The Modern Firm, LLC

There is a growing movement of good people out there called “Life Hackers.” Life hacks are tips and ideas to improve efficiency and get things off your mind, they generally have a technology slant. Some of the best commentary and thoughts on this topic can be found on www.43folders.com.

A few of the tips I’ve found most useful pertain to managing the ever bulging e-mail inbox. 43folders.com recently ran a series of posts called “Inbox Project Zero” I’ve implemented a few of the suggestions in my office and have found them to be very useful. The goal is primarily to put the e-mail user back in charge of their inbox and schedule by lessening the distractions created by e-mail. (more…)

VOIP is destined to be the “way of the future” for telephone communications. With the catchy Vonage commercials, rapid growth of Skype, cable companies pushing “digital phone”, and business phone vendors pushing this latest technology we’ve probably all heard of VOIP.

The following links are interesting articles on VOIP technology, what it is, and the pros and cons. Pay particular attention to the cons as much of it is related to security risks. In the legal profession the standard of care taken to protect privacy is higher than in a residential setting.

What is VOIP?
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony.htm

Security on VOIP
Why VOIP Needs Crypto :: Wired Magazine
A Pretty Good Way to Foil the NSA :: Wired Magazine

Buying VOIP Service
http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/06/technology/voip_biz20/index.htm

In 1999 I unpacked my very first Blackberry wireless e-mail device and was elated. I could now receive e-mail anywhere, instantly. Better than that I could easily respond to messages and completely conceal the fact that I was not dutifully sitting in front of my computer just waiting for new messages. The Blackberry helped me to say “I’m my own boss, I make my own schedule, I can come and go as I please.”

Over the years I upgraded from the black and white small screen model, to the black and white large screen and then to the color large screen with international capabilities (more…)

We all know that we have too many passwords. Between pin numbers, e-mail, online shopping, voicemail, company networks, home security and various memberships the number of passwords we have to remember is staggering. I personally counted 38 activities that require passwords on a regular basis, as in at least once a week. Sometimes I get so bogged down I think I need a password just to get out of bed. But this is how it goes, with the ability to access and store information in more places, passwords are not going away anytime soon. With the acceptance that you need passwords I hope that this article will help you understand what sort of attacks your passwords will have to endure and why it’s important to have a strong system for creating them. (more…)