Category Archives: Security

Superb Computer Security Guide for Attorneys

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4-Step Computer Security UpgradeIs your computer secure? Seriously, just between us, is it really secure? Secure enough that your clients would sleep soundly if they knew all the details? If pressed, would the powers-that-be conclude that you met your ethical obligations set forth in the Rules of Professional Conduct?

If you had to pause (even for a moment) to think about the answer to any of those questions, I have both good news and bad news for you. The “good” news is that you are like many other lawyers – who generally lag behind the technology curve. Far too many law firms would earn a “D” (at best) if they were graded on their computer security.  The bad news is that saying “I didn’t know” isn’t a sufficient response – to a client, a malpractice claim, or an ethical complaint.

Rule 1.6(c) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct states: “A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.” Pay close attention to the verb, as it states shall, not should. This is a requirement – and yes it extends to the information on your computer. Most attorneys are overworked, stressed out, and reluctant to change. These factors are not conducive to staying up to date on the latest technology, and even then, security is often one of the last items to be considered.

However, the “real” good news is that there is help available, today – for only $10. Sam Glover, Editor in Chief of Lawyerist.com, has written a short, simple, easy to follow guide that he claims “will take you from a D- to a solid B on computer security.” I have reviewed his 4-Step Computer Security Upgrade, and I agree with Sam and wholeheartedly recommend you buy it.

This computer security guide is a combination of concrete steps and best practices for such important topics as encryption, wi-fi security, two factor authentication, and secure passwords. Best of all, it includes step-by-step instructions for implementation (for both Macs and PCs) that anyone (even a non-tech savvy lawyer) can follow. It does all of this in a mere 35 pages and for only $10. What more could a busy, stressed, time-starved attorney possibly want?

Seriously, do yourself a favor and get this guide today – before it’s too late! Click here to learn more about this guide or to purchase a copy.

How to Easily Set Up iPhone 6

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iPhone 6Both The Mac Lawyer and Mrs. Mac Lawyer got new iPhones within the last few weeks. If you have gotten a new one too, you should consider the following steps from Macworld.com to easily set up iPhone 6:

  1. Back up your old phone. Plug your old iPhone into your computer; go to iTunes; select your iPhone; under Backups, choose This Computer; and click “back up now”. Pro Tip: If you select “encrypt local backup”, your account passwords are stored so that you won’t have to enter them all again – and you also get maximum privacy protection too. 
  2. Restore from backup. Plug your new iPhone into your computer, navigate to iTunes, and then restore form the backup you just created. 
  3. Finish the setup. Enter your iCloud account password, enter a second security code if you’re using two-factor authentication (and you should be), agree to the iCloud terms and conditions, and designate how people can reach you over iMessage and Face Time. 
  4. Set up your Touch ID. Simply follow the instructions on your iPhone, which will involve you repeatedly touching the home button’s fingerprint sensor with your thumb so that it can learn your fingerprint. You will probably want to add your other thumb at Settings > Passcode for added ease of use. 
  5. Pick a size with Display Zoom. You can choose between standard view and zoomed view. The latter simply enlarges everything, which I can tell you is much easier on older eyes.
  6. Peruse the settings. Check out the new options and the ones that were brought over from your old iPhone.
  7. Update your apps. Go to the App Store app and update all of your apps. You can easily have all your apps auto-update by going to Settings > iTunes & App Stores > Automatic Downloads. 
  8. Install some widgets. Simply pull down from the top of your screen to show your Notification Center, scroll to the bottom, tap Edit, and then choose which apps’ widgets you want to include. You can select from upcoming appointments, package-tracking, Kindle status, and many others.
  9. Open the Tips app. This new app provides helpful tips about using your new iPhone, delivered in handy, bite-sized chunks.
  10. Set up Apple Pay. Load your credit or debit card and speed up your checkouts. Remember, this does not expose your real credit card info to the stores, so you don’t have to worry about getting a new card if/when that store gets hacked.

The above steps are just an overview, and you can read Macworld’s fully comprehensive setup guide to get step-by-step assistance.

Source: “Got an iPhone 6? Do These 10 Things First” by Susie Ochs, published at Macworld.com

Free iOS Security Webinar

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ios securityMore lawyers are managing their practice and accessing client data on the go on their iOS devices. Unfortunately, very few small law firms have the proper measures in place to protect their confidential client data. If needed, could you convince a Board of Ethics that you had done your due diligence to protect your client’s data?

There’s a lot more to mobile security than enabling the password on your iPhone or iPad. Strong iOS security starts with becoming familiar with the most common threats to compromising firm data on your iPhone or iPad. While many assume they are not at risk since they are not a ‘big’ law firm, the opposite is true.

Join legal technology expert Tom Lambotte (CEO of GlobalMac IT and author of “Hassle Free Mac IT Support for Law Firms”) on Thursday, November 20, 2014, from 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) for “Securing Your iPhone and iPad: Don’t Put Your Client’s Data at Risk”. In this free webinar sponsored by Rocket Matter, Tom will discuss real world scenarios that put your client’s data at risk, as well as actionable steps you can take to secure your mobile device and keep your client’s data and other information safe.

Click here to learn more or register for this free webinar. Trust me, it will be well worth your time.

This Halloween… Who’s Keeping An Eye On Your Computer Network?

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halloweenThe following Guest Post is from my friend (and Legal IT Guru), Tom Lambotte of GlobalMac IT. His company provides complete end-to-end IT services to Mac-based law firms nationwide with 5 to 50 users: 

Many attorneys, paralegals and office managers we have come into contact with over the years wait FAR too long to have a checkup and update to their computer network’s health and security. Unless someone is actively performing regular daily/weekly/monthly maintenance, a nasty virus, malicious hacker, unexpected software corruption, hardware failure or dozens of other problems could catch you off guard and result in extensive downtime, data loss and expensive data recovery efforts.

That’s because many law firms do not perform regular maintenance on their network or do not have the time and therefore are overlooking many serious threats that are increasing exponentially over time. At some point, disaster strikes and they find themselves in a real mess, with a network down and employees sitting idle, waiting to get back to work.

By then the damage is done, and it can cost thousands of dollars to get the network back to normal, if that’s even possible. What saddens me even more is the fact that almost every one of these costly disasters could have easily been prevented if someone had checked their network’s security and health to remove these threats on a regular basis.

From now until Halloween (October 31st), GlobalMac IT offering our readers with 5 or more Macs a FREE Network Checkup ($497 value) so that you have no excuse for not making sure your computer network is safe and sound.

No More Excuses! This Free Network Checkup Will “Exorcise” The Demons Hiding In Your Computer Network. Schedule your FREE Network Checkup to “see” if you are truly safe from spyware, viruses, hackers and other SPOOKY disasters by calling GlobalMac IT at 440-941-1622 or info@globalmacit.com. (Please note, this offer is only available to Mac-based law firms with 5+ Macs.)

Facts About Cloud Computing for Attorneys

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cloud computingCloud computing can, without a doubt, help attorneys be more efficient, productive, and profitable. The software that my firm uses is almost entirely cloud-based, with the “big three” being Rocket Matter for case management / time & billing; Google Apps for Business for email; and Quickbooks Online for accounting.

I have given presentations all across the country about the benefits of cloud computing for attorneys, but despite my advocacy for this technology, some lawyers are still skeptical, suspicious, or fearful of implementing cloud computing in their law practices. I found the following statistics, which may help ease some of those lingering concerns that have prevented them from taking the plunge:

• A survey of over 3,500 IT decision makers from a variety of enterprises revealed that 82% of the companies saved money and cut costs, with 80% seeing improvements within the first 6 months of adopting the cloud.

• 90% of IT decision makers found improvement in at least one of the following areas of their IT department: efficiency, quality, and security.

• Banking has the most activity in the cloud (64%), which is even more than social media (58%), photos (29%), and file sharing (19%). In fact, cloud demand for banking almost doubled in 2013 with the introduction of mobile banking.

• Over 50% of the United States government is in the cloud, and experts say it is the biggest cloud user in the world.

Source: “7 Statistics You Didn’t Know About Cloud Computing” by Maria Santacaterina.

7 Tips to Help Keep Your iPad Secure

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ipad securityiPad use continues to increase in the legal field, and millions of attorneys use them to work on their clients’ cases every day. In light of our ethical obligation to safeguard and protect our clients’ information, we should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information on our iPads is secure and out of the reach of thieves and hackers. The following tips and suggestions can help you keep your iPad secure:

1. Don’t leave it lying around. iPads are easy targets for thieves, so don’t let yours out of your sight when in a public place. Also, don’t leave it in plain view in your car or you might end of up with a broken window too.

2. Use a passcode. Although it’s not 100% hacker-proof, it will block unauthorized users from accessing your information.

3. Consider enabling automatic data erasing. You can configure your iPad to erase your data after 10 failed pass-code attempts. However, this may not be a good solution for anyone who constantly forgets a password or for those who have kids trying to log in repeatedly.

4. Encrypt your hard drive. On your iPad, simply enabling the password will turn on encryption. All iOS devices also come with a second layer of encryption (called data protection) that protects your e-mails and attachments. This protection can’t be broken, even if the passcode is stripped.

5. Enable iCloud Find My Phone. This is a valuable tool to use if your iPad is misplaced. With it, you can log in and find your iPad and/or remotely wipe it if you have sensitive data on it.

6. Install software updates. As with all software, make sure you have the latest iOS security updates installed to protect against hackers and viruses.

7. Only connect to trusted WiR networks. Public WiFis are open territory for hackers and identity thieves. Whenever you connect, make sure it’s a legitimate, secure connection.

This article was excerpted from the Technology Tips newsletter published by Tom Lambotte, President of GlobalMacIT, an Apple-centric IT firm in Northeast Ohio that specializes in business solutions for law firms, small businesses. Their monthly newsletters are an excellent resource for Mac users, and you can access their archive of past newsletters here.

Are iPhone Owners Luckier Than Other Smartphone Owners?

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lucky iphoneProtectCELL released data that indicates that iPhone owners may be “luckier” than other smartphone users. Specifically, it found that iPhone users are roughly 46 percent less likely to need a replacement device, for any reason, versus other smartphone users. This determination was made from research measuring the cause and frequency of mobile replacements for both smartphones and tablets across ProtectCELL’s two-million-plus plans sold.

Other interesting findings from this study showed that iPhone users were less likely to break their device, but far more prone to misplacing their phone. According to ProtectCELL, iPhone owners are 11 percent less likely to report a broken or damaged device as compared to other smartphone users, but 65 percent more likely to request a replacement due to their device going missing.

Thanks to ProtectCELL for their analysis of these statistics. You can learn more at the ProtectCELL blog.

iOS Security Flaw Discovered

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ios securityLast Friday, Apple announced a major security flaw in iOS which left iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches vulnerable to a “man in the middle attack.”

As I understand it, this means that if you were using an insecure WiFi connection (at a coffeehouse, hotel, airport, etc.), a hacker could have possibly accessed information that was supposed to be encrypted and which you thought was secure, like credit card numbers.

Apple has issued a patch to fix this iOS security flaw, and if you haven’t already done so, stop what you’re doing right now and download it. To do so, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install.

Lock Screen Security Tips for Attorneys

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lock screen securityThere are some basic steps that every attorney should take to secure their Mac laptops. First and foremost, require that a login password be entered whenever your computer starts or wakes from sleep. If you fail to do so, your data will be accessible to anyone who happens upon your computer.

However, what if a Good Samaritan finds your lost computer, only to find that it is locked, leaving them unable to determine who it belongs to or how to contact that person. I recommend using the steps below to provide a way to reach you even when your screen is locked:

  1. Go to “System Preferences”
  2. Click on “Security & Privacy”
  3. Check “Show a message when the screen is locked”
  4. Click “Set Lock Message…” and enter your desired text

As you can see in the image at right (click on it to enlarge), the Lock Message on my MacBook Air says “If found, please return to Ben Stevens (864) XXX-XXXX (reward offered)”. I list my cell number in this message, as I always have my iPhone with me. Also, when people lose their computers, it’s most often while traveling, so a home or office number is less helpful.

By following these simple steps, your Mac laptop can protect your data while providing a way to contact you if it is ever lost. Obviously, I hope you never need to use these lock screen security tips, but if you do, I hope they will come in handy.

Quick Trash Tips for OS X

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empty trashLet’s face it, emptying the trash is just not very exciting. You hated it when you were a kid, and you don’t like doing it much more now as an adult. However, it’s one of those things that simply has to be done from time to time.

You probably know that all deleted items on the Mac end up in the Trash, and that you can Empty the Trash (delete its contents) by going to Finder > Empty Trash. However, this process is admittedly slow and agonizing, just like when you were a kid.

One easy way to save time is to empty the Trash right from the Dock. To do so, simply select the Trash (two finger tap on a touchpad or control + click with a mouse), and a short menu then appears from which you can Open or Empty Trash. If you want to Secure Empty Trash, simply hold down the Command key when selecting it.

Attorneys should generally be utilizing OS X’s Secure Empty Trash feature, which erases files more securely by writing random patterns of data over a trashed file immediately after it has been emptied. By way of contrast, the standard Empty Trash command leaves information susceptible to being recovered with special utility software. With sensitive client data, the safest way is always the best way. I hope these trash tips for OS X are helpful to you.