Help Desk News and Updates: October 2005

Dabbs Computer has just now received our first large shipment of Lytec 2006 discs. We will need a few days to process them all and ship them out to our customers, but rest assured they should all be in the mail within a week.

We recommend waiting to install the software until mid- to late November. The reason for this is not our volume of installations, but rather for your benefit. As you know, when any new software package is released, there are often bugs in the system that need to be worked out. Though Lytec has been in "beta testing" for months, there is always the possibility that there are some flaws in the code that have not been discovered. Therefore, it may be to your advantage to wait a couple weeks before installing. This means you can opt not to be the guinea pig, and by the time you install there will probably be patches or workarounds for whatever issues have come up.

However, if you wish to install ASAP and cannot wait, just call us and let us know.

ONE OF THE HOTTEST TOPICS in the small business industry today is internet security. One reason is the complexity of the subject: there are many different facets to internet security and many ways for a single computer or an entire network to be compromised. Hackers, viruses, worms, and Spyware are constant threats that can decrease computer response time, reduce staff productivity, damage files, expose sensitive information, or even cripple your network. Here are just a few things that you need to do to protect your information.

• Use Strong Passwords, combine Upper and Lower Case letters as well as numbers as well as Symbols (*!@$#%^&) if supported while avoiding dictionary words (carz is better than cars)


• Antivirus Software that is Updated Regularly and renewed when necessary.


• Anti-Spyware Software such as Microsoft Anti-Spyware. Use Anti-Spyware Software just as you would your Anti-Virus, update and renew when necessary.


• Firewall (Hardware, NOT Software) such as a SonicWall Firewall. Some individuals will attest that a good software Firewall will suffice, and it will to some extent however Software Firewalls create more downtime due to setup and maintenance.

Just by adhering to these four basic principles of Internet Security, you can drastically reduce computer downtime resulting from Security Hacks.

Todd and Matthew

Hello everyone,

In an effort to better support our customers, we have been looking for a way to better way to post information concerning Lytec, HIPAA, Medicare changes, and other pertinent information to medical offices. Our solution was to create our own News Feed.

Now any employee can update our website when they need to alert you to any upcoming events in your industry. Just bookmark this page and come back to check for updates.

Regards,

Matthew