements. So, any app that you give permission to track you as you go around town, or around the world, will know where you are at all times. This can be very useful; say, when you are lost in Las Vegas, or, like me 4 years ago, when you leave your phone on the table at a Vegas hotel restaurant, and don't realize it until you are back at your room in another hotel. But, what happens to this geolocation data when the app developer gets it? Why, they sell it to other companies who use it to sell your their product, and so on. If you knowingly consent to this use, no problem. But, this lawsuit accuses the Weather Channel of failure to obtain "informed consent" from the users. What happens when governments, police forces, and others have this information? Then next time you install a new app, ask yourself if the app is worth it.

Thank Goodness Most Phishing Criminals Are Stupid

I got this interesting email this morning, with the catchy headline that my payment of 10.1 million dollars was waiting for me at Dulles Airport in a consignment box. Don't you think I should jump on a plane immediately? William (or Charles if you look at his email address) certainly sounds on the up and up:

"Attention...

We wish to inform you that Federal Government of Benin Republic has finally released your inheritance / contract payment of $10.5 Million USD and it has been packaged out for delivery with the help of US AMBASSADOR to Benin Republic who acts as your foreign representative here in Benin before the delivery took place.

In addition to this, every necessary arrangement has been made successfully with (James Dyke), so you are advice to confirm your full delivery information to him because he's currently at (Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, USA) with your consignment box, he called earlier to inform us of misplacing your information.

Therefore, contact him with your full delivery information for easy conversation and to enable you give him the full direction to get your package delivered to you safe and sound. Be fast about it because Agent James Dyke, won't be wasting much time in USA, so get in touch with him immediately and forward the info below to him.

FULL NAME: _____
ADDRESS: _____
MOBILE NO: _____
NAME OF YOUR NEAREST AIRPORT: _______
A COPY OF YOUR IDENTIFICATION: _______
YOUR OCCUPATION:_______

Contact him directly with details listed below...
Premium Express Logistics  Agent
Name: James Dyke

Contact e-mail: ( ofile1297@gmail.com)

Most importantly, he is at (Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, USA) waiting for the reconfirmation of your info to enable him deliver the package to your home, remember the Agent does not know the consignment contained funds because the AMBASSADOR who acts as your representative here registered it as a family valuable article to avoid inspection during the delivery, so unknown circumstances should you let him know the content of the package so that he won't run away with it, the package were sign and stamp by US EMBASSY here to ensure that it's well protected until it got to your address.

Regards.
Premium Express Logistics 

Director"

Spam Text Messages - Is Nothing Sacred?

How to enable/disable Spam Protection in Google's Messages app. Just when email spam was brought under control by Google, the text messaging spam has started. Are you sick of getting spam texts all day long? I am. GMail has, for a long time, figured out how to identify and destroy spam email. Now, all the penis enlargement mail goes to a spam folder before I see it and open it. It is then easy to one click send it all to oblivion. However, now I am getting annoying text messages that offer me a good price on a car, or other stuff. Thanks to Google, we will soon have the same spam protection on our text messages. I haven't got the update yet; but, I hope it is soon.  

How to Automatically Clear Browsing History in Google Chrome

How to Automatically Clear Browsing History in Google Chrome. You have no secrets. You are a good person. But, that doesn't mean you want anyone poring over your browsing history. You have a curious mind, and you sometimes search for stuff that might be misunderstood. Of course, you also might be a bad person, I don't know. But, in any event, you don't need a Medic Alert bracelet that says: "Delete My Browsing History", in the event you are run over by a truck. So, how about this. Save your money on the bracelet, and tell your browser to delete your history every time you close the browser. Problem solved. Just try not to get hit by a truck.

Android Security - Be Careful Out There...Or Not

The latest Android security threat is nothing to worry about | Android and Me. Usually, when I post about computer security, there is a serious risk that I want you to understand and prevent. However, some of the hype online about computer security risks is just that...hype. The so called PayPal Trojan can, if activated, trick your phone into sending money via PayPal to a rogue account without much input from the user. The key phrase here is "user input"; because this scam only works if you are the dumbest computer user on the planet. First, you have to intentionally enable your phone to download apps that aren't sourced on Google PlayStore. Then, you have to intentionally tell the phone to bypass several security layers. The only thing you need to remember here is to only download apps from the PlayStore. In addition, get a Lookout Mobile Security app and install it. It will scan your apps on a regular basis and keep the bad guys out. Now, relax and have a nice day. There's nothing to see here.

Backup Your Drive - Save Yourself From Disaster

Amazon.com: WD 4TB Black My Passport� Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBYFT0040BBK-WESN: Computers & Accessories. Have you backed up your computer data today? If not, you are flirting with disaster. Your entire life and law practice reside on your computer's drive. Imagine waking up one day and not being able to access your law practice client data, your legal documents, your emails, your texts, your photos, your whatever you use your computer for data? What if your computer crashes (they all do)? One of the accessories I have connected to a USB port, both at home and at the office, is a little 2 by 4 inch plastic box housing a 4 Terabyte hard drive from Western Digital. You can get one of these for under $100 on sale. I have automatic backups scheduled daily at night while I am sleeping. Every few days, I run an imaging backup that stores the entire drive and can be restored in the event of a crash. If you aren't doing this you are heading to disaster. Back up. Do it now. Do it all the time.

If Tech Support Calls, Hang Up

When Tech Support Calls You About a PC Problem, it%u2019s Probably a Scam. Sometimes, things really ARE too good to be true. For instance, if a guy calls you on the phone and tells you he is from Microsoft, or Google, or some other big company, and tells you that there is a problem with your computer, ask yourself a very simple question. What is the likelihood that, of the billion or so users of Microsoft products, that there is an employee whose top focus today is to help you with a computer problem you didn't know you had? The IRS or the local Sheriff will never call you on the phone and threaten you with jail. Microsoft or Google will never call you on the phone and tell you they want to help you. The only threatening call you are likely to get is from an ex you owe money to. Now, be careful out there.

Google Is A Stalker - Here's How To Show It Who's Boss

How to delete your Google Search history. What if you had a stalker that followed you everywhere, and knew everything you said, did, or talked about? What if the stalker knew everything you were interested in, and kept a detailed diary of your every movement?  Pretty creepy, huh? Even worse, what if a lawyer with a subpoena could call your stalker as a witness and get all that information in pending litigation? Welcome to Google, the computer stalker that is everywhere. While your search history, and complete history of your daily internet use might be valuable to a lawyer doing ediscovery, most of us don't want everyone to know the places we go on the Internet, no matter how innocent our intentions. In fact, Google search histories have figured prominently in murder and serious crime investigations. But, for most of us, knowing how to remove that data from our Google chain is a good thing. And, Google wants to make it easier to remove. Go to the activity page and see what Google knows about you. Then, delete it before your mother sees it.

You Could Be A Troglodyte If...

Seven Signs Your Law Firm%u2019s Technology is Outdated - Law Technology Today. When I was a young lawyer, I had a side gig as a computer consultant. I would go into law firms and install case management, time and billing and other productivity software. I gave up when I realized that the computers and tech in the offices was old, outdated and underpowered, and I got blamed when the software wouldn't work properly. I hope every one of those firms, and any other firm interested in productivity and efficiency, reads this article, and asks some hard questions. If your computer monitors weigh 25 pounds, you might be a troglodyte. If all the computers in the office are beige boxes running Windows Vista, you might need to update your systems. If your idea of computer security is locking the front door of the office every night, you might be...well, you get the picture. You do, don't you?