According to Legally India’s monthly visitor stats, 19 per cent of our readers are still on Windows XP, and they (and their clients) could very well get into serious trouble 10 days from today.
If you haven’t yet heard, Microsoft, Windows’ creator, will pull the plug on Windows XP on 8 April 2014, more than 13 years after its release, meaning that there won’t be any more security updates coming your way.
Many are predicting that hackers will have a field day, and your and, much more importantly, your client’s privileged information could therefore be at serious risk.
In a story I wrote for Yahoo Originals today, I explain some of the risks (and alternatives).
In a nutshell, upgrading is an option, but buying a new Windows 7 or 8 licence for every one of your staff can get expensive (around Rs 7,000 for consumers, and while you can probably get some bulk corporate discounts from Microsoft, one law firm took Microsoft to the Competition Commission nearly four years ago, lost, and dragged them to the Supreme Court).
Upgrading to 7 or 8 also rather painful, and if you have to roll it out to dozens or hundreds of computers, you and your tech team may have weeks of testing and user headaches ahead. And, if your existing computers are a bit ancient, they might not run the newer Windows as well as they did XP.
Second option, is to buy new computers for everyone, after doing good backups. Also not cheap.
The reality is, that you seem to have very few choices other than that. Windows (and more importantly, Microsoft Office, and a number of other proprietary software such as some document comparison tools or billing software only available for Windows) are still the gold standard in the corporate environment and particularly in law firms.
Judges are doing it, could you?
Legally India recently asked lawyers on social media whether an option for corporate and litigation lawyers could be Linux – the free (open source) operating system that’s known for being ultra-secure but not very user-friendly (and uses a Penguin as its mascot). Here’s what they said. It has alternatives for Microsoft Office such as Libre Office and Open Office, which are also available for free.
Advocate Nandita Saikia, tweeting @nsaikia, is a rather unusual example of a tech-literate lawyer (having grown up with astro-physicists who used Unix in the 80s). She wrote: “I used Ubuntu [Linux] till quite recently. I used it for everything… Changed mainly [because] Open Office formatting didn't always look the same on Windows which, for me, was a major irritant. As was having to contend with blank looks all the time.
“For formatting, I've found Google Docs to be reasonably useless. [Microsoft] Word just works best because everyone uses it and it's a pretty safe bet that docs formatted on Word won't look bizarre to others.”
Manish (@jimanish), says is on Linux too and he and @_justice1 rightly add that most courts use it too. (The Supreme Court moved to Ubuntu in 2011, and a number of other government departments and courts have moved to Linux too for security and costs reasons).
However, while Saikia says she would recommend Linux to other lawyers, when asked whether she thinks law firms would try Linux, she notes: “Have found there's MUCH resistance to experimenting with anything new & the money isn't [very] relevant to many law firm lawyers...”
Indeed, that could be the biggest problem in migrating to an open source operating system for your office, alongside the need to train your staff and tech team (if you have one) in how to install and administer Linux.
Do you have any experience of doing legal work with Linux? Do you know any law firms that are using Linux? Or XP? Can it become the future standard in Indian law? Please leave a comment below
Ps: If you’re interested in reading more on this topic, do check out the Yahoo Originals story today, or ask away in the comments for some useful links on how to install Linux or anything else.
Pps: A grand total of 1.9 per cent of Legally India visitors are using Linux on their computers right now (excluding Android mobile devices, which technically are a version of Linux). And, for the record, 3 visitors last month were apparently still on Windows 98.
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i dont think she actually used ubuntu till recently . ubuntu moved to libre office 2-3 years back
Or maybe 2 or 3 years ago also counts as quite recently :)
Danial Jose
Oh dang I thought Lawyers were supposed to be good at law, maybe my bad
Though most of the lawyers are good at law doesn't make them dumb about IT, so likewise we can say that IT people would be "DUMB" as you called it in law. remind me when was the last time you read a software contract , We make them :p
Though all was on the lighter side..
but none the less care to go ITMANO a LawyerMANO on cyber security wd me..
and FYI India the first for E-courts , Jus saying :p
Do you have any reference link for above statement?
Without knowledge in IT security, how can a Judge or Advocate deal with a cyber crime related case?
Reference : My IT Guru is a Unix admin cum legal consultant!
If you are using a Linux based systems you do not need to reboot it usually. But in the case of Micro$oft Window$w, it is defective by design!
Before making blind comments do some research on advantages of Linux based OS (Linux systems without binary blobs and closed source software), you can't beat that plus points it have.
It is ultra secure and have no back-doors
No virus*
Minimal Resource usage
No vendor locking
Free as in freedom and beer
and more..
If you are new to Linux then start with Ubuntu or Ubuntu based systems such as Linux Mint, Lubuntu, Xubuntu or Ubuntu Gnome and later explore the whole world of Linux based operating systems focusing/specializing on different areas such as hacking, penetrating, privacy, server, mobile, embedded, engineering, entertainment, education, data recovery etc... !
For people who are concerned about privacy and security, I will recommend Trisquel GNU/Linux.
But you will miss some useful binary blobs and proprietary software. (on most cases binary blobs are not required if your hardware support opensource drivers)
*There are few viruses out there for Linux, but in most cases you have to inject one yourself for getting sick! Again, some Linux systems such as Android has viruses because its more popular so hackers know they all affect more people. Also it built in with with less security compared to a standard Linux system for making it user and developer friendly.
www.ilug-cochin.org
Stay safe with Linux.
There is a very good chance Linux OS will run well with older hardware with lower specs
Switch to the free, safe, secure & awesome OS: www.ubuntu.com/download
Its the worlds most popular free OS. It has free upgrades & security updates. It has a free office suite, LibreOffice that comes standard along with other great apps/programs.
For those who like the Windows look, I would recommend: www.kubuntu.com & for older computer with lower specs www.xubuntu.com or lubuntu.net
Or try Linux Mint: linuxmint.com
Because the Linux option is free & now so easy (user friendly) one must give it a try. You have so much to gain.
Lots of people give their time, effort & money to make these great products that they just give the world for free. So they may not have the huge ad budgets & would need users like us to spread the word. Although its free, you are welcome to donate if you like the software.
I had been using Windows for 15 odd years and changed to Linux recently. The only regret I have is not shifting earlier. Linux is just as good, if not better, than Windows.
Its all about the first step.
Cheers!
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