Get the Most from the CBABC Website

by Patricia Jordan

Did you know the CBABC Web site has online discussion groups?
General discussion groups offer lawyers the opportunity to pose questions, offer advice and share information on a variety of topics. Individuals suggest topics for discussion, known as “starting a thread,” by posting their message to the list. Group members then join the discussion by offering their comments. Please let me know if you start a thread in a Section (e.g., Family Law) and I’ll post a link for members of that Section on the reception page so that they may join the discussion.

CBABC Web Facts

• Members access the Web site more than 270 times per day, a 23 per cent increase since 2002.
• Since January 2003, visitors have downloaded Lawyer Referral Service telephone listings from the public area of the site more than 1,100 times, a 20 per cent increase since 2002.

New Documents Online

• CBA Standard Undertakings [FP 67A] (Real Property Law Section) (Library)
• Directory 2003 Errata (Library)
• Family Law-Westminster Section Subcommittee, The Unified Family Court Proposal Discussion Paper, January 2003 (Newsroom)
• Lawyers for Literacy Project (Library)

Did You Know?
No one owns the Internet. In fact, the Internet is a physical infrastructure connecting networks between corporations, governments, organizations, private citizens, schools and service providers. Although groups may own portions of the infrastructure, no one actually owns the Internet.

Ask the Webmaster
How do I protect myself from viruses sent via e-mail and the Internet?

First, let’s discuss computer viruses and what they are. Computer viruses are programs specifically designed to spread by infecting executable files, program files and system files. Viruses are categorized by how they infect. Categories include: Armoured, Camouflage, Cavity, Fast and Slow Infectors, Multipartite, NTFS ADS, Polymorphic, Sparse, Stealth, and Tunnelling.

Armoured viruses are designed to make disassembly difficult and multipartite viruses spread by infecting files and boot areas of floppy disks. Macro viruses infect word processing and spreadsheet documents that use macros. The Trojan horse program feigns to be something else – perhaps you download a new game from the Net and when you run it, the Trojan deletes files from your hard drive or forwards saved passwords to someone via e-mail. Downloading the harmful file will not automatically activate the Trojan horse virus; to do that, you must execute the file, which may occur by simply opening a document.

You can protect your computer by installing current anti-virus software with an “on access” scanner from a reputable company such as McAfee or Symantec. Norton AntiVirus, McAfee VirusScan, WinCleaner Anti-Virus, Nuts & Bolts and Symantec’s Norton SystemWorks™ 2003 are popular anti-virus software that offer automatic updating of virus definitions over the Internet and inform you of the latest threats and hoaxes. Once you’ve downloaded virus software, update it daily and scan all incoming files. If your e-mail automatically executes JavaScript, Word macros or other executable code contained in or attached to a message, security experts recommend that you disable this feature.

Patricia Jordan is the CBABC Manager, Interactive Media. She welcomes your comments, questions, and suggestions. If you’re having difficulty finding a document online, need an answer, or would like something added to the site, contact her at pjordan@bccba.org or call 604.646.7861.

This article was published in the April 2003 issue of BarTalk. © 2003 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.