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Dangerous cyberattacks have been released by a group of hackers known as The Shadow Brokers. These exploits will lock up your data for good – no ransom, no return.

But this isn’t all they do – they’ll also leave behind a parasite that lets them “hang out” inside your computer, infect others, and re-enter through a backdoor.

What’s really scary is that these attacks are getting past traditional next-generation security measures. In 99 percent of the cases, security researchers found that these threats bypassed security tools.

EternalBlue (the worst-ever recorded ransomware strike): In February 2018 EternalBlue was ported to all Windows operating systems. By exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, EternalBlue allowed the dangerous ransomware virus WannaCry to propagate and infect 230,000 computers.

EternalChampion and EternalRomance are two other exploits that were also reported at the same time EternalBlue was.

And then there’s EternalRocks, also known as MicroBotMassiveNet, which is a computer worm that infects Microsoft Windows. It uses seven exploits that were developed by the NSA and unknowingly leaked to hackers. As a comparison for you, the WannaCry ransomware program only uses two NSA exploits. Experts tell us that EternalRocks is much more dangerous.

EternalRocks installs the Tor anonymous network to conceal Internet activity. Your server then downloads EternalRocks to your computers. To avoid detection, it calls itself WannaCry. But unlike WannaCry there’s no kill switch.

EternalBlue and these other exploits use a backdoor implant tool to infect your systems. Plus, EternalRocks is self-replicating worm and leaves the back door open via DoublePulsar so that other hackers can load malware on your computer.

Backdoors leave you exposed to a multitude of cyber threats.

A backdoor is a port or malicious application that provides access to a server or network. It provides hackers with unauthorized remote access to your network by exploiting security procedures and authentication. Backdoors can be used for cybercriminals to gain remote access to your computers.

Backdoors work in the background and are hidden. They are much like other malware viruses and, therefore, difficult to detect.

A backdoor is one of the most dangerous types of computer parasites. It gives a criminal the ability to perform any possible actions on your computer.

The attacker can:

• Spy on what you do,
• Take over your files a user,
• Install additional software or malicious threats,
• Control your organizations’ entire PC system,
• Implement keystroke logging and screenshot captures,
• Infect files,
• Encrypt your data, and
• Attack other hosts on your network.

Plus, the parasite can work automatically on its own and do what the hacker wants.

A backdoor not only allows the hacker to access your computer and network, but it also lets them come back and enter your system again and again.

Backdoors are complicated for system administrators to deal with. In most of the cases, it’s very difficult to find out who is controlling the parasite. In fact, all backdoors are really hard to detect.

Before they can find out how hard it will be to block the hacker’s access, system administrators have to figure out the methods hackers will use. There are so many exploits now that makes this a very difficult, if not impossible task.

Plus, some of these backdoors can’t be detected because of the way they’re designed.

Even if your admin changes passwords when an attack is discovered, backdoor utilities can be programmed to give the hacker repeat access to your system.

They do this via computers on your IT system that don’t log on to the network very often. Because it appears that no one is using the machine, your system administrator doesn’t detect that a hacker is actually using it.

There’s another kind of backdoor utility that lets the hacker return to the network within a short period of time. This way they don’t have to find a vulnerability to exploit in order to gain access. But if your system administrator does detect them, they’ll just take the time to look for another vulnerability. As you can see, this can be a constant battle.

Password cracking is the most-used method of backdoor hacking to breach network security.

The hacker locates your accounts that use weak passwords. These are accounts that aren’t used often. The hacker creates an access point by changing the password. When the system administrator searches for the fragile accounts, the ones that have weak passwords, the passwords have already been changed won’t be visible.

Backdoors can degrade your Internet connection speed and system performance. They prevent you from removing them by hiding in files. Plus, there are no uninstall features to delete them.

There are 5 ways backdoor threats can get in:

1. You can accidentally install them on your computers. Sometimes they come attached to phishing emails or file-sharing programs. They look safe and can trick you into opening and executing them.
2. They get installed by viruses like spyware or Trojans without your knowledge. Then they infect each profile for those who use that compromised computer.
3. They can be manually installed by malicious insiders who are authorized to install software on your computers. Then the backdoors can spread by exploiting remote systems with security vulnerabilities.
4. Some backdoors come with applications, including legitimate ones. Once the hacker gains access to a computer and access to the software installed on it, they have the authorization to take control and infect the software.
5. Backdoors can infect a computer by exploiting software vulnerabilities. They work just like computer worms and automatically spread without you knowing it. You won’t be alerted by warnings, setup wizards or dialog boxes when this happens.

What can you do to protect your business from backdoor threats?

Backdoor parasites are extremely dangerous and must be removed from the system. It’s essential that you contact your Technology Solutions Provider so they can do the following:

1. Block external access to all Server Message Block ports on the public internet.
2. Patch all Server Message Block vulnerabilities.
3. Block access to C&C servers (ubgdgno5eswkhmpy.onion) and
4. Install a DoublePulsar detection script.
5. Make sure to use an up-to-date analytics tool to monitor for insider threats.
6. Monitor your system for any newly added scheduled tasks.

 Contact our cybersecurity experts. We can “shut your backdoors.”

The term, “meta description” may seem foreign to some but we all see these descriptions each time we search for something online. The meta description can contain up to 320 characters and should be an interesting summary of what your website is all about. It shows up in the search results as those first few words/lines that explain the essence of your website or post.

How Meta Descriptions Work

Each time we type a search term in the browser, a number of results will come up. For each one, there’s a 320 character description of the site or page. People usually decide which site to click on based on what these meta descriptions say. That means it has to be snappy and fresh. The wording needs to grab your attention. It has to sound enticing. Think of it as a short, but powerful sales pitch. Potential customers are far more likely to visit a site that sounds unique, interesting or entertaining than one that sounds boring.

Though search engines make it clear that there’s no direct advantage from writing good meta descriptions, there is a very strong indirect benefit. If you’ve written a good meta description, then this will improve your click-through-rate (CTR). As visitors click-through to your site, the search engine uses that information as a way of determining that your site was aptly and well described. This will improve your position in the search results.

It is important to point out here that Google will not always show your unique meta description. Sometimes they generate their own description of your business based on factors like the search term and type of business it is. This is where keywords come into play. Most business owners now understand at least the basics of keywords and how they work. If your content is well-optimized, then it should reflect that by serving as a great meta description.

Google changes the way their search engine works at times and this can certainly throw a wrench in all your good plans. However, that should not stop business owners from doing sound keyword research and creating unique content with those keywords. It goes without saying that keyword stuffing is bad and should be avoided at all costs. Always observe the current standards for keyword density in a page of text, which usually runs around 2 to 2.5 percent.

Yoast Free or Premium?

Yoast offers a free and a premium SEO service. With the free service, you get one keyword for each page of content. The premium service allows five keywords for each page. The premium service also does a readability check using the Flesch Kincaid test which measures the grade level of your writing. Since the world wide web is filled with people from all backgrounds and educations, Flesch Kincaid usually recommends writing copy that would be easy reading for a third to fifth grader.

Use short concise sentences. Avoid big words that are not readily understood unless you are writing technical information for a specific audience, like IT experts. Try to use action verbs instead of passive verbs. Use subheadings and catchy taglines. Whatever you can do to make your site more attractive, unique and fun, will help. You can count on getting more traffic and higher conversion rates.

How to Use Yoast SEO to Write Meta Descriptions

If you don’t write a unique meta description, Yoast will produce one. Usually, it simply takes the first three lines of content on your page or post and uses that. If you’d like to edit that, then click on the “edit snippet” button. This opens the snippet editor. There are fields there to edit the SEO title, slug and meta description. As you type, your new meta description will show up. You can make changes until you feel it’s just right. The snippet editor has an orange bar at the bottom that will become green once you’ve typed enough information.

Many site owners use the first few lines of content on their page or post as the meta description. If your site has good, professionally written content on it, then there’s nothing wrong with that. However, if you feel you could improve the text, then, by all means, do so. If you can get the hang of this and really write powerful meta descriptions, it can greatly improve your click-through rates.

How to Write a Superb Meta Description

Once you’ve decided that this is something worthwhile that could improve your bottom line, it’s important to put your best foot forward. In order to write effective meta descriptions, you may need the help of a good copywriter. Copywriting is all about utilizing words to persuade searchers to click on your page. With only 320 characters or about two to three lines of text, it’s important to make every word count. Below are two writing examples to show you the difference between professionally written text and that of an amateur.

Good Meta Description:

Apple

https://www.apple.com/

Discover the innovative world of Apple and shop everything iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and AppleTV, plus explore accessories, entertainment, and expert device support.

The above meta description from Apple does contain some good keywords but it doesn’t feel awkward or forced. It’s informative. It’s also important to note that this meta description was written using the older rules where 155 characters were the rule. Today, we’re seeing longer snippets that contain more information to help searchers decide what to click on.

Bad Meta Description:

Mary’s Bakery

https://www.marysbakery.com/

Get some good donuts and cakes at Mary’s Bakery located in downtown Minneapolis. We cater and deliver. Our baked goods are tasty and made with quality ingredients.

Though the above meta description does contain some valuable information, it’s boring. The shop owner wastes valuable space here to tell consumers where they’re located. This is something that many searchers will not care about in their initial search. Use this space to talk about delicious pastries, cakes, and donuts. Talk about your award-winning cupcakes with buttercream icing. This is how you get people to visit your site and look around.

Caution!

Be sure that your meta description accurately describes your page or post. Yes, the wording can be flowery, powerful, strangely attractive, etc. But it should also be truthful. If you make promises you can’t keep, then searchers will quickly hit the “back” button. This can cause your site to fall in the search listings.

As mentioned above, avoid keyword stuffing. Just about all web visitors today understand what keyword stuffing is and most don’t like it. The reason? Keyword stuffing makes a section of text read awkwardly. It is typically not well-written content and it doesn’t make sense to your human visitors. Remember to write your meta description for humans, not for search engines.

Instead, focus on writing interesting descriptions and unique content for your human visitors. In the end, search engines will not be purchasing your products and services. Humans will, so cater to their needs, wants, desires, whims—and you’ll be rewarded with higher click-through rates and stronger sales.

Social media is big business and has the potential to drive millions of visitors to websites, engage directly with customers on a public platform, and solve – or create – problems in real time. What is the future of “social business”?

Twenty years ago, marketing and promotions were simple and straightforward. The majority of efforts were focused on print: newspaper and magazine advertising, The Yellow Pages, direct mail, billboards, and perhaps flyers. Email marketing was in its infancy, and digital marketing wasn’t quite yet an industry – though there are firms that argue this time frame. Metrics were relatively predictable, and results were in the form of sales and revenue.

• Yes, The Yellow Pages telephone directories still offer printed books. Publishers of “phone books”, as they’re often referred to, reduced paper usage by half before 2013, and major efforts are in place to ensure unused or outdated materials are recycled.

This is not the case today! There are so many facets to “digital marketing” that it’s safe to say the industry is constantly evolving. Yes, constantly. The rules change just as often, and the de facto rule-maker is Google. Google has the famous “Google algorithm”, by which all search parameters are defined. If a business or brand doesn’t meet Google’s search preferences, they’ve wasted their time and won’t make the first page of a user’s search results – and when was the last time you clicked past the first page of results in an average Google search?

There are ads within emails and ads on websites, and even “sponsored results” in an Internet search. Consumers have ads coming at them from every angle of the Internet, so why would social media – including the King of Social Media, Facebook – be any different? It’s not. In fact, a Facebook user is valued even more highly than a search user. The Facebook user is already engaged with a website, and it’s one where the content that loads is customized and personalized for each user. Google tries to do this with search results, but there’s only so much Google can do with a string of words and no context. Both Google and Facebook have the user’s history of cookies, but Facebook has the incredibly valuable position of knowing a user’s friends, families, what content a user likes – literally “likes” by clicking the blue-and-white thumbs-up symbol – and what news stories, photos, and content a user clicks on and engages with. In this context, Google’s metric is the click in terms of the value of a visitor, whereas Facebook’s value of a click is a highly-engaged user already on the website and opting to give more of their time and attention. The ultimate competition comes down to the value of a visitor versus the value of a click.

After evolving from a social platform into a platform that can be highly monetized, Facebook turned the digital marketing industry upside down with the newly-invented notion of advertising right in front of Facebook users. Any organization or brand that has ever paid for advertising on Facebook is used to Facebook changing things up by now – after all, Facebook changes their approach on a regular basis. After seizing the lead and maintaining this very profitable position for years – and years – the brain trust recently announced a bold decision to simplify their overall approach – after long being the primary innovator in social media and marketing and carving the path which others follow today.

Facebook Advertisers Are Users, Too

Facebook users fondly recall a time when privacy settings at the user level resembled a “stealth” mode when users had the ability to set their account information, including their names and other details, as completely private and would not show in other Facebook user searches. The added bonus was the implied guarantee that photos, posts, and other user content had this same level of protection. Sometime around 2009, Facebook implemented a pretty major privacy settings overhaul and many users who long enjoyed stealth status were suddenly thrust into the spotlight – and was no longer “invisible”. In all fairness, Facebook gave plenty of advance notice this change was coming. Their public reason was that Facebook is a social media platform, not a private website where a user could have total control – and this is a fair position. Facebook is a free website for users, but it’s not a nonprofit organization. Ever evolving, their approach has tweaked and allowed users to choose various privacy settings for posts, images, etc., which are highly customizable if the user chooses to take the time.

In 2017, Facebook recognized a growing dissatisfaction from its users and tried to pinpoint the cause. After much speculation, Facebook realized the greatest impact to the user experience is the allowance of brands to intermingle with users in their feeds, detracting from the social purpose of the channel. Thus, more major changes were in store. Facebook announced a desire to go “back to basics” and return the focus of a user’s feed to posts shared by friends and family members and make it harder for brands to get their content seen (unless advertisers were willing to pay). The result was that post reach – the number of people that see a post in their feed – plummeted. The plan was for average Facebook users to see fewer news stories, cat videos, political posts, or branded content, but rather see more photos shared by friends of birthday parties, graduations, and other significant events entirely unrelated to corporate messaging.

Privacy, Redefined

The change to the Facebook feed was a welcome change to users and required a major adjustment to social media marketing efforts for companies. Details of how the changes rolled out and the reasons for these changes trickled into news stories until major news broke that Facebook sold private user information on more than 87 million Facebook accounts to an organization involved in the political arena in 2016. Users worldwide felt violated that a trusted entity would share such private details – a harsh reminder that Facebook is a for-profit entity and users need to read the “fine print” and not just agree to Terms and Conditions without reading. Your digital life is not your own when using a website owned by someone other than yourself.

So, what can Facebook users do to protect themselves? Without deleting your Facebook account, it’s wise to do a once-over on user privacy settings every few months to verify what might have changed and safeguard your information.

• Check your privacy settings
• Facebook offers a variety of user settings allowing for a spectrum of privacy, though most remain a mystery to users. Under “Settings”, click “Privacy” and control how visible information like posts, account information like phone numbers and email addresses, and friend requests and more are.
• Keep friends close
• Friends’ activity can impact others. If a user allows tagging in a friend’s activity, this is then affected by their privacy settings and is subject to sharing or visibility by others.
• Beware third-party apps
• At first, it seemed benign to click “accept” when a third-party app or quiz intrigued a user enough to click content, with the innocent warning that the app would thus be granted access to a user’s profile and list of friends. That list of friends became an incredibly valuable commodity in an environment where privacy settings were controlled by a user – a tricky little workaround.
• Users can adjust these settings quickly and easily but often didn’t go back to limit access.
• Review security alerts
• Users can opt for security alerts when Facebook detects a new login from a different device or browser. Two-factor authentication is also an option. To enable, access the same “Settings” menu, and click “Security and Login” from the left navigation and choose “Setting Up Extra Security”.

Security considerations impact all Facebook users, regardless if a user is also an advertiser. Before abandoning Facebook entirely, employ additional efforts to protect user data and your privacy. This type of “social security” has nothing to do with the government-issued card Americans carry, and a few additional steps will help secure user information and improve the Facebook user experience.

An efficient and secure running IT system is essential for any organization, and especially so for today’s law practices. Your work relies on secure and ready access to your data when you’re in the office, courtroom or when on the road. You need the ability to interface your Line of Business applications with other IT solutions you and your staff depend on each day. In order to remain competitive, you must use the most advanced legal technology solutions available and use them to your best advantage. And, any form of downtime is totally unacceptable because can cost you your clients. For all this, you need a Technology Solutions Provider who can build an IT infrastructure from the ground up to meet your high-security, high-availability, high-efficiency requirements.

The Seven IT Headaches All Lawyers Face Today (And Their Remedies)

Technology challenges can lead to significant IT headaches, especially for small and medium-sized firms that manage their own infrastructure. They often “tag” the one employee who knows the most about technology. But today, it’s impossible for a non-professional to provide the 24/7 IT support, expertise and defense-in-depth protection required today.

Even law firms with a professional IT employee struggle with their changing and increasing technology demands and the need for 24/7 IT remote management. IT headaches in the legal industry vary. But the common factor is that they are pervasive and never-ending unless they are prevented by qualified Legal IT experts.

Headache #1 – Cybersecurity

Client confidentiality is a priority for every law firm. And without the proper IT management, your data can be at great risk.

Many lawyers aren’t aware that their critical data is at risk. The chance that data is breached has increased as attorneys, and their employees use mobile devices and email outside the office. They don’t realize that at a moment’s notice their IT system could be hacked, and confidential information stolen.

Cybercriminals have discovered new, creative ways to steal data. Hackers are increasingly targeting law firms to steal clients’ confidential data. Additionally, unethical competitors engage in illegal eDiscovery to harm a competing law firm, or to win a lawsuit.

Many say, “This only happens to larger legal organizations, not small ones like mine, right? Wrong–Small and mid-sized law firms are a more attractive target for hackers because they typically don’t have the right security solutions in place, nor do they train their employees to recognize phishing and ransomware threats like their larger counterparts do.

Building a cybersecurity infrastructure today can be a daunting task with all the attack vectors in play. The most important challenge comes from the requirement to protect clients’ private information. Client confidentiality is at the top of every attorney’s mind, and without the right IT management, this confidentiality can be breached. Cybersecurity should be the primary concern for litigation attorneys who handle confidential electronically stored information.

“To maintain the required level of competence, a lawyer should develop and maintain a facility with technology relevant to the nature and area of the lawyer’s practice and responsibilities. A lawyer should understand the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, recognizing the lawyer’s duty to protect confidential information.”

Law firms must prevent:

• Unauthorized access to both their wired and wireless networks.
• Malware from corrupting their network.
• Their employees from clicking on malicious links or unknowingly revealing confidential information to a hacker.
• The disclosure of electronically transmitted communications.
• Data loss from both manmade attempts or natural disasters.

Law firms must ensure:

• Data is encrypted and safeguarded.
• Compliance with legal, regulatory and confidentiality requirements when using technology.
• Files are properly backed up both onsite and offsite, and that they are easily recoverable.
• A secure email-archiving and retention strategy for both data at rest and in transit.
• Cybersecurity is confirmed with regular Vulnerability and Risk Assessments.

The situation demands a defense-in-depth security plan that employs multiple security measures to protect confidential data. Defense-in-depth security was originally conceived by the NSA to provide a comprehensive approach for cybersecurity.

By using multiple layers of automated and remote security solutions, where the outer layers provide a first line of defense, and deeper more concentrated layers stop anything that gets through, lawyers can stop worrying about cyber threats and concentrate on their work at hand. And, as each law firm is unique, this protection requires an IT professional with the knowledge and expertise to find the right combination of security techniques and solutions.

The Remedy: The answer is to rely on a Technology Solutions Provider who will avert security risks and compliance issues that can cost you in legal liabilities, regulatory penalties, and your good reputation.

Headache #2 – Downtime

Every hour lost to downtime means lost billable hours. Time is money when it comes to law practices. Downtime due to power failures, ransomware, natural disasters and more mean your firm is paralyzed and unable to operate.

The increasing digitization of information over the last 20 years has increased productivity for law firms. When IT runs as it should, it helps you save time, and work more efficiently. However, this also means that when it doesn’t, and you’re faced with downtime that your clients, who are used to your efficiency, don’t understand and become angered when their cases come to a standstill.

This causes headaches for you, your employees and your clients. It’s critical that you recover as quickly as possible. When your IT goes down, even for a few hours during a workday, you lose billable hours, lose the ability to send and receive emails, and risk damaging your firm’s reputation.

It doesn’t matter how long downtime persists. It’s unacceptable in any case because it’s preventable. You can mitigate the risk of downtime by having the right technology in place.

The Remedy: Preventive IT measures are key to protecting your confidential data. With the right enterprise cloud backup and recovery system, and the services and support from a Technology Solutions Provider, your firm will benefit from complete system monitoring, secured servers, safeguarded data and upwards of a 99% guaranteed uptime.

Headache #3 – Inefficient IT Performance

In today’s digital world, a slow-performing IT system is like a wound that can drain the life’s blood out of your law firm. You can’t afford to wait this out and hope that things will improve. Time is money, and inefficient IT solutions are not only frustrating, but they can also impede your ability to meet your clients’ demands.

Increased IT performance is one of the biggest benefits of outsourcing your IT service and support. Often, an in-house technical staff creates new problems by overcomplicating basic configurations, because they lack the skill and experience required.

The Remedy: A Technology Solutions Provider offers a higher level of expertise and establishes a highly performing IT system to keep your law firm up and running.

Plus:

• You’ll save money. Unlike with in-house staff, you won’t have to provide benefits like healthcare coverage, sick and vacation days and workman’s compensation.
• You’ll have 24/7 Live Help Desk Support, to ensure your issues are resolved quickly, and your IT systems stay up and running at all times.
• You’ll save time with the resources to start new IT solutions quickly as opposed to waiting for in-house techs who will need to be trained.

Headache #4 – Poor Integration of Line of Business Solutions

You need your Line of Business (LOB) applications to complete your responsibilities each day for Practice Management, Document Management, Time & Billing, and Legal Document Generation.

Applications like:

• PCLaw
• Prolaw
• Juris
• Clio
• Timeslips
• Amicus
• Abacus
• Tabs3 / Practice Master
• Timeslips
• ProDocs

You also need these applications to integrate with popular software programs like Microsoft Office. And when they don’t run as expected, this can cause major headaches.

The Remedy: This requires assistance from a Technology Solution Provider with expertise in legal IT programs.

Headache # 5 How to Maintain Client Confidentiality While Using the Cloud.

Attorneys are using the Cloud in their law practices. However, this can present significant challenges when it comes to their ethical and legal obligations to maintain client confidentiality.

Your law firm can benefit immensely from cloud computing services. However, it’s important to fulfill all of your legal and ethical duties to your clients.

As an attorney, you are subject to ethical rules that make it difficult to use certain types of cloud services. But how do you know what ethical rules apply to your law firm when it comes to using the Cloud? Plus, these ethical rules vary from one jurisdiction to another. If you have firms in multiple locations, how do you manage this?

The more questions you have about cloud solutions, the greater the potential for more headaches:

Confidentiality & Integrity?

Does cloud computing threaten the confidentiality or integrity of your data? Most ethical rules contain a duty of confidentiality and competence.

Third Party Providers?

If you’re assigning responsibilities to the third-party cloud provider, you must make a reasonable effort to ensure that their conduct is compatible with your legal and ethical obligations. Most ethical rules maintain that you must supervise third parties.

Communicating with Clients about Cloud Services?

Must you ask each of your clients if you can store their data in a third party’s cloud? Most ethical rules contain a duty to seek consent for decisions regarding clients’ data.

Safeguarding of Data?

How do you know that your cloud provider can ensure the proper safeguarding of your clients’ files and documents? Are you liable if they don’t? After all, it’s your responsibility to safeguard your clients’ property.

But, cloud computing provides many benefits for the small law practice. You don’t want to miss out on these:

Low Cost

Most enterprise cloud-based services can be obtained at a very reasonable cost. Law firms typically find that it’s less expensive to use these services than running and maintaining their own servers. With cloud computing, you don’t have to pay for your additional servers and hardware.

Less Maintenance

Enterprise cloud services often include maintenance in their offerings. As an attorney, your workday is too busy to worry about updating programs and patching software. The right cloud provider will automatically install all updates for you.

Greater Accessibility

With cloud computing, you and your authorized employees can access your data from any computer, in any location where you have internet access. If you need to work long hours outside the office, you can still access the IT resources you need remotely.

More Flexibility

Cloud computing services are often sold on a subscription and month-to-month basis. They are based on the number of users who access the solution. If your workload increases, you can up the number of subscriptions. If it declines, you can reduce them. on demand.

Security

Most cloud providers employ sophisticated security measures, so you don’t need to worry about client confidentiality. Also, their staff is trained and experienced in the implementation of security measures that align with current security risks.

Cloud computing offers many benefits for your law firm. Don’t let the potential risks stop you from experiencing those benefits. But you must mitigate your risks.

Review the ethical rules that apply to your jurisdiction and determine what type of cloud services would be best for your law firm.

• Make sure you’re clear about the particular service you’re planning to purchase.
• Where are the servers located?
• How will the servers be used to process your data?
• Make sure the service is reliable and secure.

If you’re ready to purchase cloud computing services be sure to review the proposed contract carefully.

Pay attention to the disclaimers of liability, intellectual property, confidentiality, and security provisions. Also, does the service provider have a robust disaster recovery plan in place? It’s critical to ensure that the cloud service provides alternative access to data in the event of a service outage.

The top two important risks to consider include:

Security Breaches

Does the cloud provider protect your data from unauthorized access or modification? Make sure you’re informed about any security breaches that affect your data. Discuss compensation in case a security breach is caused by the cloud provider.

Data Ownership

Read the contract and look for clauses that might give the cloud provider ownership of data stored in the Cloud. Make sure the contract acknowledges that your data is owned by your law firm.

The Cloud provider may offer recommendations for security measures. Your staff must understand these security measures and sign a written agreement to comply with them, such as the prohibition of shared passwords.

The Remedy: Ask Technology Solutions Provider to address these concerns and help you choose the right cloud solutions for your law firm.  

Law firms that want to compete in today’s technology-driven environment must depend on reliable, up-to-date hardware and software solutions. But, with the complexities and rapid changes in IT today, they’re realizing the need to also outsource IT services to experts like Technology Solution Providers, so they can focus on their core competencies, and benefit from increased security, innovation, cost savings, efficiency, and productivity.

Headache # 6– How to Keep Up with Ever-Changing Legal Technology Solutions

The digitization of legal documents and the use of use of electronic word processing, databases, and research software has gone mainstream today. Most law practices now manage case files by electronic means and rely on software programs to search, edit, track, archive and distribute documents.

From legal technology in the courtroom, in corporate environments, for paralegals, for electronic discovery, to BYOD solutions, and even for Artificial Intelligence, all of these enable you and your employees to do your job more efficiently.

But these technologies are ever-changing and evolving. How are you supposed to know which ones to use, which will provide the most benefits, and how to find the time to train your employees to use them properly and securely? How can you keep up?

The Remedy: Choose a Technology Solutions Provider who is adept at keeping up with today’s legal technology solutions and can help you select which are best for your unique requirements.

Technology helps today’s lawyer carry out essential tasks, exercise professional judgment, engage with and represent clients, provide advice and settle key commercial dealings. Those who view technology as an opportunity—rather than a threat—will prosper, and more easily reap the rewards from their efforts. Those who don’t will fall behind the competition.

Headache # 7– Lack of IT Talent

Even if you wanted to hire a full-time IT staff, the talent pool is quickly shrinking if you run a small practice. Even your larger competitors are having difficulty finding the IT talent they need to compete.

Most techs in the workplace lack the breadth and depth of knowledge and experience to stay up to date on today’s ever-changing technology resources. Plus, your law firm has very specific requirements when it comes to IT.

You need the expertise of an IT professional who understands your needs, work processes, regulations, the applications you use, and your unique technology challenges. One who knows the complexities you face and can help you improve the way you use technology by:

• Automating routine legal transactions,
• Assuring you can share and store documents securely,
• Optimizing your work processes,
• Deploying mobility solutions that keep data secure, and
• Helping you capitalize on tools like electronic data discovery.

The Remedy: The only way to get this kind of IT talent is with a Service Level Agreement from a Technology Solutions Provider who specializes in Legal IT Services.

In Conclusion

Today’s law firms are moving to a Managed Services Model where their Technology Solutions Providers have the expertise and credentials to provide the proactive support they require to keep their IT systems secure and running at peak performance. When they do, they no longer suffer from the IT headaches that can put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Technology Solution Providers are helping law firms use technology efficiently and safely. The result? – Increased value from your technology assets, and no IT headaches for both you and your clients.

Here’s Some Up-to-Date Info That Should Be of “Interest”!

Accounting software is much-needed tool today. Gone are the days of manually writing down copious amounts of figures in heavy, dusty logbooks, or using calculators to add up debits and credits. Our computers do this for us now. Accounting software makes the process of bookkeeping more efficient and accurate.

What else is different than in years past? Today’s newest accounting solutions are now cloud-based, and they provide many advantages.

No more shelling out a large amount of cash to purchase expensive business accounting software. Instead, you can pay for a web-based accounting service via a convenient subscription.

Online accounting services are used via the Internet rather than being installed on your organization’s computers. They allow you to access the information you need through an Internet browser like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. You can access the service from anywhere you have an internet connection, and it will always look like the same wherever you use it.

Plus, you won’t have to worry about technology requirements, if you have the right operating system, backing up your accounting data, installing updates or dealing with maintenance issues. You get all this and more handled for you–And all for a convenient monthly or annual fee.

Just like any accounting software, cloud-based accounting services allow you to perform all the accounting tasks your business needs, and they include features you’re familiar with like an online general ledger, invoicing and accounts receivable capabilities, purchase histories, business inventories and much more.

And, because upgrades and data backup are managed by the accounting service vendor, cloud-based accounting services are an attractive option for small businesses.

Although these new solutions are cloud-based, you can still buy desktop accounting software if you wish. But due to their popularity, most small businesses are now using online accounting services. Because of their anywhere availability via the Internet, crunching numbers is now much easier than ever before.

What Do Online the Different Accounting Services Have in Common?

Each solution is different, but they all have the following features in common.

They are available via a subscription. Accounting software has always been expensive and needs to be updated every year. With the online version, you pay for only as many users as you need, and you can pay on a monthly or annual basis. Many offer a free trial that converts when you sign up for a service. They cost anywhere from $5 to $70 a month depending on what you require. You won’t be locked into a contract, and all the upgrades are provided. Another plus is that your data will automatically be backed up to a secure cloud.

They’re easy to navigate. Online accounting services try to make your job less taxing with intuitive, easy-to-navigate platforms where you can easily find the features you want. Toolbars, drop-down lists, fill-in-the-blank fields, buttons and icons, all help you enter the numbers for whatever calculations and financial forms you require.

They use language that you’re familiar with. Although we still refer to terms like credits, debits, and chart of accounts, online accounting solutions only use arcane financial language when absolutely needed. The developers are trying to use every-day language whenever possible. However, although centuries old, double-entry accounting is a process we all need to use, and it’s here to stay, the developers let the “wizards” handle the complex processes behind the scenes.

They provide mobile versions. If you’re on the road, traveling for business meetings, or even need to do a little work when you’re on vacation, you can access your web-based accounting services securely from your mobile devices.

You have the choice of different levels of service. Some of the best cloud-based accounting solutions provide more than one level of service at different prices. This way you can purchase just what you need and nothing more. If you need to switch to a different level, most allow you to do this easily.

You can integrate them with other solutions. As your business grows, you may find that you need to use a variety of cloud-based financial management solutions. In this case, many of the best cloud-based accounting solutions allow you to connect to other services that you may already be using.

Dashboards. Interactive home pages or dashboards will help you keep track of your finances by flagging tasks that need attention and providing visuals like graphs and charts to give you a high-level view of where you stand. They summarize data like income, expenses and cash flow in easy-to-read images, so you and your team can more easily comprehend data and can make decisions about what to do.

Which Solution is the Best for Your Business?

So, how do you decide which online accounting solution is best for your small business? You might not be able to find a perfect match, but because they are flexible and provided on a monthly basis, you can find the best one for you and tweak it along the way.

As mentioned, many offer a free trial, so you can “road test” them. Give them a try and consider the following questions when you do:

• Can you import your existing data?
• Are the tasks you perform most often supported? (recordkeeping, billing, purchasing, etc.)
• Do you like the interface? Is it easy to navigate?
• Will it support the number of users you need?
• Are there any restrictions on actions you’ll need to take?
• Is it customizable?
• Is it scalable?
• What is the quality of the mobile application?
• Are add-ons supported?
• Do they provide a help desk or support solutions?
• Is the subscription fee something that your budget will allow?

While you’re at it, we did some homework for you. Below are some of the top online accounting services for small businesses.

Consider these and take advantage of the free trials they offer. Don’t worry if these might not work for you five years from now. Assess them based on your needs for the upcoming year.

Remember, you aren’t purchasing the product. Instead, you’re signing up for a subscription that you can change or upgrade/downgrade as you need. In other words, you aren’t stuck with these like you are with regular accounting software programs.

• Freshbooks
• Zoho
• Intuit
• Xero
• GoDaddy
• Wave
• QuickBooks
• Oneup
• Kashoo
• Sage
• MYOB
• Alignbooks
• Kashflow
• CloudbusinessLLC
• Panhandle

No matter which online accounting solution you choose, you’ll have peace of mind because you won’t have to worry about security. Online accounting services have stringent security requirements to ensure that your data is safely protected from hackers and any kind of loss. Even if your physical office is destroyed, or an employee accidentally deletes information, your online accounting service will be able to retrieve your data for you.