There are a number of tactics to make sure NDAs you sign are reasonable:<p>1. If possible, use your own. This prevents you from having to pay your lawyer to review Yet Another NDA.<p>2. Ask for the bidirectional NDA instead of the unidirectional one most companies start with. A 2-way NDA is usually more reasonable because both parties are bound by it so no one wants to screw themselves over.<p>3. Work out the NDA separate from any contract terms. An NDA should not establish a business relationship.<p>4. Always ALWAYS have an expiration date, both of the NDA and any confidential information disclosed under it. This way you only have to keep track of the last N years of NDAs, not infinity. Also, this limits the risk of someone unreasonable coming to power in a company in the future and using the NDA against you. Life changes, nothing should last forever.