Security

After Word documents, PDFs may be the most commonly exchanged file types for lawyers.  We use PDFs for letters, contracts, briefs, forms and bills.  But can those PDFs we download or receive so often harbor hidden dangers? The short answer is yes, as How-To Geek explores in a recent HTG Explains article: Why Does Chrome Say PDF Files Can Harm Your …

The American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management section provides a monthly webzine called Law Practice Today. The topic of discussion for April’s edition, “Disaster Prep,” provides helpful insight on how to work toward preventing and preparing for a disaster before it strikes. Here is a peek at what this issue has to offer: Preparing for a Disaster: Data Backup and Beyond “The …

If you read my last post here on Law Technology Today, you know that I caution against an antivirus-only security strategy to combat today’s growing information risks.  But for many lawyers, the biggest challenge is not knowing whether they should do more, but rather what they should do to protect themselves and their practice from modern cyber threats.  The myriad of …

Any firm employing an “anti-virus-only approach” is almost guaranteed to be facing more exposure than an informed analysis would recommend.

I’ve been doing some research in connection with an upcoming technology column I’ve written for the ABA Journal. The topic is backing up your social media accounts and it should appear in a month or two. This topic is an important one for lawyers, and not just so you can learn how you can back up your own accounts. Understanding …

My favorite maxim regarding computer backups is Peter Krogh’s oft-quoted “3–2–1 Rule”. A proper backup of important information consists of three copies of you data, on two different types of media, one of which is off-site. Let’s take a look at how you can implement this system at home or at your law firm. Three Copies of Your Data The …

Funding for security initiatives can be difficult to come by, especially since most lawyers have gotten by for years with minimal investment in this area.  Many still rely on little more than antivirus software and a back-up hard drive.  Naturally, lawyers often ask what they can do to minimize their information security exposure and reasonably manage their risk without large …

In my last post for Law Technology Today, I wrote about BoxCryptor and encrypting documents stored in Dropbox and SkyDrive: Encryption in the Cloud: BoxCryptor.    As you know from that post, I was impressed with BoxCryptor, but I was still searching for an easy way to encrypt emails sent from my Gmail account, which is web-based.   I was therefore excited to …

Remember that turn of the century game show where weaker players were summarily dismissed from the game by a snarling game show host?  Wrong answer, off the game the player was ordered, as the weakest link – no second chance.  Only the strongest, most strategic players were left standing at the end to compete for the prize. When it comes …

If you’re a Facebook user, you may have noticed some new icons that have begun appearing in the Facebook navigation bar. To the right of the “Home” link at the upper right corner of the navigation bar, there is a new Privacy Shortcuts icon (see below). This new icon is intended to give Facebook users easy access to the privacy …