Help Desk Computer Services

It’s no surprise that keeping your office network secure is important. But what may come as a surprise is how venerable it really is. People remain the number one cause of security lapses, whether it be by human error, disregarding policy, or outright malicious intent (via @infosecland). Recently the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretly dropped computer CD’s and USB Thumb Drives in parking lots of government buildings. Of those who picked them up, 60 percent plugged in the devices into office computers, curious to see what they contained. If the drive or CD case had an official logo, 90 percent were installed. (via @bloomberg).

Every single day we read on main-stream media about a network security breach, or flaw, that is somehow related to human intervention and error; even more security compromises are publicized below the radar via Twitter #infosec. Sometimes security breaches are because of poor network configurations or lack thereof. But most of the time it is Social-Engineering (Book: Art of Deception), a term coined by the famous hacker of the 80’s Kevin Mitnick. Social-Engineering is simply tricking an employee, whether directly via a phone call, or indirectly via an email phishing scam.

Since the eighties there has been an obvious dramatic change in the way we use technology and the way hackers gain access to our technology. This change leaves gaping holes in the securest of networks: humans. We are trusting, curious, and manipulate-able by nature. And the only way to combat your business is to train your employees what not to do and what to look for.

We’ve broken it down in to 5 easy steps:

1. Never open attachments unless you’re expecting said attachment. If it is from somebody you know, confirm with a reply whether or not they actually sent it to you; email is instantaneous! Otherwise forward to a supervisor or one of our I.T. Technicians.
2. Never use a personal device on a company network. This includes ipods, thumb drives, laptops, tablets, etc. These types of devices usually have some type of malware or spyware that can rapidly spread across an internal company network.
3. Use a firewall with Web Content Filtering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_filtering). Limit where your employees can go on the internet to prevent malicious infections.
4. Question everything! If Tony from sales is calling you to get a password for the database because he needs to look up a number, make sure it’s really Tony. Make sure that link you’re about to click, in that scary (fake) email from the IRS, is real.
5. Implement strict password policies which include steps to take when disable accounts from terminating an employee. We all know the havoc a disgruntled employee can do.

We often hear, “But my company is too small, hackers don’t care about us”. But the truth is they don’t care who is who. Hackers often blanket the internet “Phishing” for a bite. Other times, it could be your competition trying to get inside information. The list goes on, and the scared truth is that your business isn’t too small. All businesses of all sizes are venerable.

Take a look at the articles within. Train your employees. Keep your business safe.
-HDCS

With tech support costs upwards of $130.00 an hour with Henry Schein’s Dentrix phone support and an unruly annual support fee, finding answers to simple bug fixes can be difficult. With the release of newer operating systems and lack of seamless software integration there is little to no way to get out of making that expensive call. However, here at Help Desk Computer Services we want to share as much information as possible to get you up and running with little cost to you. The following tutorial will instruct you on how to re-index your Dentrix database.

PLEASE DO AT YOUR OWN RISK – WE ASSUME NO RESPONSABILITY FOR THE FOLLOWING STEPS – THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR REFERENCE ONLY!

Symptoms:

Dentrix will act very weird in an inconsistent way; like users won’t be able to open patient charts, and it won’t index properly. The end-user explained it to us several different issues, it was difficult to pin-point what the problem was, but it turns out a re-index was the root cause. This type of problem is very common and will happen every so often, the degree to how often will depend on the size and volume of the practice.

Cause:

The symptoms are caused because each Dentrix workstation is given a unique “Session ID Number”. This number increments as each workstation turns on and connects to the database, which begins from the first time they are brought on the Dentrix network. When one of these workstations, for whatever the reason, is improperly disconnected from the network server, eg: improper shutdown or network failure, the Session ID Number will increment by 1. When this number reaches a maximum limit, weird things start happening and we must rebuild or, in other words, re-index the Dentrix database.

Resolution:

To solve this common problem, follow these seemingly complicated but very simple steps:

1. First close every Dentrix application on every workstation and server; the best way to do that is to simply shutdown all workstations.

2. Next, backup your data folder (use ep.exe tool to find path, see below), once you’ve found the correct path to your database, make a backup copy of it before we begin.

Located at C:\Dentrix\ep.exe

Above: Location of edit path file.
Below: Show’s the path of the database directory you want to backup:

3. After you’ve made a copy of the data: copy these four files from the TUTOR folder to the DATA folder. You will want to rename the current four files within the data folder to *.dat.old before you copy. The tutor folder is located locally on the server: in C:\Dentrix\TUTOR_G4.7 (your version number may differ)

COMM_DAT.DAT
DATALOK2.DAT
DATALOK.DAT
NETID.DAT


4. Run _rebuild.exe from within the c:/dentrix folder like in step 2

5. Click OK to the backup warning

6. Click “Select All” button:

7. Click “Rebuild” button.

Below is an example output you should see:
Rebuild for database version 14.1
Dentrix Rebuild started: 11/19/2011, 05:34:37 pm
Rebuilding Address File...
Rebuilding Aging File...
Rebuilding Appointment Events File...
Rebuilding Appointment File...
Rebuilding Appointment History File...
Rebuilding Audit Index Files...
Rebuilding Chart Paint File...
Rebuilding Claim Attachments File...
Rebuilding Claim File...
Rebuilding Claim Information File...
Rebuilding Clinical Note File...
Rebuilding Clinical Note Support File...
Rebuilding Clinical Record File...
Rebuilding Communications File...
Rebuilding Consent Forms File...
Rebuilding Cont. Care Pending File...
Rebuilding Cont. Care Setup File...
Rebuilding Cont. Care Views File...
Rebuilding Coverage Table File...
Rebuilding Definitions File...
Rebuilding Diagnostic Code File...
Rebuilding Diagnostic Cross Code File...
Rebuilding Document Center Attachments File...
Rebuilding Document Center File...
Rebuilding Document Center Type File...
Rebuilding DXPort File...
Rebuilding Employer File...
Rebuilding Fee Schedule File...
Rebuilding Gratuity Acts File...
Rebuilding Gratuity File...
Rebuilding History Viewer, Patient File...
Rebuilding History Viewer, Transaction File...
Rebuilding Image File...
Rebuilding Insurance Plan File...
Rebuilding Insured Subscriber File...
Rebuilding Lab Case Mgr Cases File...
Rebuilding Lab Case Mgr Definitions File...
Rebuilding Lab Case Mgr Information File...
Rebuilding Lab Case Mgr Labs File...
Rebuilding Lab Case Mgr Links File...
Rebuilding Lab Case Mgr Log File...
Rebuilding Lab Case Mgr Ship. Methods File...
Rebuilding Medical Code File...
Rebuilding Medical Cross Code File...
Rebuilding Medical Procedure Log File...
Rebuilding Network ID File...
Rebuilding Note File...
Rebuilding Office Journal File...
Rebuilding Pat Ed Links File...
Rebuilding Pat Ed Topics File...
Rebuilding Patient Alert File...
Rebuilding Patient Alert Link File...
Rebuilding Patient File...
Rebuilding Payment Agreement File...
Rebuilding Payment Plan File...
Rebuilding Payment Table File...
Rebuilding Perio File...
Rebuilding Prescription File...
Rebuilding Prescription Setup File...
Rebuilding Procedure Code File...
Rebuilding Procedure Log File...
Rebuilding Provider Insurance IDs File...
Rebuilding Questionaire Forms...
Rebuilding Questionaire Links...
Rebuilding Questionaire Questions...
Rebuilding Questionaire Response...
Rebuilding Questionaire Response Set...
Rebuilding Quick Labels...
Rebuilding Referral Acts File...
Rebuilding Referral File...
Rebuilding Report File...
Rebuilding Resource File...
Rebuilding Resource Use File...
Rebuilding Signature File...
Rebuilding Signed Consents File...
Rebuilding Time Clock Attachment File...
Rebuilding Time Clock Setup File...
Rebuilding Tooth Placement File...
Rebuilding Totals File...
Rebuilding Tx Case File...
Rebuilding Tx Case Link File...
Rebuilding Tx Case Status File...
Rebuilding Web Patient File...
Rebuilding Web Patient Request File...
Rebuilding Web Patient Update File...
Rebuilding Web Payment File...
Rebuilding Web Resource File...
Rebuilding Web UpRef File...
Rebuilding Wellness Index File...
Rebuilding Zip Code File...
Dentrix Rebuild complete: 11/19/2011, 05:35:40 pm
If you see “Dentrix Rebuild Complete” at the bottom, you know it’s successful.

8. After completing the rebuild, now run “_maint.exe” file located within the same C:/Dentrix directory. It should look like the window below:

9. Click Run option in the upper left hand corner, and select “Reset network station id’s” like below:

10. Finally, open Dentrix one at a time on each machine within the office. It is very important to run a Dentirx module on each machine one at a time until they have all opened a module at least once.

Conclusion:

If you run into any weird errors when opening .exe files on the server, it is more than likely caused because a Dentrix module is open somewhere either on a workstation or the server. The best resolution to this is to shutdown all workstations and reboot the server.

Again, this fix isn’t a permanent fix. You will need to re-run this indexing process every so often. We understand that every-so-often is very vague but, it’s true and, it’s solely dependent upon the size and volume of your practice and how often your workstations gain new id numbers.

We hope this helps someone out in a tough spot or over the weekend when Dentrix support is closed. And if all else fails, please contact us for further assistance.

-HDCS

Dealing with technical support representatives are part of today’s technology age and isn’t just limited to computers. These tips work for calling in about a internet outage at your home to a watch repair you need done – anything that requires customer service. Follow these 5 steps to ensure you get the best customer service and support for your problem:

1. Before you answer any questions or give any other requested information, give them your call back number

2. They will most likely ask you for your personal info to verify the account in question; at this point give it to them.

3. Before continuing to ask your support question, get the service technicians’ info:

• Technician Name
• Technician ID Number or Badge Number
• Direct call back number
• and a back door number for future support calls (may not get this)

4. Document the call’s details including the time, date and length of call.

5. At the end of the call, even if the problem was resolved, get a service ticket number that references the call. You never know when the issue will happen again and if you do not have this information you’ll have to jump through all the tech support hoops again the next time.

You want to establish a relationship with the support technician. And unfortunately if you do not get their information they could “accidentally” end the call, or dismiss the issue all together and never create documentation of a support ticket. By getting their info they then know that if they do not provide you with great support or at least great documentation, you’ll have proof of who you were talking with.

Many support technicians, especially Tier 1 (the level 1 respondents you talk to when you first call for support), are hired by a third party company and aren’t actually part of the company you’re calling. It is common practice for large companies like dell to outsource their call centers to weed-out the small issues and they call this Tier 1 support. These people although nice people are not necessarily there for your best interest or the product your calling about.

So remember these few steps when dealing with technical support and you’ll not only have a better experience and support, but you’ll have a greater chance of actually solving your problem.

-HDCS

You have an antivirus and you make sure it’s up-to-date. You run Malwarebytes, Spybot and Adaware on your PC religiously. But there is a somewhat new type of attack that is impossible to detect using standard tools available. This threat is very real and unknown to most people and even most IT firms.

The threat is called a bot and it is like a virus that when installed on multiple computers throughout the world becomes what’s called a Botnet. Bot, which is short for robot and net, meaning there is a large network of infected machines running the robot, is a very real threat.

This threat, while dormant, is impossible to detect and will sit on your computer(s) awaiting orders. Hackers infect mainframes and entire networks within seconds, and they’re doing this right now. The only way to detect and remove a bot which has compromised a pc is to detect it while it’s being used by aforementioned hacker.
Here at HDCS, we highly recommend a tool called RUBotted by TrendMicro, which is available for download here. It is a very small installation of software that uses very little resources on your computer and will notify you when a bot has been detected.

What are the symptoms of being infected with a botnet?

When a botnet is in use by its maliciously intended developers will make your computer run slow and internet run even slower. The symptoms are very similar to being infected with spyware or viruses. There is a website you can visit as well that will notify you if it detects bot activity when you are experiencing these symptoms and doesn’t require an installation of any kind. You can visit that site here: BotnetChecker.com

When it comes to keeping your network secure of not only data sniffing viruses, it’s also important to keep it secure of malicious botnets. For a complete audit of your security and consultation, don’t hesitate to contact us.

When an employee leaves your office, it may be more than the red Swingline stapler that they take with them. The importance of securing data and changing passwords when any employee leaves, regardless of the circumstances, is often overlooked. Electronic data is easily saved or transferred to multiple locations without your knowledge. While they may have left on good terms, if they go on to start/join any kind of competitive business, your client list may be at risk.

It is an easy, but crucial, process to make sure your data remains yours. A 2009 study by the Poneman Institute found that 59 percent of all employees who quit or were laid off took confidential information with them.

We recommend these steps in the event of an employee leaving:

• Prevent their account access
-Change all applicable passwords
• Immediately review the account
-verify what files the employee had access to
-make sure that no files are changed or missing
• Save all necessary files
• Disable the account

This most importantly applies to hiring a new IT person or company. It’s unfortunate but, many IT persons will leave back-door’s and extra administrative accounts active on the server upon termination. When taking on a new IT role it is highly recommended to contact us to make sure you’re network and data is secure.

Not being able to connect to your wireless network at work or at your home office can be frustrating. There are a couple of different routes you can take to remedy this issue. We recommend getting a wireless repeater, which we can help you do; wireless repeaters amplify the signal received from your router so that the broadcast is stronger at a further distance. A repeater connects to your original router, and obtains a single IP address. This basically makes the router it connects to your ISP; you will then be operating in your own IP address space.

Another solution is to link two routers, effectively creating a repeater bridge. This solution is especially helpful when you want to link two rooms and can’t, or don’t want to, run cable between them. The bridge makes it so that any clients that are connected to the secondary router are treated as if they are connected to the primary one. Anyone connected to the secondary router does, however, share the wireless bandwidth between the two bridges which may result in a slightly slower connection. This can be avoided by using our first solution, the wireless repeater.

Is a wireless repeater secure?

Unfortunately, security is a very real concern with today’s web-based business world. You can rest assured; we at HDCS will take all the necessary precautions to safeguard your data. Check back soon and we’ll go over the benefits of setting up a firewall versus a store-bought router.

Contact us to determine which method is best for you and get started solving your connectivity issues.

With tech support costs upwards of $130.00 an hour with Henry Schein’s Dentrix phone support and an unruly annual support fee, finding answers to simple bug fixes can be difficult. With the release of newer operating systems and lack of seamless software integration there is little to no way to get out of making that expensive call. However, here at Help Desk Computer Services we want to share as much information as possible to get you up and running with little cost to you.

We have done several installations of Dentrix and more recently we have been fortunate enough to upgrade our customers to Windows 7. According to Dentrix online, Dentrix G4 is 100% supported and tested working with win 7 – but it’s not, really. We have encountered the same error, in multiple environments, that has an easy fix that we will share with you today.

PLEASE DO AT YOUR OWN RISK – WE ASSUME NO RESPONSABILITY FOR THE FOLLOWING STEPS – THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR REFERENCE ONLY!

DENTRIX G4 Productivity Pack 7 Setup (14.2.111.0 i3) Error:

DENTRIX G4 with Productivity Pack 6 has not been installed on this computer. This update is intended for use only with computers that already have DENTRIX G4 Productivity Pack 6 installed.
Please install DENTRIX G4 with Productivity Pack 6 before running this update.

When does this error occur?
When you install dentrix G4, the base application, and then run one of the modules, it will ask you to upgrade to the next productivity pack available on the server. The next available update is Productivity Pack 6(PP6) followed by 7, 7.1 and finally 7.2 (at the writing of this a Version 8 is available as well now).

Why does this error occur?
The error happens because the software thinks PP6 is not installed while doing the 7 update when, in fact, it is. Rebooting and re-installing does not work either.

How do I go about fixing the error?

Step 1. Navigate to where dentrix is installed on the PC, usually: C:\Program Files\Dentrix
Step 2. Rename the “TUTOR_G4.6″ folder in the Dentrix directory to: “temp” (without quotes)

Step 3. In the same directory of Dentrix, locate the executable file “EP.EXE” and run that
Step 4. Change the path of the database, from the proper location on the server, to the newly created temp file: C:\Program Files\Dentrix\temp

Step 5. Navigate back to the server data folder for dentrix and locate the installs directory and finish updating PP7, PP7.1, PP7.2 and PP8(if you have it)
Step 6. After every Productivity Pack has been installed, you may be required to restart your computer a few times, finally go back to the local dentrix directory: C:\Program Files\Dentrix and double click the EP.EXE program again. Change the database path to where it should be, \\serverpath\dentrix\data, and click okay.

You should have a fully functioning Dentrix install on your Windows 7 computer now
From all of us here who have spent hours resolving this, we hope it helps you out. If all else fails, contact us!
-HDCS

It’s no secret that the world’s natural resources are finite; that’s why we here at Helpdesk Computer Services have gone completely paperless in an effort to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint while maintaining our unmatched convenience and service.

Why go paperless?

Being cost-effective is a primary concern for any business. Office supplies can be costly, whether they are paperclips, staples or anything else your office uses daily; the ability to eliminate a large percentage of those costs can be extremely beneficial to any office of any size. Paper and Ink make up an overwhelming percentage of costs for a lot of businesses; according to HP.com printing 10 pages of strictly text with a small amount of color costs $5.24 on an inkjet printer. Some of that extra cost can be eliminated by making the step towards going paperless.
As well as saving money, going paperless will help reduce clutter. How often do you find yourself unable to get a handle on that stack of papers stashed away somewhere in your desk? Imagine the time and hassle you could save if you didn’t have to look for that one pesky piece of paperwork that keeps eluding you. The right scanner may be just the thing you need for your office space.

Choosing a document scanner

Many businesses, while transitioning to paperless operations, are finding it difficult to find a scanner that meets their needs. Whether you’re looking for a multi-function office copier/scanner/printer combo, or a desktop scanner that is full of features that make your job easier while remaining compact and easy to use — our professionals can help you find the right tool for the job.

A good desktop scanner provides the ability to optimize the time that you and your employees spend at work; it serves as an essential tool for offices that deal in high volumes of paperwork. Not only are they convenient, but they offer a wide variety of features including, but certainly not limited to:

• Preview your document immediately after scanning
- No need to wait until you get back to your computer, you’re already there!
- Make changes quickly and easily
• Change paper sizes easily
• Smaller File Size
- Hard drive space is a high commodity, why take up more space than you have to
• Higher Image Quality
- Whether you’re scanning a document or picture, desktop scanners provide superior resolution to the cheap multi-function alternatives

There are many options available, but we’ve found one that meets all of the basic needs of any office. The Fujjitsu Scansnap Scanner is an option that provides speed, quality, functionality and higher security without taking up any more space than a potted plant on your desk. Fujitsu offers a full line of desktop scanners; we at HDCS use the model that best fits our daily needs. Some of the benefits available with Scansnap Scanners include:

• Mac and PC solutions
• Small and lightweight size
- Changing desks or offices? No problem
• Scan up to 20 pages per minute
• Up to a 50-page capacity
- No more constant feeding and monitoring those large scan jobs
• Automatic Double-Side detection
- That 50-page capacity just became 100 pages of print
- No need to worry about changing settings or scanning blank pages

Bottom Line:

Whatever your needs, Helpdesk Computer Services can help find the right scanner for you. We offer a full range of other services; we make setting up, upgrading and supporting your office’s technological infrastructure effortless. Contact us today and let us help make your daily work easier and more enjoyable with our office solutions.

Many businesses do not secure their wireless internet, which makes their network vulnerable. We at Help Desk Computer Services can assist you in securing your wireless internet to protect your valuable network.

Without securing your wireless, you leave a hole that jeopardizes your company’s network and data security. Additionally, a secure network eliminates people from stealing bandwidth, which would slow down your own necessary internet usage. Most importantly, it blocks people from using your internet for illegal activities which could later be extremely harmful to your business.

What can HDCS do to help?
Our computer professionals will give you a free consultation to assess how we can best serve your company. There are a few options of how to secure your network, but HDCS knows how to set you up in the safest way that is hard to crack and to help you ensure that the security you use is industry standard. We also are experts on ensuring that you leave no unexpected holes. It is easy for non-computer professionals to accidentally leave security holes when setting up a firewall on their own.

What if I want my customers to be able to use the internet?
No problem. Our technicians can secure your main internet network and also set you up with a second, public wireless network for use by your customers in waiting rooms and lobbies. We will also ensure that you get the most affordable, practical and safe way to do this to best serve your company and your clients.

I want a secure network, but I trust my guests. Why have a second network?
Even if you can trust your guests, you can’t trust their computers. It is important to both have a secure network that just your employees use and then a second, separate network that your guests use. The biggest threat to a network is a breach of the physical layer of protection , and this is simply done by being on the premises and plugging into the network. Once this is done, any infected computer can rapidly spread through the network, infecting all of your other computers.

I don’t have wireless internet. Do I need it?
Bring your business up-to-date with the times with wireless internet. You will make your customers happy, as smartphones, laptops, tablets and iPads need this technology. HDCS professionals can easily set you up with wireless so it’s as secure and efficient as it can be.

Contact Help Desk Computer Services today for your free consultation. Call (727) 637-8200.

Java, an application engine designed by Oracle, is a robust platform that is used by many websites that offer interactivity across the web. Many business rely on web-based applications and often they utilize the features of Java. However web browsers, such as Google’s Chrome among others, all require you to download, install and manage a third party application for the use of Java. Often times as a technician we hear many questions, complaints and simple concerns about the safety and legitimacy of allowing the installation or more commonly the updating of Java.

Java updates their software to fix glitches and bugs that are found and more importantly to repair gaping security flaws or holes to their software. These updates are usually so seamless to user integration they often never see the benefit to updating and not updating. In fact most people don’t ever update Java out of fear.

Updating your Java application is very important, but they do try and trick you into installing other applications, and this can be annoying and frustrating; not only for you but for us as well. This is why we have decided to write a post about why to update Java, how to, and more importantly what to look out for during the installation process.

We have gone over why you want to update, and you certainly do. But:
how do I know I’m up-to-date?

When an update is ready, an orange icon with a cup of coffee in the middle will appear in the bottom right hand corner, next to the time clock, and prompt you that an update is available. If you don’t see the icon, or simply wish to check that you’re up to date, visit this site and it will test to verify you have the correct version of Java.

What to look out for during the installation?

Be aware that Java is an extreemly powerful application that has been developed, distrbuted and maintanined all for free. The software is what is referred to as Open Source, and because of that they rely heavily on advertisement funds. Often times though, they aren’t just advertising, they are trying to trick you into installing some vendor program on your PC that could annoy, slow down or even trick you into purchasing something that you can get for free elsewhere. This unwarrented installation is often overlooked during the installation process. View the following installation process of Java below:

Notice in Step 2 that you will want to uncheck the box for installing unwanted software. In each case the advertisement you see will not always be what the image in Step 2 shows. Sometimes they install nasty annoying toolbars, and sometimes like in this case they will try and trick you into installing McAfee virus/spyware removal tool.

These situations aren’t limited to Java and Java’s updates. I want you, my computer users, to understand that everything you accept, hit next or allow on your computer – you’re installing whatever you’re agreeing to. Just be aware of what is checked and set to install.

We’re here to help. If you ever have a suspicion or are confused about an installation – please don’t hesitate to contact us.

-HDCS