TechnoLawyer: Privacy/Security

Coming May 13, 2005 to Fat Friday: Jason Havens discusses a foolproof way to ensure virus-free e-mail, James Slaughter points to an open source software project that may ultimately lead to a "killer legal scheduling and document management program," Rosanne Estrella shares some common sense tips for implementing legal software, Cheryl Burgess discusses her firm's experience implementing Amicus Attorney, and Susan Fernandes provides a buyer's guide to USB flash drives, including security considerations. Don't miss this issue.

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Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

In response to the review of six metadata removal utilities in a recent issue of Fat Friday, TechnoLawyer member Lewis Siegel writes: "Although the price per seat for KKL Software's ezClean is only $20/seat in smaller quantities, it has a 20 seat minimum making it very expensive for a small firm." A small correction — according to KKL Software's Web site, ezClean requires a minimum of 25 seats.

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, we place Quips here in TechnoLawyer Blog and also in our TechnoGuide newsletter, but they appear in TechnoGuide first. TechnoGuide also contains exclusive content.

Coming May 2, 2005 to TechnoGuide:

The Next Big Thing in Blogs; Maximize Your Google Searches; Much More
In this issue of TechnoGuide, Neil Squillante discusses the next big thing in blogs, and explains how to maximize your Google searches. This issue also contains Quips about the Department of Homeland Security, KKL Software's eZClean metadata removal utility, and uninterruptible power supplies. This issue's Questions from Your Peers seek advice on bates stamping, laser printers, PDA synchronization, Rainmaker, real estate software, and VoIP. All that plus the Question of the Week.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Mondays, TechnoGuide is a biweekly newsletter that features Quips, TechnoEditorials, Industry News, Real-Life Questions submitted by your peers in the legal profession, and the Question of the Week. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.

This past week in TechnoRelease:

• Anthony Vlahos of LexisNexis used lyrics from Radiohead's critically-acclaimed album OK Computer to discuss the increasingly time-constrained and gadget-dependent legal profession. He then explained how lawyers can use Lexis Nexis Time Matters 6 as part of a "personal action plan" to regain control over their life and practice.

• Fios announced a free April 19th Webcast entitled Understanding the Proposed FRCP Amendments — with Adam Cohen of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Listen in as Adam discusses everything from planning for and dealing with damaging e-mail to the ease of manipulating and altering electronic information.

• Insys Development introduced Escrow Organizer, which enables you to manage the receipts and disbursements of client funds. Insys is offering a $35 discount to TechnoLawyer members until April 30, 2005.

• CleanerInbox.com invited TechnoLawyer members to try its Postini e-mail filtering, which "provides comprehensive protection effectively eliminating threats before they impact your network." CleanerInbox.com is offering TechnoLawyer members a discount plus free setup.

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TechnoRelease is a weekly newsletter in which legal vendors tell an ongoing story about their products and services, often providing freebies, discounts, and other special offers to TechnoLawyer members in the process. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Nearly every day, the mainstream media reports that the amount of spam sent continues to increase. To which I say: So what? The amount of spam sent is irrelevant. What matters is the amount of spam received by end users like me and you. Thanks to a shift from content filters (which tend to block legitimate e-mail) to more sophisticated methods (such as sender authentication) at large ISPs, the amount of spam received has steadily declined. Thankfully, one mainstream publication — TechNewsWorld — is reporting on this important development. Read more.

Update: I may have to change the title of this Post. AdWeek has published an article about the decline of spam. According to the article, "Microsoft said Hotmail users are receiving 60 percent less spam than a year ago, and AOL said user spam complaints in March were down 85 percent from a year earlier." Read more (abstract available for free; full article requires paid subscription).

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Below you'll find one of the five articles from today's edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire:

This Cleaner Does Windows, and You Need Not Even Ask
By Brett Burney
Don't you wish smart appliances existed that would automatically clean our floors, do our laundry, wash our dishes, and more without requiring any input from us? Although automated home cleaning does not yet exist, automated document cleaning has arrived in the form of Workshare Protect 4. This new utility doesn't just remove metadata from Microsoft Office documents, it does so automatically and transparently. Workshare Protect enables you to set firmwide parameters for metadata removal and other security measures. You can even decide what to strip from a document depending on the nature of the activity. For example, you might treat internally e-mailed documents differently from externally e-mailed documents. In addition to removing metadata, Workshare Protect can also convert e-mail attachments to PDF format and even compress attachments into .zip format when they reach a specified size. Best of all, Workshare Protect does all of its work behind the scenes automatically, which eliminates the need to train your staff. That said, your power users can view reports showing the risk rating of their documents and what Workshare Protect will remove. You can even grant special privileges to such users so that they can tweak Workshare Protect's actions on a document by document basis — even within the same e-mail message. Workshare Protect works with GroupWise, Lotus Notes, and Outlook, and with Microsoft Office 97/2000/XP/2003. You can download a free trial. Learn more about Workshare Protect.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Regarding our ongoing discussion of secure online file couriers in the Answers to Questions newsletter, TechnoLawyer member Mark Klarich has found yet another option: "Magicvortex is a subscription service that enables you to deliver large files and maintain some semblance of security."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In a recent issue of Answers to Questions, TechnoLawyer member Frank Denman provided an incredible Post on how to securely use a WiFi hotspot. In that same newsletter, James Broderick jokingly suggested using code language. In response, Roger Boyell writes: "My encoded message to James is: 'The midget schooner will unwind at midnight Friday.'" All very funny, but you can actually use a WiFi hotspot securely — check out Frank Denman's Post.

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In a recent Fat Friday newsletter, Daniel Markham pointed readers to a free Microsoft utility that removes metadata from Word documents.  TechnoLawyer member Roger Boyell has since tried it, writing "I downloaded the M$ metadata removal tool and found that it corrupted several of M$ Word's features, particularly the page numbering.  Recall the law of unintended consequences."  TechnoLawyer member Larry Vollintine had a different take, writing "I just tried the free download Meta data remover program from Microsoft on a large lease and it seems to work. Thanks for the suggestion."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In a recent TechnoGuest newsletter, author Jack Luna discussed his book How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy. In response, TechnoLawyer member Stephen Seldin writes: "Please think of the down side to this book. It can also be used as a manual for how a terrorist can elude authorities by being invisible. I suggest that you quietly take down the review, and suggest to Luna and his publisher that as a public service they should stop pushing the book until the world quiets down."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.