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Access Your Firm Desktop Easily & Securely from Home

Many of our traditional IT, non-cloud law firms do support office servers and an on-premise IT infrastructure. Due to this, we are often tasked with coming up with secure solutions for remote access so attorneys and paralegals can remotely work from home and on the go. The setup that we work with offers maximum security and versatility, it also works for all sized firms utilizing enterprise level firewall devices. If your firm currently does not work with an enterprise level hardware firewall, your firm is forced to used sub-par LogMeIn, Webex, & GoToMyPC solutions that lack security and put your firm data at risk.

We begin with an enterprise firewall that supports VPN or Virtual Private Network capabilities. This VPN connection from your home computer to your office creates an encrypted tunnel securing data within that tunnel. This includes keystrokes, transferred files, and application data that may travel to and from the remote server. Once the VPN is established, a remote desktop application is used by Microsoft so that the user can connect to their office desktop or server. In working with the cloud and traditional IT, we find that Microsoft’s remote desktop app is the very best application that offers a true work experience making the user feel that they are working locally at their desk. There is no lag and no problems connecting to office desktops & servers. Further, no matter how badly infected a local home device is, with this method there is no way of transferring any nasty viruses to the office over this VPN connection as long as your enterprise level firewall supports standard security protocols against Viruses, Spyware, Malware & most importantly, Ransomware.

This setup is the ultimate remote access solution for law firms who have not yet adopted cloud computing. Many attorneys we talk to always complain about the complexity or the lack of quality when remoting in to work from home. This solution fixes all of that. If your firm’s remote access is clunky, annoying, and lacks security, please feel free to give us a call.

Quickbooks Enterprise In The Cloud, Rekall Can Do It

We have a client with Quickbooks Enterprise. This client has fully embraced the cloud in all ways where they could. They wished they could utilize the cloud services that were offered by Quickbooks Online but with the functionality of Quickbooks Enterprise. While Quickbooks Online is great, it lacks many of the features that make Quickbooks Enterprise the premier solution for small to medium contracting businesses. We understood the needs of the client and also understood that the server was over 5yrs old. They would most certainly need a new server by years end, but with a cloud solution, they would never need to purchase a new server again. The costs involved in buying a server and maintaining it always make IT a drag, and that’s how our client felt.
After talking about the benefits of a cloud server between the lower IT costs, more controlled bills, and a technology setup that would be guaranteed to be up 99.995% of the time, the client was interested in a proposal. We offered the client a total cloud solution, putting all documents, Quickbooks and Microsoft Office into a cloud server for all 11 users. Everyone would have a cloud desktop and be able to access Quickbooks or company data from anywhere in the world may they be on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad or Android devices, all for one monthly fee. It’s no lie that Rekall cloud clients simply do not call for support. We have figured out a way to offer our clients a Quickbooks Enterprise solution in the cloud that is it’s own disaster recovery solution, complete with a secure offsite backup solution, flexible access, not to mention the added benefit of knowing that they will never need to purchase server hardware or costly server warranties ever again.

Introducing Rekall Cloud Lite for Solo’s & Small Firms

Over the past few years Rekall has grown exponentially mostly due to the success of our private cloud service. The truth is that more law firms are moving in this direction, and why not? A fully managed private cloud with unlimited support, compliance, storage, and applications means attorneys can focus on law and not IT. In watching Rekall Cloud evolve we have found that pricing is sometimes a bit challenging for small firms and solo’s in particular. No matter who you work with, a fully managed private cloud is not cheap and while Rekall offers one of the most cost efficient private clouds on the market, pricing still seems a bit steep for some smaller firms, enter Rekall Cloud Lite.

What is Rekall Cloud Lite?  |  Necessity is the mother of invention and Rekall Cloud Lite is no different. There is a significant need for a cloud based service that solo’s and small firms can utilize without breaking the bank. Rekall Cloud Lite is exactly that, a cocktail of cloud services offering many similar benefits to Rekall’s Private Cloud, but at significantly reduced rates. It can be seen as a stepping stone to Rekall’s Private Cloud as a firm grows and requires more legally driven applications or technology to increase firm efficiency.

Packages Start at $18/Month Per User For the Following Services

Click Here for Rekall Cloud Lite Service & Pricing Info

1TB Document Storage  |  Rekall not only works in the cloud sector, Rekall has many years experience working with traditional law firm IT as well. With this experience we have packaged cloud based services that a small firm would need in order to operate efficiently and grow. All users will receive 1TB in document storage which can be shared within the organization or outside the organization in order to collaborate on documents with colleagues. 1TB of data is tremendous, and remember each user receives 1TB themselves. All types of documents can be stored within this cloud based storage system and can also be accessed via Mac, PC, Android & Apple mobile devices for document access on the go.

Hosted Exchange / Office 365  |  Each user will receive a mailbox with the firm chosen domain name. If the firm is new, Rekall will assist in purchasing a domain name and setting up email for the firm. If the firm is established the firm will be able to continue to use their existing emails and domain name. Mailboxes offer unlimited storage as mail, contacts, calendars, and notes sync to user mobiles devices. Mailbox, calendar, and contacts sharing can also be configured as part of the firm’s setup for firms who want firm calendars or a centralized firm contact list. This portion of Rekall Cloud Lite offers the very best in today’s email functionality. It was chosen with growth and efficiency in mind as this email type is today’s law firm standard.

Desktop Antivirus, Monitoring & Patch Management  |  Rekall Cloud Lite offers local desktop antivirus & spyware/malware protection for each user device which is distributed via Rekall’s centralized management console. Along with antivirus security services, advanced monitoring is also offered. Device monitoring reports back to the Rekall helpdesk 24×7 with alerts regarding low disc space, hardware failures & degradation, software errors plus many more alerts. In this way, Rekall technicians can be proactive and assist with device issues before they become downtime causing problems. In addition to this the Rekall system also automates & schedules Windows updates as well as third party application updates such as Java and Adobe Acrobat just to name a few. Users will no longer need to manually update their applications and never again will you be working on a document when that Windows Update prompt comes up letting you know that Windows will restart in 10 minutes forcing you to stop working and save your document. Updates are also pre-approved by Rekall administrators. Sometimes Microsoft releases an update that does more harm than good. Harmful or “problem” updates will be omitted, further protecting your system.

Advanced Spam Filtering  |  In addition to email services, advanced spam filtering services is offered to each mailbox as well. Rekall’s advanced spam filtering services protect against virus’s, spyware, malware and most importantly ransomware. Rekall’s spam filter utilizes not one, but two scanning engines, Sophos and Kaspersky. Rekall’s spam filter is currently in place within all Rekall client email infrastructures. On average, Rekall blocks 11 Ransomware emails daily. Rekall’s custom spam filter is one of the only spam filter services that blocks Ransomware in real-time. Along with email security services each user will receive a held mail report twice daily highlighting any email that was caught offering the user the ability to release any legitimate email. Harmful mail bypasses the held mail report altogether.

Microsoft Office Licensing  |  Due to the fact that Microsoft Office Licensing is offered within Rekall Cloud, it seems fitting that there be a Microsoft Office option for Rekall Cloud Lite. Rekall Cloud Lite Pro includes everything above plus Microsoft Office licensing for each user. This also includes free upgrades to new Office versions as they release.

Rekall Cloud Lite Service Add-Ons  |  Along with with two Rekall Cloud Lite packages, Rekall offers add-on services. Services include unlimited remote helpdesk support, mobile device management, encrypted offsite backup for third party application data, and email encryption options.

Click Here for Rekall Cloud Lite Service & Pricing Info

We’ve Put PCLaw in The Cloud & Our Clients are Very Happy

Please keep in mind that this PClaw solution utilizes pre-purchased PClaw licenses. You must purchase these licenses through PClaw first for this solution to work. All licenses must be purchased and maintained under PClaw guidelines as to not violate their terms or licensing policy. This solution is simply a terminal server with PClaw on it, in the cloud. PClaw supports Terminal Server, which is why Rekall Cloud is a great cloud solution for PClaw.

Rekall has been successfully migrating PClaw to the cloud for law firms. With a PClaw cloud migration law firms can now be 100% in the cloud with email, documents & time tracking/accounting. Within the Rekall Cloud, every service that law firms subscribe to offers a 99.99% SLA up-time, guaranteeing up-time 99.99% of the time in a given month. This type of setup is what law firms should be asking for, and what IT companies should be offering. If your firm cannot tolerate downtime, look to the cloud.

THE PCLAW CLOUD MIGRATION  |  The setup to migrate PClaw to the cloud takes only a few hours. The end result is something spectacular. We are able to give law firms the ability to either remote onto a cloud desktop to access PClaw or publish the PClaw application and have users remote into the application itself through remote desktop on the cloud server. It looks & feels like PCLaw is running on your PC, but it is actually running on the cloud desktop. Printers automatically install so there is no print driver configuration.

PCLaw Support & The Cloud  |  As far as support goes, you are on a Terminal Server in the sky which PCLaw supports fully. We called support and they started to explain the limitations of support once we used the word “Cloud”. Understand that PCLaw support is made up of humans, sometimes you will get someone who is not interested in helping you. These people will find reasons to not support you or your setup. If you adopt this PCLaw cloud solution, always remember that you are on a Terminal Server and the PCLaw database is on the same server as the PCLaw client application. This is a super simple setup and PCLaw’s easiest client/server configuration. They support this setup no matter if it’s in the cloud or on a server in your office. Many support agents do not know enough about IT and start to get scared when you use the word “cloud”. As long as you explain your setup to support as a Terminal Server which it is, you will never have an issue getting support.

Cloud Server Added Benefits  |  Finally, there are some added benefits to this type of private cloud setup. Just as PCLaw is a network based application that multiple users may use at the same time, with the use of a cloud server you have the ability publish other applications on the web and use them just as easily. Some examples are Quickbooks, your docket system or any other application for that matter. All the while, you have the benefit of knowing that this application is on a cloud server, will never go down, and can be accessed from anywhere, and is being backed up automatically.

Rekall Cloud is not restricted to PClaw as it can grow with your firm. As you add employees to your firm, on the back-end we can add resources to support these new users. Our cloud solutions are built for expandability when it comes to processing, memory, even bandwidth & storage. With this solution there are no slowdowns, no hiccups, and no downtime. It’s the perfect solution for small, medium & even large firms at very affordable rates. It also happens to be the future of technology.

Attorneys Should Avoid Android Devices

We’ve mentioned in the past that the iPad is the way to go if you’re going to invest in a tablet, it’s sleek, the apps go through a superior vetting process as opposed to the Google Play Store, and Apple devices require less customization overall. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is certainly out there making some noise. While it might be fun to play with, the Galaxy Tab is not good for much more than browsing the internet. It doesn’t have anywhere near the power or the versatility of the iPad when it comes to programs (apps) or working with data.

It’s lack of power aside, you want to avoid the Samsung Galaxy Tab because research suggests that nearly all of the malware that impacts mobile devices occurs with the Android OS. In fact, hundreds of new Android malware strains appear every day. Hundreds of thousands of apps made for the Android OS are malicious, many of which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store directly unknown to the user. The apple store is notorious for quality control of it’s approved apps for user download. Google Play store does not have these stringent policies when it comes to developers of android apps. This customization may be welcomed to tech people looking to obtain total control over their device, but to attorneys who simply wish to get their work done without security risks, you may want to avoid Android altogether. Additionally, almost a fifth of the apps found on Android devices have been found to leak user data.

To secure sensitive email data the iPhone and the iPad really are the best mobile devices on the market for attorneys. Apple just knows what it’s doing and is able to avoid the very large majority of malicious software.

Worldox Hosting on Rekall’s Private Cloud is Excellent!

It’s no secret that Worldox has their own cloud solution but from our experience Worldox should really stick to what they do best and leave the cloud solutions to the experts. We have done many migrations to and from Worldox’s Cloud platform and to be frank, Worldox is awesome but their cloud solution is slow, under-powered and not made for larger firms with sizable amounts of data.

Worldox hosting through Rekall Cloud on the other hand takes the normal Worldox application that you currently use and simply moves it to a private cloud complete with all other firm applications and included Microsoft Office licensing. Due to the architecture and the customization that Rekall Cloud can offer, putting Worldox in the cloud even for the largest of law firms with the most massive of databases is not a problem for our system. Access times are equal or better to what you experience right now, never slower.

Each user is given a fully customized cloud desktop complete with configured Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat integration to Worldox. At the firm’s request we also migrate desktop items, third party applications, time & billing apps and local documents stored on local computers. We integrate the firm’s accounting and/or billing system into the cloud as well making a full private cloud system accessible from anywhere, anytime, and from any device complete with network security, antivirus, and a fully integrated server and file based backup. The system is accessible from Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone and Android devices. Some cloud companies charge extra for these functions, we believe you can’t offer an adequate cloud solution without including these services.

Rekall Cloud offers law firms solutions that Worldox simply can’t offer, with speeds and customization that Worldox simply can’t offer due to their cookie cutter model. Our security centric architecture gives us the edge to offer a fully customized cloud solution may it be a law firm working with Worldox, PCLaw, Time Matters, ProLaw, Amicus, or anything else. If your looking to move your law firm to the cloud, end the headache of managing office servers and bring your downtime to ZERO with Rekall Cloud.

Rekall Drops Pricing on Cloud Services, Law Firms Rejoice

As of December 2016 we have decided to drop pricing on all cloud services. A lot of thought went into this decision. We’ve been running our private cloud for two years as I write this article and we feel that after two years we have created the perfect formula for cloud pricing that offers a high amount of value at a lower cost than our main competitors. Rekall not only offers more included and free services within the cloud service offering, but now Rekall does it at a lower cost.Within the Rekall Cloud service offering, law firms now receive included HIPAA compliance services on the file and web level. They also have an option to stay with their current email provider that will be managed by Rekall or move to Rekall’s hosted exchange email platform.

Rekall now offers two cloud packages. The Unlimited Support Cloud Package includes unlimited Rekall helpdesk access to assist with all IT related items associated with your firm. This means cloud and non-cloud related issues, printing, scanning, word, mobile device issues, PC, and application maintenance just to name a few. The Standard Support Cloud Package offers unlimited support for cloud related issues. This includes cloud connectivity issues, printing & scanning to or from the cloud, new user setups and terminations, as well as core cloud infrastructure support. Our unlimited plan should be utilized by firms who simply want it all with no price fluctuations each month. The standard plan covers law firms also offering the Rekall helpdesk support for non-cloud related issues at a standard rate of $120/hr.

Over the years Rekall has tried to incorporate all aspects of law firm needs into a complete package. With these new changes to our pricing plus adding included & optional services, the Rekall Cloud is the most secure & affordable cloud service for law firms in the nation.

Lynda.com – The Perfect Educational Resource for Attorney Staff

Just hired someone that is excellent in some things but has no experience in Adobe Acrobat, Word or Outlook? Have you heard of Lynda.com? This website is meant to teach anyone and everyone how to use various pieces of software. With a subscription, members have unlimited access to video tutorials taught by dedicated and effective software trainers. We have personally used these training videos and they are far superior to cheaper alternatives.

We’ve been focusing on Adobe Acrobat within the TechTalk blog lately. For topics Rekall hasn’t touched upon, or for more detailed information, check out Lynda.com. Here are just a few of the videos on Acrobat that came up when we did a quick search. Keep in mind that these tutorials range from a few minutes in length to dozens of hours in length! Lynda has the depth of coverage you’re looking for, no matter what that depth is.

• Creating Secure Documents with Adobe Acrobat
• Fixing Interactive PDF Problems in Adobe Acrobat
• Using Adobe Acrobat to Embed your Interactive Gallery into a PDF
• Adobe Acrobat DC: Creating Forms
• Building PDFs with Adobe Acrobat DC
• Adobe Acrobat DC Pro Essential Training

Lynda.com will cost you just $25 per month, which is well worth it. And for those skeptics, check it out through a free seven-day trial before you sign up. It is a tool that all law firms both large and small should invest in. Software ages and dies. When it dies and your sitting, baffled, with a new version of Microsoft Office, you’ll call out for Lynda, and she’ll be there with all the answers. We’ll also be there if your firm needs IT support.

Mobile Device Security Policies for Law Firms

As the ease of accessing the Internet continues to increase and as cloud-based software continues to provide us access to documents from virtually anywhere, we must remain diligent about making sure that mobile Internet connections are secure. Trust us when we say that there are people who are ready to pounce on an organization’s lack of mobile Internet security. The SANS Institute, which presents itself as “the most trusted source for computer security training, certification and research” has a bunch of mobile security policy templates available on its website at http://www.sans.org/security-resources/policies/mobile.php.

Rekall recommends that you take a look at some of these and adapt them as you see fit for your firm’s practices. If you like what you find for the mobile policy templates, continue to explore the site because you’ll also find policy templates for audits, email, HIPAA, internet security and more. The Remote Access template through SANS spells out the purpose of the policy, who is affected, the policy itself, roles and responsibilities of everyone involved, and any definitions necessary for clarification. We suspect you’ll find the templates user-friendly and quite practical. Give them a look and reach out to Rekall with any questions around best practices in mobile security.

Create Your Own Fillable Forms With Adobe Acrobat

Did you ever want to create an awesome fallible form PDF? No problem. Creating a fillable PDF form in Acrobat is easy. Using Adobe Acrobat Professional (Not Reader), open the document that you’d like to use to create a fillable form. Generally you start with a word document, convert to PDF and then work with the new PDF document adding in radio buttons and text boxes.

To start, click on the Tools menu. Then navigate to the area that says Forms. Open the sub panel and then click Create. You will then be asked whether you want to create a form from your current document. Click Yes. Confirm this once more. Once you tell Adobe to use your original document to create a form, you’ll notice that your document will be filled in with text boxes where Adobe thinks they should go, it’s an automatic process and is usually very accurate. At this point, look over your document to make sure that you actually want all of the text boxes that Adobe assumed you wanted, and delete anything you don’t want.

If text boxes weren’t placed where you needed them, you can add new fields manually. Under Tasks, select Add New Field. Then simply navigate to where you want your fields to appear and insert them. Note that the Add New Field option is a drop down. You can use this to add not only text boxes but also check-boxes and other field types.

And that’s it! Now the form can easily be filled in. This is really useful for new client forms in gathering preliminary information, also good for internal office staff forms. Much more professional and secure than sending out Word documents.