On-the-Go Scanning with Office Lens

As many of us continue to work from home, accessing the right tech tools — software and hardware — is essential but not always easy. For instance, how do you share digital scans of printed documents without having access to a document scanner? Of course you can always buy a desktop scanner or an all-in-one printing device, but perhaps you need to scan on the go, or you just don’t want to spend money on hardware that takes up space and might not be needed once we all return to work. As an alternative, the Harris County Law Library recommends Microsoft Office Lens, a free scanning app for your Apple or Android device that allows you to scan on the go and save your scanned documents to your phone, tablet, or the cloud. It also integrates with Microsoft’s Office 365 software, the cloud-based suite of office applications that’s available by subscription for an annual or monthly fee.

Office Lens is our scanning app of choice for its quality, reliability, consistency, and ease of use. Other scanning options do exist, and you may find one that you like better, but we’ve been using — and recommending — Office Lens to library patrons who need a quick and easy scanning solution from a trusted brand ever since a solo attorney at one of our Hands-on Legal Tech Training classes suggested that we try it out. We did, and we liked it!

It’s a great tool for digitizing and storing receipts, business cards, or other printed documents. Simply snap a photo using the camera on your phone or tablet, capturing it as a whiteboard, a document, a business card, or a photo. Then, edit the image by cropping, rotating, or adding text. Finally, store the image as a PDF file or a Word document, and share it as needed.

There are many other reliable and recommended scanning apps available, but Office Lens is our app of choice. For a good list of additional tech tools and resources, take a look at the ABA Legal Technology Buyer’s Guide as well as the Harris County Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute page of Legal Tech Links.

Coronavirus Resources and Other Legal Tech Links

The Harris County Law Library maintains a page of Legal Tech Links, including online resources to help practitioners stay informed, get organized, and build proficiency in using legal technology. Included in this list of links are the following:

• Affordable Practice Management Software Organizations

• Networks, and Institutes for Innovation

• Legal Journalism, Podcasts, and Blogs

The coronavirus pandemic is pushing many of us, including legal practitioners, to work from home. We are all learning to using tools, such as collaborative work platforms and teleconferencing software, to facilitate communication and connectivity. Many vendors and software service providers are offering free, short-term subscriptions to help people access the resources they need to work remotely. For nonprofit organizations or those providing pro bono legal services, the options are even greater. If you wish to explore the available resources and limited-term access options for a variety of practice management solutions, we recommend the following list of programs from the LawSites Blog — Coronavirus Resources.

Don’t forget that we at the Harris County Law Library are also offering free access to a variety of legal research tools, including Lexis Advance and Westlaw Edge. We are also continuing to provide virtual reference services five days a week via email, phone, and live chat. Explore all of these options on our website. We’re here to help!

From Rickrolling to Zoombombing

In 2008, the interactive video game company, Take Two, announced the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, a highly anticipated event in the world of gaming. The trailer, leaked prior to its release, generated so much online traffic that it broke the Internet. Many eager fans were unable to stream or download the promotional video, and as result, one of the most popular memes of all time was born. A prankster on the popular video game chat board, 4chan, tricked unwitting suspects by hyperlinking the supposed trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV to the YouTube video of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Rickrolling, as it came to be known, was born.

Internet lore says that Rickrolling wasn’t an original idea. Like most creative endeavors, it evolved from an earlier prank called duckrolling. The concept was less viral for obvious reasons – instead of Rick Astley’s trademark moves and upbeat earworm, the targeted parties were presented with an image of a duck on wheels accompanied by a more obscure musical selection, The Pickard Song by DarkMateria. The clear winner emerged.

A defining quality of the Internet meme is, of course, its transformation over time. Memes morph as people modify and share them and as technology advances. Today, with so many people working from home and connecting online, the potential for shenanigans is even greater. Videoconferencing platforms, and Zoom in particular, have been used for business meetings, social gatherings, medical visits, and therapy groups. With so many people accessing this popular platform every hour, users are sitting ducks for those with bad intentions. Enter Zoombombing, the practice of invading a public or private meeting over the Zoom platform to broadcast offensive or disruptive content. Whereas Rickrolling was (mostly) harmless and fun, Zoombombing is anything but. In fact, it’s now become a criminal act to intrude on public or private meetings. Federal prosecutors and the FBI are warning would-be hackers that the legal implications of Zoombombing are real.  

We’ve assembled a few good resources about Zoombombing, focused specifically on recent developments in the law. We also link to two articles with tips for protecting your meetings from uninvited guests to lessen your own chances of being Zoombombed. If you are the victim of a teleconferencing attack, report the incident to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Stay safe!

Links

Zoombombing and the Law (Reason)

Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Warn Against Teleconferencing Hacking During Coronavirus Pandemic (United States Department of Justice)

Who’s Zoomin Who? (National Law Review)

Protect Yourself

How to stop trolls from taking over your Zoom call (The Verge)

Security tips every teacher and professor needs to know about Zoom, right now (ArsTechnica)

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wayback Machine: Ransomware Hits the TEXas Judiciary online

Page Not Found

If your bookmark for the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure on the Texas Courts Website no longer links you to the source you are seeking but instead gives you a 404 error, or if you’re searching for your favorite Research Guide on the Texas State Law Library website but the page is timing out, you may wonder why. On May 8, the Office of Court Administration, the IT service provider for the appellate courts and state judicial agencies within the Texas Judicial Branch, identified a serious security issue, which was later determined to be a ransomware attack. OCA was able to shut down the branch network, including websites and servers, to prevent further harm.

While the server problems are being addressed, a temporary website is providing access to coronavirus information including emergency orders, court guidance, and electronic hearing procedures. The latest Court news and other updates, including the statement released by the OCA, are also available on the temporary page, along with the @txcourts Twitter feed. The OCA took care to address concerns about essential services such as eFile Texas and reSearchTX, which, they explain, are cloud-based services unaffected by the ransomware attack. The courts and judicial branch agencies are continuing operations and ensuring that the filing of court documents will continue without interruption. If you need to access the resources on the original version of the website, follow the steps below.

Access the original Texas Judicial Branch website as it was captured by the Wayback Machine on April 10, 2020.

Here’s the Hack

• Go to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine website.

• Type this URL into the search box: TXCOURTS.GOV

• The page has been captured hundreds of times since 2012, and as most recently as April 10, 2020. Choose that date on the calendar.

• Select one of the timestamp options, and you will link to the original Texas Courts homepage where most, if not all, of the webpages — including the PDFs they link to — are available.

Access, for example, the Texas Rules of Evidence. Download any number of forms, including Orders of Nondisclosure. As long as you access the site via the Wayback Machine, you will be able to view all captured pages. (What is the Wayback Machine? Learn more here.)

Hopefully, the Texas Judiciary and our good friends at the Texas State Law Library will be back up and running smoothly again soon! If you’re missing the State Law Library’s chat reference feature, try the link at Harris County Law Library, where we’ve partnered with the TSLL to provide real-time chat services. Your reliable State Law Library reference staff is available and continuing to provide services. We wish the OCA much luck in the investigation, remediation, and recovery of IT services for the Judiciary and the Texas State Law Library.

Texas Legal App from the State Bar Computer & Technology Section

Typically, access to the Texas Legal App is a benefit provided to members of the Computer & Technology Section of the State Bar of Texas. For a limited time, through June 30, 2020, the C & T Section is offering free access to the Texas Legal App for all Texas attorneys, paralegals, and law clerks. To become an authorized user of the app during this period, simply submit the enrollment form, available here. You will be asked to provide your name, an email address, your Bar number (or cell phone number if not a Bar member), and your area of practice. You will then be provided with links to the Web interface, the iOS app, and the Android app. You will also get login credentials to access the app itself. Once logged in, you will find a wealth of useful information and primary sources, including more than 62 civil codes and statutes. For a full list of the available resources, click here.

All content is keyword searchable and includes internal linking to other code sections available via the app. The app is also customizable, allowing you to create modules of content relevant to your practice area. Instructions for adding modules are provided in the C & T Texas Legal App how-to installation video available in the TechBytes library, which we wrote about for this blog in 2018. If you find content you wish to print and/or save as a PDF, the app will allow you to do that as well.

While we all continue to Stay Home and Work Safe, access to some traditional legal research resources may be limited. Take advantage of the Computer & Technology Section’s generous offer to share access to this valuable tool, the Texas Legal App, and consider joining the section to ensure the app’s continued availability. Also, remember that we at the Harris County Law Library are still providing services via our Virtual Reference Desk and new Chat Reference. Until we can see you again at the Law Library, stay in touch and informed using our remote services. We’re here to help!