Windows Vista End Of Support
When you think of April 8, 2014, or July 14, 2015, do you twitch, remembering the impact they had on your practice? In case you don’t recall those dates, they reflect Microsoft’s end of life for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, respectively. For some, it was the impetus for swapping out most, if not all, of the computers in the office.
In 2017, another Microsoft operating system will similarly be laid to rest. Luckily, Windows Vista was not as widely adopted as Windows XP and should not have the same effects on most practices. Nevertheless, it does mean changes to the Dentrix system requirements. Windows Vista will officially see its days come to an end on April 11, 2017, when Microsoft will end extended support for the operating system. As a result of this change, Dentrix versions released after this update will no longer be supported on Windows Vista (or earlier operating systems).
In addition, there will also be changes to our electronic services eClaims, QuickBill and eCentral. We will no longer be able to process transactions that come from any unsupported operating systems because they cannot send data using the latest transport layer security (TLS) version of 1.2 or higher, but instead use older, less secure methods. What this also means is that we will no longer be able to process transactions coming from the base version of Windows Server 2008, which also uses older transfer protocols. Therefore, transactions for these electronic services in 2017 will need to come from a workstation running Windows 7 or higher, or from a server running Windows Server 2008 R2 or higher.
What to Expect
For customers using our electronic services and submitting data with outdated TLS, you will receive a communication outlining dates when those methods will no longer be available. With respect to Dentrix, the next major release will have a hard stop that prohibits the installation of Dentrix on any computer running an unsupported operating system or one that does not support TLS 1.2 or higher.
We Can Help
As with other hardware changes, our TechCentral team is here to help. You can contact us with any questions you have about new computers or other network hardware for your practice. To request a free network assessment to help your office to prepare for these upcoming changes, call 877.336.8796 or visit www.HSTechCentral.com/DentrixAssessment.
Author: Brad Royer, Dentrix Product Manager
Published: 03/31/2017
