[note class=”info”]”Technology & Law” is a semi-regular column posted by Keith M. Survell. It deals with the interaction of technology and security with the modern law office.[/note]

Follow-Up
Last week I talked quite a bit about security, and it seems like a good thing I did, because there have been several news stories since then about large organizations’ data being stolen – data that includes confidential personal information.

As usual, these crimes are happening because criminals are lazy – and these big companies are the easiest targets to go after – both because they are “big,” and because they have the most data to steal. With the information thieves have stolen recently, they could obtain credit in a person’s name with very little trouble – never mind that fake social security cards and driver’s licenses are probably being made as well. It is a troubling trend.

This week, however, I’m not trying to make anyone paranoid(although a little paranoia can be a good thing) – I’m just trying to save you some money, time, & effort through the use of technology.

Free Software
There are many software utilities & programs that are available for free on the Internet, and many of them can be used by a small business (such as a small law office) without violating any licensing
terms. Often times this software can be as good as the more common “commercial” software, and sometimes it is even better – as it may incorporate features or utilities that large corporations might not consider “worthwhile.”

Here then are some of my personal picks for useful (free) software for a law office.

PDFCreator

Many jurisdictions are now allowing on-line filing of paperwork for cases (many Federal courts are this way, for example), and most of these on-line filing systems make use of PDF documents in some way.

Now, you can purchase Adobe Acrobat and use it to create PDF documents from your existing documents – if you want. However, since most people simply want to make a plain PDF from their document, there is no need
for the advanced features of Adobe Acrobat. A program called “PDFCreator” can produce the same exact PDF files you’d get from Adobe Acrobat, but without having to buy several copies of Acrobat (one for each computer).

With more and more filing being done on-line, having a program to produce PDF files is invaluable. You can take any TurboLaw document and make a PDF out of it – so it’s 100% compatable with TurboLaw as well. Once installed, you create a PDF file by “printing” your document to “PDFCreator,” which will appear as an additional printer in your system. Simply select “PDFCreator” instead of your normal printer, and you will get a PDF document.

You can download PDFCreator here – you will have to scroll down somewhat to get to the download link, however.

Spybot Search & Destroy

Many computers these days are infected with “Spyware” or “Malware;” that is to say, software that the user did not knowingly install, and that may be reporting information on the user back to some entity (be it a company or individual), as well as usually causing some sort of negative performance effect to the user’s computer.

The easiest way to avoid spyware (as I’ve said before) is simply to not use Microsoft Internet Explorer. There are several alternatives, but I’ve already recommended Mozilla Firefox.

If your computer is already infected with spyware, you may have a hard time cleaning it all up. As a computer professional, I can tell you that removing spyware from a computer can take the better part of a day – and that’s if you’re lucky. Sometimes there is just no way to get rid of spyware, except to re-format the computer & start again from scratch.

However, there is hope – a utility called Spybot Search & Destroy (available here) can scan your computer for spyware and remove it (much like a virus scanner, except for spyware). Spybot Search & Destroy (or S&D as it is sometimes known) is free, although the author does ask for a donation if you find the product useful.

For added protection, be sure to enable the option in Spybot called “teatimer” or “registry monitor.” This will monitor your computer for changes that are likely to be caused by new spyware, and can help keep them from getting back into your computer.

Mozilla Thunderbird

It’s a given fact that just about everyone has email these days. There simply is no easier way to communicate than by email, especially in business. Chances are, if you are reading this article, you have email – maybe even more than one address!

Like anything else, email has its problems – in this case, it’s called “spam.” Many corporate email users report that up to 85% of their email is “junk.” Depending on how many total emails you receive in a day, sorting through all this junk can be a serious drain on your time.

For larger firms, a professionally installed Exchange Server system with Outlook may be desirable – or already in place. This system provides in-house email, server-based junk-mail (spam) filtering, as well as many other benefits, like shared calendars. However, an Exchange Server system with Outlook can cost thousands of dollars – or more! Thus, it is only an option for large firms that can justify the expense (and have need of the other features that go with it).

Fortunately, there are options for the small or medium sized firm. The option that I recommend is called Mozilla Thunderbird. It is a free email program that has very good built-in junk-mail (spam) filtering. It is very flexible and can be customized to suit anyone’s
style. Best of all, it can be extended through the use of free “extensions,” which are like plug-ins for the program. Depending on your level of technical expertise, Thunderbird can be a useful email program, or it can be an extremely powerful & secure communications tool.

In addition to being easy to use, Thunderbird has the added benefit of not being vulnerable to the same virus exploits that Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express are. Given the fact that many viruses spread through email, using Thunderbird can potentially save your firm thousands of dollars by preventing the spread (and initial infection) of viruses.

You can download Mozilla Thunderbird here.

Other Resources

I hope you’ve found the above links to be helpful – although this is of course by no means an exhaustive list. If you have a specific need, chances are that someone else has that need as well, and may have created software to deal with it. It’s worth the time to use Google to see if someone has already created software that solves your particular need for you. Of course, if you can’t find software, feel free to contact us – we will probably be able to help you.

And please, feel free to comment on this article – you can share your experiences with software, or let others know about software solutions you may have found (or that you can advise against).

Until next week – good luck!