Computer network??

[DocL]

Okay people, I need some help with adding a laptop to my existing network in my office.

I presently have a three computer network that runs on W98 and I want to be able to use my laptop as a terminal for entering patient data and pictures to my office software. Is it as easy as purchasing one of those wireless network routers and just plugging it into my main server and then getting a card for my laptop?? Also, my laptop has Win Xp installed so will it be compatible with my existing network?

I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars here, just a simple way to be able to have a printout reach the front desk before my patient does.

TIA

 

[Ojas]

You should already have an Ethernet hub for your existing network. If you want to connect your notebook to it wirelessly, you just need a Wireless Access Point and a Wireless PCMCIA card for your notebook.

Note: There are Wireless Access Points with built-in router (which cost more). You should not need this type (since you have an existing network with a hub) - just a plain Access Point will work fine.

I know D-Link (unfortunately what I have) has problems with using DHCP with their Access Point. I have heard LinkSys is better.

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by Ojas:

I know D-Link (unfortunately what I have) has problems with using DHCP with their Access Point. I have heard LinkSys is better.

I use a 3COM wireless setup throughout my house and it works very well.

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by Dr.Lane:
Okay people, I need some help with adding a laptop to my existing network in my office.

I presently have a three computer network that runs on W98 and I want to be able to use my laptop as a terminal for entering patient data and pictures to my office software. Is it as easy as purchasing one of those wireless network routers and just plugging it into my main server and then getting a card for my laptop?? Also, my laptop has Win Xp installed so will it be compatible with my existing network?

I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars here, just a simple way to be able to have a printout reach the front desk before my patient does.

TIA

If you are going wireless you should know that most wireless products do not have any security enabled by default. IOW, you are transmitting data - presumably private patient information - in the clear to anyone who cares to look at it. The technique, known as "war driving" (a play on the old hacker technique of war dialling looking for modem banks) involves driving around with a laptop, a special antenna, and some software, looking for un-secured wireless networks. At this point most wireless networks are unsecured. To be really secure (and especially with HIPAA coming down the pike) wireless data needs to be secured by a "tunnel". Most commonly this is done through a Virtual Private Network product - either hardware or software or both. Private me for more info - I can give you some links to get you started!



------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

 

[steveny]

I too am looking to go wireless. I just put a third floor on my house and I am going to move my office up there. Where is the best and least expensive place to purchase the linksys wireless system. I curently use the linksys hard wire system and I have been fairly happy with it.

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by steveny:
Where is the best and least expensive place to purchase the linksys wireless system.

You can try a utility called Best Price to search for this type of information. Or a site like shopping.com.
Staples carry the Linksys stuff and sometimes have rebates and whatnot. I generally don't shop for price I shop for quick delivery and service so CDW is usually my first choice - and our salesman does the best he can on prices.

------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

 

[queenlives]

hejo,

what 3com model do you use?

thx,
hal

 

[ilya]

I agree with Lemansnsx regarding wireless security. If you have confidential data I would not go that route yet. Why not just use a standard network connection like the rest of the desktops in your office? If anything, for out of office use, you could set up a dial-up connection into the office and all you would need is a modem on both ends. It's slower and you need a line where you are. Although wireless is a great convenience... transmitting patient data is a risk at this stage. It can also be a liability if that information ever does get out and company security is brought into question by a client or court.


[This message has been edited by ilya (edited 09 December 2001).]

 

[DocL]

Thanks for all the input, especially Andrew. Since I don't keep patient information such as medial histories and treatment notes on my network computers, I don't have too much security risk. The only information that is at risk is account balances and my daily schedule. Then again, everything is backed up daily on a tape drive so I think I'm okay.

Once again the resourcefullness of NSX owners has helped one of their own.

-Cheers

 

[KGP]

I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars here, just a simple way to be able to have a printout reach the front desk before my patient does.
[/B]

Aren't there some PDA/network solutions available specifically for your market to do just that? At least I was under that impression, and that they would e-mail the RX's to pharms within the database linked with the patients file.

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by KGP:
Aren't there some PDA/network solutions available specifically for your market to do just that? At least I was under that impression, and that they would e-mail the RX's to pharms within the database linked with the patients file.

Yes, there are PDA solutions, but that does not sound like what he was looking for - and there are still security issues...:0



------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

 

[DocL]

Originally posted by KGP:
Aren't there some PDA/network solutions available specifically for your market to do just that? At least I was under that impression, and that they would e-mail the RX's to pharms within the database linked with the patients file.

I already have the software to electronically submit insurance claims and prescriptions. I just want to have the convienence of allowing my assistants to access the netwoek chairside. I want to cut down on the amount of time that is wasted by having everything done at the front desk.

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by Dr.Lane:
I already have the software to electronically submit insurance claims and prescriptions. I just want to have the convienence of allowing my assistants to access the netwoek chairside. I want to cut down on the amount of time that is wasted by having everything done at the front desk.

I don't think that I would go wireless for this. Easier and cheaper to just run another cable - even if there are multiple chairs you're only talking ~$100/cable for a contractor to drop them. More reliable than wireless, no configuration to speak of, less security risk, etc.


------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

 

[akira3d]

My wife and I use a Linksys wireless access point with router (our Win98 laptop can roam and our main Win95 computers remain cabled) and had little difficulty setting it up.

I made sure to enable encryption right away and ONLY share temporary folders to facilitate making backups (only one of my machines has a CD-R), but I guarantee that this is not a secure setup by any means. I wouldn't risk sensitive data on a setup like this...but having all of my machines share a cable modem, especially the laptop computer (which has since been located on a different floor of my home than my wire-bound machines), has REALLY been a plus.

------------------
--akira3D
'00 Acura NSX-T (red/black), '97 Honda Civic HX (black), '01 Lexus IS300 (black/black)
"Reality is better than the dream..."

akira3d.com/nsx

 

[Electro]

If you are transferring large files or are performance oriented, then you can invest in an 100Mbit / full duplex switch (not hub) which will give you up to 200Megabits of network speed... that's not sustained, but it can burst up to those speeds depending on the switch's capability. I have wireless setup here at home, and use the WEP key (wireless encryption protocol) so its all secure... not to mention my wireless access point (WAP) is behind my firewall and is not transmiting anything other than encrypted nsxprime.com content

You can even go the big boy route and get a gigabit switch ... this is what I'll be doing in the next few months. The switches still have a bit of some price dropping to do, but the network cards themselves are about $69 for one card... and you dont have to use anything other than regular CAT5 ethernet cabling...

Hope this helps -Electro

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by Electro:
I have wireless setup here at home, and use the WEP key (wireless encryption protocol) so its all secure...

No, it isn't...

"WEP is Wide Open
The 802.11b standard includes a provision for encryption called WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). Depending on the manufacturer and the model of the NIC card and access point, there are two levels of WEP commonly available - one based on a 40-bit encryption key and 24-bit Initialization Vector (also called 64-bit encryption and generally considered insecure) and a 104-bit key plus the 24-bit IV (so called 128 bit encryption.) There has been a lot of "buzz" in the computer and technology press over the last several weeks about the basic insecurity of WEP. Recently, Scott Fluhrer, Istak Mantin and Adi Shamir published a paper titled "Weakness in the Key Scheduling Algorithm of RC4". This paper outlined a method for pulling up the master WEP key that would allow a hacker to pose as a legitimate user of the network."

------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

[This message has been edited by lemansnsx (edited 11 December 2001).]

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by akira3d:
I made sure to enable encryption right away and ONLY share temporary folders

See the following links for some tips on this:

Using NetBEUI for File and Printer Sharing

Steve Gibson's excellent article on "Network Bondage".

Securing Your Lan Q&A from Practically Networked.

Get yourself a personal firewall! A couple of them are even free so there is really no exuse:

ZoneAlarm
Tiny Software
CyberArmor from InfoExpress
and several others, some free, some not.




------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

[This message has been edited by lemansnsx (edited 11 December 2001).]

 

[Lud]

Relying on WEP security is like locking only the screen door on your house. Keys can be cracked in a matter of hours by passive monitoring.

If you want reasonable wireless security you need to implement a real security system like a VPN tunnel with good encryption.

If you aren't really concerned about security (which may be the case for many home users) then don't sweat it. Heck, I don't even lock my NSX when I park it downtown sometimes because I live in a low crime area. That doesn't mean it is secure, just that I think the risk is low.

[This message has been edited by Lud (edited 11 December 2001).]

 

[Electro]

Of course... I mean how secure do you really want your network? Its a question of how much time you're willing to put into it...

The most secure computer is the one that's buried in your back yard under 6 ft of concrete. But what good does that do you?

Like I always say: "Human ingenuity can not concoct a cipher that human ingenuity can not resolve" - E. A. Poe

-Electro

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by queenlives:

what 3com model do you use?

Sorry it's taken this long for me to respond as I was busy with work for a few days. Beside my son put all this stuff together and couldn't remember the models. It looks like we have the 3Com® AirConnect® 11 Mbps Wireless LAN Access Point, model 3CRWE747A. I think it's been replaced with the 3CRWE74796B model.

We also have a Pathbuilder S500 TunnelSwitch, SuperStack II Switch 3300 (3C16980) and a Officeconnect internet firewall. My son has all the security stuff enabled but I'm not that concerned since I don't do anything confidential over the wireless connection anyway. Also my property is big enough to where someone would have to be trespassing to get within the coverage area. Needless to say I have security which should keep someone attemping it and alerting the police if they do.

------------------
hejo

Lake Oswego, Oregon
95T Blk\Blk SportShift

 

[queenlives]

thanks, hejo... i've been vacillating about installing wireless for our house and your feedback is helpful. nice to have a kid around the house who is a jr propeller head, no? ;>) mine's away to school now so it's up to me to decide/install.

best,
hal

 

[SigEpUCI]

Windows XP has native support for encryptic outbound wireless traffic.

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by queenlives:

.. nice to have a kid around the house who is a jr propeller head, no? ;>) mine's away to school now so it's up to me to decide/install.

Mines off too and took my mod money with him to private school! Also kind of scary as he's the admin so I can't even get in to reconfig things. Thankfully we have battery backups on everything.

 

[lemansnsx]

Originally posted by SigEpUCI:
Windows XP has native support for encryptic outbound wireless traffic.

Windows and security don't really go together - no matter how much XP is supposed to improve things...
Microsoft deserve some credit for including wireless security and for adding radius and vpn support but just how secure XP is remains to be seen.



------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates