Cleveland Law Library Weblog

TECH THURSDAY: TIPS FOR BLOCKING OUT HACKERS

Microsoft has released its list of actions that you should take to ensure you are not hit by ransomware or other types of hacks. You can read the ZDNet article here.

TECH THURSDAY: WINDOWS 10 PRIVACY SETTINGS

You can never be too careful with your privacy when working online. CNet's Matt Elliott's article "5 Privacy Settings You Should Change In Windows 10" is a good place to start. You can read his article here.

TECH THURSDAY: IS IT OK TO TEXT YOUR CLIENTS?

Tom Kulik, in his "Above The Law" article "To Text, Or Not To Text, Clients: An Ethical Question For A Technological Time", writes about the pros and cons of texting clients. He writes that "Doing so may be convenient, but is fraught with perils that should be considered by any attorney thinking about using this method of communication with clients." You can read his article here.

TECH THURSDAY: SB220 - THE OHIO DATA PROTECTON ACT

In today's world, we face the reality that it is no longer a matter of “if,” but “when,” a company’s network will be breached. The state of Ohio passed SB220 to provide businesses "with an affirmative defense to some forms of data breach claims where the business has in place reasonable security measures at the time of the breach". You can read the Legaltech News article here.

TECH THURSDAY: HOW TO DELETE YOURSELF FROM THE INTERNET

Do you ever want to disappear? Not an easy thing to do, especially on the Internet. Having too much information on the Internet can be a bad thing. PCMag's Chandra Steele lists several ways to "remove" yourself from the Internet. You can read her article here.

TECH THURSDAY: WHAT TO DO IF YOU'VE BEEN HACKED

Have you been hacked? The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility offers guidance on how to comply with the duty to protect client information. You can read the ABA Journal article here.

Cleveland Housing Court Adopts Rule 6.13 on Sealing Eviction Records

On December 31, 2018, the Cleveland Housing Court adopted Local Rule 6.13 captioned "Motion to Seal Eviction Record."  This Rule indicates that a record can be sealed "when the interests of justice...outweigh the interests of the government and public in maintaining a public record of the case..." The Rule also contains a non-exclusive list of circumstances in which sealing would be appropriate. The Rule also identifies conditions and factors for the Court to consider as well as rules for the redaction of information.

Rule 6.13 has been posted on the Housing Court's web site at this link. 

Public Domain Day 2019 Releases Many Books, Movies and Musical Works from 1923

Thanks to Duke Law School for its post about Public Domain Day 2019. According to Duke, many books, movies, and musical works are now in the public domain and can be used without restriction. Two of the books on Duke's short list include:

• Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links
• Winston S. Churchill, The World Crisis

One of the movies that hit Duke's short list is a classic called Scaramouche, directed by Rex Ingram, and a fun song on the list is Yes! We Have No Bananas, w.&m. Frank Silver & Irving Cohn. 

There is a lot of available content coming to the Internet. Duke reports that:

"Google Books will offer the full text of books from that year, instead of showing only snippet views or authorized previews. The Internet Archive will add books, movies, music, and more to its online library. HathiTrust has made over 50,000 titles from 1923 available in its digital library. Community theaters are planning screenings of the films."

Ohio's Minimum Wage Has Risen from $8.30 to $8.55

According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, Ohio's minimum wage for non-tipped employees rose $.25 per hour from $8.30 to $8.55 per hour effective January 1, 2019. In contrast, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. In addition, tipped Ohio employees received an hourly wage increase from $4.15 to $4.30 per hour. The Ohio DOC's new Minimum Wage Poster with greater details can be located on the web by clicking this link.

TECH THURSDAY: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION FOR LAWYERS

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the best ways you can help drive traffic to your website. If you are marketing for your website, the ABA's Law Technology Today article "Four Tips for Search Engine Optimization for Lawyers" will help you increase traffic to your website. You can read the article here.