Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Website May Harm Your Computer
May 13, 2009
Google seems to have caught the Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s website (telegram.com) distributing “drive by” malware. “Drive by” malware means malicious or harmful software that is installed on your computer even if you don’t click on anything. Of course this is done without your consent (or notice).
Google has a “Safe Browsing” notice page that explains the details of what has been found coming from the Telegram & Gazette’s website.
If you search Google for “worcester telegram and gazette“, you will receive a warning page similar to the one shown below (the warning is circled in red):
If you use Firefox as your web browser and you try to go directly to the Telegram & Gazette’s website, you’ll see a security warning similar to this:
If you use Internet Explorer, you won’t get any warning – so if you do use Internet Explorer, you might want to avoid going directly to the Telegram & Gazette’s website and instead search for it using Google.
According to Google’s report, the malware isn’t coming directly from telegram.com, but from other sites – probably linked via ads of some sort, or perhaps via a sneaky technique known as “injection,” which allows content from other (usually “bad”) sites to be “injected” into other sites (usually very popular ones).
If you do visit the Telegram & Gazette’s website (not recommended right now), you’ll see a vague statement on the front page regarding “problems” they are experiencing right now, and how they are “working with their vendors” to resolve it.
Until this situation is resolved, we’d recommend staying away from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s website. You can check on the status of the situation by searching Google for “worcester telegram and gazette” and seeing whether the “This site may harm your computer” warning is still there.
If you absolutely must go to the website, we’d recommend using extreeme caution. If you have a Macintosh or Linux computer available, it is probably safe to visit the site from those computers – as almost all malware is written for Microsoft Windows.
UPDATE: The problem appears to have been fixed. We received a note from Mark Henderson, Online Director over at the Telegram & Gazette, who let us know about the problem and gave us this note, which was also posted on their website:
Our Web site was the target of a virus or other intruding program for limited periods of time from Monday afternoon to early Wednesday morning. When we learned of the problem, we took all appropriate steps to ensure the integrity and safety of the site. We believe that we have corrected the problem and that you can continue to use the site without concern. It is our understanding that computers with up-to-date virus protection would not have been compromised. If you believe that your computer may have been affected while connected to our site, please contact Online Director Mark Henderson at (508) 793-9266.
Google also no longer lists the site as being potentially harmful to your computer, nor does Firefox. So it seems to be safe to visit the site again. Although this incident just underscores the need to have a good anti-virus or anti-spyware program on your computer that is kept up-to-date!
TurboLaw Time and Billing 1.13 Released
January 27, 2009
Once again, we are proud to announce the latest new version of TurboLaw Time and Billing – Version 1.13! We’ve added a number of new features in this version to help you work faster in TurboLaw Time and Billing – saving you even more time when doing your billing.
For example, you can now type in any drop-down box (instead of using the mouse) and the program will show you those items in the drop-down that match what you’re typing. So, instead of clicking and choosing a client’s name (to use one example), you could begin typing the client’s name – and the program will automatically show you those clients’ names that match what you’ve typed. This allows you to “touch-type” your way through most windows in the program, which for some people is faster than using the mouse. (You can still use the mouse of course!)
We’ve also added some amazingly powerful new features for customizing your bill and statement templates – including something called “conditional formatting,” which allows you to change the way your bill (or statement) looks, based on what’s in the bill (or statement). So, for example, you could have the “amount” show up in red if money is owed to you, or make it show up green (or black) if the client doesn’t owe you money (for example, if they still have money left from a retainer payment). You can find all these features when you customize your templates. (You can also watch a video on customizing templates.)
Here’s the full list of what was added or improved in this version:
- Added “auto-complete” functionality in the “Enter Time” or “Enter Expense” windows – so you can find and select client, staff, and matter names more quickly
- Added the ability to add a “matter” on the fly by just typing in a name when entering a time or expense entry
- Improved support for “conditional formatting” in templates, so you can change the way the template looks based on what’s in the bill or statement (e.g., changing the color of dollar amounts based on the dollar amount itself)
- Numerous “behind the scenes” improvements for better performance and for possible new features in the future
As always, TurboLaw Time and Billing checks for updates automatically in the background, so you don’t have to do anything special to get this update – just keep your eyes open for the pop-up notification, or for this little message:
Watch for this message to appear when a new update is available!
Just click the pop-up notice (or the message) to install the update (it only takes a few seconds to install).
As always, we welcome any feedback you may have, and we hope you enjoy this latest version of TurboLaw Time and Billing!
TurboLaw Time and Billing 1.12 Released
December 11, 2008
Once again, we are proud to announce the latest new version of TurboLaw Time and Billing – Version 1.12!
For this new version of TurboLaw Time and Billing, we’ve included a number of new features that were added based on feedback from our customers. So you might say that we heard your “wish list” and this is our holiday present to you.
- Major new feature: Notes and details fields now have built-in automatic spell-checking – the same sort of “red squiggly” spell-check that you’d expect.
- New way to view “Account History” similar to a register or ledger, for those people that prefer this type of view.
- Bills can now be viewed without groups so you can sort all bills together.
- Matters now display summary total, so you can see how much you’ve billed for a particular matter.
- Dashboard home screen now has summary totals, to help give you more of an “overview” of your accounts.
- Graphs can now be zoomed in & out, and can be scrolled when zoomed in, which makes it easier to see the details when there are a lot of bars in a graph.
- Improved initial start-up time, so the program starts up faster – even on slower computers.
As always, TurboLaw Time and Billing checks for updates automatically in the background, so you don’t have to do anything special to get this update – just keep your eyes open for the pop-up balloon that notifies you of the update or this little message that appears in the bottom-right corner of TurboLaw Time and Billing’s window:
This message lets you know a new update is available.
Just click the pop-up balloon (or the message) to install the update (it only takes a few seconds to install).
As always, we welcome any feedback you may have, and we hope you enjoy this latest version of TurboLaw Time and Billing!
Using E-Z Pass data to prove infidelity
November 6, 2007
In what might be a compelling reason to go back to using your spare change when paying tolls on the highway, we found this report of E-Z Pass data being used to prove infidelity:
E-ZPass and other electronic toll collection systems are emerging as a powerful means of proving infidelity. That’s because when your spouse doesn’t know where you’ve been, E-ZPass does.
“E-ZPass is an E-ZPass to go directly to divorce court, because it’s an easy way to show you took the off-ramp to adultery,” said Jacalyn Barnett, a New York divorce lawyer who has used E-ZPass records a few times.
Lynne Gold-Bikin, a Pennsylvania divorce lawyer, said E-ZPass helped prove a client’s husband was being unfaithful: “He claimed he was in a business meeting in Pennsylvania. And I had records to show he went to New Jersey that night.”
Whether it’s E-Z Pass or Fast-Lane, such devices provide an often overlooked source of evidence.
“Get a divorce” billboard gets dumped
May 10, 2007
CNN carried this story about a billboard for a law firm that generated lots of complaints:
A racy billboard proclaiming “Life’s short. Get a divorce” caused such an uproar that city workers stripped it from its downtown perch after a week.
It wasn’t so much about the partially clothed man and woman on the law firm’s ad.
It was the phrase that lawyers Corri Fetman and Kelly Garland chose that drew scores of complaints from neighbors and from other attorneys who said it reflected poorly on their profession.
You can read the whole story here.
TurboLaw Newsletter: Volume 2, Issue 1
January 6, 2007
Click here to view the PDF version of the TurboLaw Newsletter.
TurboLaw Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 3
November 17, 2006
Click here to download the PDF version of this issue of the TurboLaw Newsletter.
TurboLaw Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 2
July 6, 2006
Click here to download the PDF version of this issue of the TurboLaw Newsletter.
TurboLaw Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 1
March 6, 2006
Click here to download the PDF version of this newsletter.
Law School Rankings
August 1, 2005
The New York Times reports (free registration required) on a U.S. News & World Report regarding how law school rankings are computed.
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