One of the best presentations I saw at this year’s ABA TechShow was given by Nerino Petro and Josh Lazar on implementing Windows 10 in a law 
firm. Why would introducing a new operating system in a law firm be different than anywhere else?
Answer: Because law firms have a duty to keep client information secure and confidential, and Microsoft has now joined Google and Apple in presenting both assistance and challenges to that concept.
So what did we learn about Windows 10?
While there are six editions of Windows 10, the only two that count for business/firm use are: Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise.
- Don’t show up to work with Windows 10 Home. No one will be happy with you.
- Window 10 Pro has features that are required for businesses and law firms, such as: Joining a Domain; Active Directory; Remote Desktop and Dynamic Provisioning.
- More importantly, Windows 10 Pro and higher contain BitLocker whole disk encryption.This is very important, particularly if you are mobile and take your device (laptop, tablet, etc.) out of the office
If your firm plans to upgrade existing machines, did you know there are tools and resources to let you know if your machine can handle the transition before you go that route? They are:
Plan for Windows 10 deployment
Windows 10 Adoption Planning Kit
Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK)
These items are features designed to provide assistance. And now for the “challenges”. There have already been many articles written expressing concern about Microsoft’s new policies privacy and the collection of data with new features such as:
WiFi Sense – Allows users to share passwords with social media “friends”
Bandwidth Sharing — Allows for peer-to-peer file sharing
Targeted Ads
App access to your location
Microphone and Web Cam access
“Getting to Know Me” services
I referred to these concerns 18 months ago in our post Windows 10 and Microsoft’s New Policy Concerning Your Privacy .
In addition to some of the articles listed on this topic, more have been added:
How to secure Windows 10: The paranoid’s guide
Everything You Need to Disable in Windows 10
How to Configure Windows 10 to Protect your Privacy
Windows 10 violates your privacy by default, here’s how you can protect yourself
10 things to disable in Windows 10
And speaking of disabling features… Did you know that you can disable features only to find that when Windows 10 downloads and installs updates – and it happens all too frequently – it can reset all those privacy settings to their original default values? – Not good!
Can automatic updates be less… automatic? Yes – here are some articles to tell you how:
How To Prevent Windows 10 From Automatically Downloading Updates
Disable / Turn Off Automatic Updates In Windows 10, Here’s How
Stop automatic driver updates on Windows 10
This is another in a series of posts bringing our readers up-to-date on what we learned at this year’s ABA TechShow conference. We wish to express our gratitude again to Nerino Petro and Josh Lazar for an outstanding and informative presentation on this topic. Want to know more about what we saw? Please comment below, or contact us at 877-357-0555 where we are, or write to us at [email protected] .
Source: Petro, N. and Lazar, J. (March, 2017). “Implementing Windows 10 in Your Law Firm”. ABA Techshow Conference 2017.
Dana Riel is President and Founder of Business Solutions, Inc., serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1985. Her firm is the authorized training center for the region for Time Matters and PCLaw by PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC; Timeslips and Sage 50 Accounting by Sage Software; and QuickBooks by Intuit Corporation. She also serves as a consultant for Caret Legal (formerly known as Zola Suite), CosmoLex, Soluno & TimeSolv. As a trainer, Dana has provided training services to organizations such as the DOD Defense Logistics Agency, Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAG)/Department of the Navy, University of the District of Columbia School of Law, U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as with small‐ to mid‐size law firms in the Baltimore‐Washington D.C. area. In 2009, she participated in the series of day‐long seminars sponsored by the District of Columbia Bar Association Practice Management Section, titled “Basic Training: Learn About Running a Law Office”. Ms. Riel also served as an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University’s Paralegal Studies Program, having taught the course, “Legal Ethics/Legal Technology” in 2009; and “Legal Technology” for the Spring and Summer Semesters of 2010. She presently serves on the Advisory Board for PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC.