Futurelawyer

FutureLawyer Password Tip Of The Day.

Do you want a bullet proof password? I am here to help.

Lawyer, Protect Thyself And Thy Clients' Secrets. Use A VPN.

Why Law Firms Need To Use VPNs. By definition, VPNs are private networks. They serve as a tunnel to the Internet, and they have locks and barred doors to keep out interlopers. They use encrypted data transfer, and don't permit just any data to go in and out of the network. Privacy, security, and anonymity are all reasons why VPNs are useful in protecting client data, which is a requirement for any lawyer using the Internet. There is a target on your back. Defend yourself and your clients. This article lists some of the better VPNs. I use PureVPN, which is also competent and practically invisible when set up.

Hello. We Have Your Data. Pay Us Or It Disappears.

Ransomware Gangs Are Calling Up Persons Who Restore Their Data Without Paying. One of the most devastating data attacks is the ransomware scheme. Your data is valuable, and these criminals know that. They require victims to pay large sums of money in order to get the keys necessary to get data back. Some companies, however, hire third party security experts to restore the date without paying the criminals. Now, the criminals are actually calling the victims and threatening to take further action if the victims don't stop. The best way to prevent this nightmare scenario is to prevent it from happening in the first place. I use  Malwarebytes, which protects, in its premium version, against such attacks. $40 a year is a lot less expensive than thousands to restore data. I also image my drive on a regular basis so that I can start over with a recent data set in the event of catastrophe. You not only have a duty to yourself, you have a duty to protect your clients' secrets. It's Saturday. Take an hour or two, and get going.

Now For Something Different, And Actually Important.

Supreme Court Hears Van Buren Hacking Case. What is computer hacking? Do you know? Well, tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether a police officer who accesses a database which he has legal access to; but, which he accesses for an unauthorized purpose, is violating the Computer Fraud And Abuse Act, and, is "hacking". When we think of hacking, we tend to get an image of some script kiddie in mom's basement accessing a government database. But, the definition is much more complicated. If you violate a State or Federal statute, or violate the terms of service you signed up for on Facebook, or fix your spouse's computer without their knowledge, are you violating the anti-hacking statute? This is a case that will impact all of our lives. Watch closely to see where the Supremes draw the line.

Do You Know What Day It Is?

National Day Calendar - World Backup Day.

No, it's not hump day. And, it's not World Backup Day either. But, I am backing up my Google data anyway. Actually, World Backup Day is March 31st; but, you should be backing up your data all the time. There are 1,500 "Days", and the National Day Calendar keeps track of all of them. You can buy one, or check online at the link. But, back to backups. I saw a post by good friend, Kevin O'Keefe, who founded Lexblog. who has forgotten more about blogging than I will ever know, and who introduced me to blogging in 2005, which cited Seth Godin's post about Google Reader, and Google's abandonment of the "Don't be Evil" slogan. Google can delete you account at any time, and is now charging a lot of money for photo storage at Google Photos. While my $9.99 a month plan gets me 2 Terabytes of storage, that will hold me for another 4 years or so. Since I am an old man, I will wait to see if I get to the threshold. When I do, I will have to cough up $49.99 a month to get 10 Terabytes. Jeez, Google, do you need more money or what? In any event, if you are a Google user, you need to got to Google Takeout and start the backup process for all your Google data. This can take a day or more, and you will get an email link when it is complete. Then, copy the data to a USB drive and keep it secure. So, the moral of this story is, don't wait until World Backup day to backup your Google data, or any other data. Do it now. As old as I am, I may not be around anymore when you need me. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family.

GMail Security Is Your Responsibility.

4 Steps You Should Take To Secure Your GMail Account Today. Believe me when I tell you that it gives me no pleasure to hit you with another email about computer security. As lawyers, you should be more concerned, because you are protecting client data as well as your own. For my readers who aren't lawyers; especially those who keep sending Facebook messages that they have been hacked, I am very weary of telling you to enable two factor authentication. I now identify with my dad, who said the same type of thing as he was applying a foreign object to my posterior. But, here we go again. These tips about GMail security also apply to other social media and online apps. For God's sake, at the least, make any hacker who wants to get into your system figure out how to get by two factor authentication. Set up a second layer of security that involves sending a text to your smartphone. Presumably, you will be the only one with access to it. Yes, I am a nag. But, nagging sometimes works. At least, it has worked on me.

Keep Your Brain Sharp - Try To Remember Your Passwords

Every time an application requires me to add special characters or some ungodly combination to a password, I feel like screaming. But, there is a secondary good effect, in that my brain has to be exercised every time I have to remember a password. I try not to save passwords, because the brain gets lazy. Remembering and typing them in every time gives them a prayer like, zen like quality that assists in mindfulness. As a matter of fact, try to remember all your passwords and say them silently during your next meditation session. Ommmmmmmm...

Are You Careful About How You Connect To The Internet?

This FBI Warning Could Spoil Your Working Remotely At A Hotel Plan. Apparently, some workers aren't enjoying working remotely from home. Perhaps it is the constant family interruptions of young children. Whatever it is, some workers are going to hotels, and using the hotel WiFi. Most hotels are upfront about the security risk. They tout their "WiFi available" status; but, they fail to adequately secure the network. My only solid travel rule has been "never use Hotel WiFi". I have always contracted with a cell phone provider to access the Internet over an encrypted phone connection. I connect to it and bypass the free WiFi provided by the hotel. It is one thing to expose yourself to having your personal and banking information hijacked over an insecure hotel WiFi connection. It is quite another to have your confidential client information exposed. Be careful out there.

Prevent Facebook And Other App Hacking Attacks.

More than one Facebook friend has had their account hacked, and dummy accounts set up that message all their friends. This is one of the easiest hacks to prevent, and only requires the use of two factor authentication for entry to your Facebook account. While in Facebook, click the down arrow in the upper right of the screen. Click Settings and Privacy. Click Security Settings. Click Two Factor Authentication. Enter your cell phone number. Then, before a hacker can ever get into your account again, they will have to have your cell phone as well as your password. You have to get a code on your phone before you sign in to Facebook; but, you can leave Facebook connected if you have control over the physical computer you use. Sure, it is annoying to have to check your phone for a text message and code to get back in to Facebook after you log out. But, it is more annoying to find out some jerk has hacked your account because it was only secured with a password. If you aren't using two factor authentication with every site that has it available, you are like a homeowner leaving the front door to your house unlocked, who is surprised when a criminal walks in and steals something. Be safe out there.

DocuSign Can Survive Pandemics, Floods And Earthquakes.

DocuSign. As a technologist, I have always loved digital solutions to real world problems. As a lawyer, I have always appreciated tech that makes my job as a lawyer, easier. But, before the Pandemic, I considered DocuSign as a method of reducing delay in getting signatures on documents from around the country and the world. However, my eyes are now wide open, and Docusign is now my preferred way of getting things done. Remote lawyering requires the use of remote tools, and the ability to sign a legal document over the Internet is essential to such a practice. These days I really can practice law from my den at home. I can communicate with anyone in the world face to face using Zoom. I can send any document anywhere in the world, and it returns with a legally enforceable digital signature in the blink of an eye. Cool.