Staying Safe Online: How to Protect Yourself When Working with your Attorney Online

  • Never write down usernames and passwords. Never email these to friends or family. Create strong passwords and change them regularly.
  • Avoid emailing anything to the attorney. Email is not encrypted, and therefore, not as secure as logging into your account page on the virtual law office. It is also not an efficient method of retaining all of your questions, concerns, responses and drafts in a single, secure online case file for your future reference. The client portal and account page was designed to protect the confidentiality of the information you are providing to the attorney.
  • Exercise restraint in posting anything about your legal matter online in any social media application, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, on your personal blog, in the comments of other blogs, on online forums or other online communities.
  • Do not attempt to communicate or convey confidential information with Kimbro Legal Services online through any social media application. Kimbro Legal Services has a social media policy included in the terms and conditions for use of the virtual law office which states that the attorney will not communicate using social media applications because they are public and not secure methods of communicating potentially confidential information with clients. While Kimbro Legal Services may use social media to educate on the subject of estate planning, the attorney will not “friend”, “follow” or otherwise respond to messages from clients sent through these methods.
  • Keep antivirus software and all software patches updated on your devices.
  • Turn on the software firewall for the computer and use a safer browser, such as Mozilla with the NoScript add-on installed, or use another pop-up blocker.
  • Free Wi-Fi hotspots, such as those advertising at many coffee shops, are not secure connections and may allow others to see what you are doing online. Be cautious when using public computers or when using free wireless access. Instead, consider using a cellular phone modem adapter for your device instead.
  • If you use wireless networking, ensure that all wireless traffic is encrypted with WPA2.