The viruses got me

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aerisdental
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The viruses got me

Post by aerisdental » Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:51 pm

I am in a second frustrating day of my "server" being locked up with spam. My IT guy wanted me to move from a peer-to-peer network to a server based network. I am fine with this. It would also help me with vixwin (I guess it doesn't work well in this environment). I am now faced with making a decision about a server.

I have had it with all the security software. My mac at home is fantastic and doesn't have a drop of security software. So the question is ... since the linux and mac is now operational, is it recommended that I start this transformation, or can I go with a Linux server and PC workstations. I know that Jordan does this, but is it practical for a less savy dentist to go with this scenario.

My main concern is the operation of Open Dental and my digital xrays from VixWin. Any help would be appreciated. If you can recommend specs and approximate prices it would help me from being over-sold.

Thanks,

Lan Allen
Lan Allen

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jordansparks
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Post by jordansparks » Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:20 pm

Sorry to hear about the viruses.

An entry level business grade server is in the $800 price range. If you get one with Linux preinstalled, and if your computer person sets it up, then I think it's doable. So I think it's worth it to do this for the server, but I would go slowly if moving to Linux or Mac on the workstations. You'll have your hands full for a few weeks with your new server anyway. Then, try Linux or Mac on one workstation to get used to it. I think you will have to keep running Windows on any workstation where you want to use VixWin, and this might mean all of them.

And, of course, I can't help but mention that we now have at least one Suni sensor perfectly functional pulling images directly into OD. And we plan on doing more sensors, including at least one for Linux. So we'll get there some day.
Jordan Sparks, DMD
http://www.opendental.com

aerisdental
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Post by aerisdental » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:37 pm

Thanks Jordan. I felt like that was the right solution. I wasn't sure that you could run 3 different OS's at once. So I think I will do the Linux server and then perhaps try a Mac on one workstation.

Lan
Lan Allen

cybertechcafe
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Linux + Windows

Post by cybertechcafe » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:41 am

I'd be happy to post more on this later (when I've got more coffee in me), but the short answer to the question about running a Linux server and Windows or Mac clients, it's absolutely do-able and works very well.

A couple of notes on the other points:

- Trouble with virii - The best approach here is a layered approach and to understand how virii are getting into your network. In most [recent] cases, the vector of attack is email. Once one computer on your network is compromised, if it's a network-aware bug, it'll spread like wildfire among throughout your LAN. If you run your own mailserver, install gateway antivirus software on it (if you're going to run Linux, a very good [and free] one is ClamAV). This will scan mail as it passes through your mail server and stop it there. The next step is to install good antivirus software on your workstations and make sure that they're updating on a regular basis. An easy way to do this is to deploy a network based antivirus solution that can be centrally controlled. We generally recommend AVG Anti-Virus (or, even better, AVG Anti-Malware) for this. Lastly, make sure that you've got antivirus installed on your fileserver.

- Trouble with SPAM - Unfortunately, SPAM is a fact of life and is likely to only get worse (until the SMTP protocol gets a serious facelift). The good news though is that, if you run your own mailserver, you do have some options. If you're running a Linux based mailserver, there are two very capable spam filtering engines with very (very) low false positive rates called SpamAssassin and dSPAM. Both are free and work well with most any *nix mailserver. You can also set them up as a filter in front of a non Unix / Linux mailserver.

- Wholesale switch to Linux on the desktop - I agree with Jordan here. You can deploy a Linux backend (server) for your Windows [and Mac] desktops with relatively few shocks to your users. Most will probably have no idea that they're using Linux. Rolling Linux out to the desktop will require a little more study though. One think that you may want to look into is whether or not you can run VixWin with Wine. If so, and if that's the only bump in your Windows to Linux road, the next step may be to roll out a single Linux desktop and have your people rotate through this and give you some feedback.

- Server Pricing - Jordan's right on the money here. A very capable starter server for Linux can be purchased for around $800. What I would recommend though, rather than getting Linux pre-installed, get the server without an OS and have someone install Linux specifically for your needs. You'll pay a little more up-front, but you'll get a server that's specifically suited for your needs. A good place to start your search would be with a Dell PowerEdge SC440 or SC1430.
The box said "Requires Windows 2000 or better", so I installed Linux.

tdong
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Post by tdong » Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:06 am

Convert to server is a good thing with more reliable hardware. However why don't you ask the IT where the virus coming from is it the web ? email ? Then you need to enforce security there by not allow employee to download and say yes to all the pop up while browsing the web.

cybertechcafe
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Post by cybertechcafe » Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:35 am

tdong wrote: Convert to server is a good thing with more reliable hardware. However why don't you ask the IT where the virus coming from is it the web ? email ? Then you need to enforce security there by not allow employee to download and say yes to all the pop up while browsing the web.
I agree but, if there's no server in place it's likely a safe bet that there will be no real way to a) find the original source of all of the problems or b) establish or enforce any real security policy on the computers. Additionally, depending on the setup (do they have a firewall, do they apply updates / security patches regularly, what antivirus do they use and is it up-to-date, do they use Internet Explorer as their web browser, etc.), the users may not be doing *anything* to get the virii and malware installed.
The box said "Requires Windows 2000 or better", so I installed Linux.

dsanders
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Post by dsanders » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:21 am

If you want to play around with Linux and Open Dental without having to install a new OS you may want to check out my Open Dental Virtual Machine.

http://www.vmcolonel.net/?p=3

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