The Importance of Software Updates for Dental Practices

The Importance of Software Updates for Dental Practices

You are capturing images of your patient’s teeth using your dental imaging software and a message suddenly pops up stating, “a software update is available”. This instantly interferes with your workflow, so you choose to click “cancel,” deciding to get to it later. Does this sound familiar? 

The longer you procrastinate, the more vulnerable you leave your system. Not only are they important to cyber security, but software updates provide numerous benefits that can help your system run optimally.

Updates Patch Security Flaws

Security flaws, also known as software vulnerabilities, are a hacker's specialty. Such vulnerabilities can be a security hole in your practice management software program. These security flaws can also be identified as a weakness found in an operating system, such as Microsoft Windows 11.  

Hackers take advantage of these weaknesses by writing code that is packaged into malware to target the vulnerability. Malware can affect one of your practice’s computers through viewing an infected website or opening a compromised email. Cybercriminals activate malware to steal data saved on your devices or to gain control over your network computers and encrypt files. 

Software updates include software patches that cover the security holes to keep malicious hackers out. 

Software Updates Protect Your Dental Practice Data

As a growing dental practice, you have substantial amounts of important documents on your devices, including patient data known as protected health information (PHI). PHI – from email addresses to social security numbers – is valuable information to cybercriminals. 

Cybercriminals can sell your patients’ information on the dark web, or they can use it to commit crimes – such as illegal online transactions, blackmail, and identity theft. As a dental health provider, you are responsible for protecting your patients’ information – ensuring it is safe and handled properly. 

Updates to your software and operating systems provide the protection needed to eliminate the risk of ransomware attacks and access to your valuable dental practice data. 

Updates Provide the Latest and Greatest

In addition to security fixes, software updates can add new features or improve existing features. Even though security is a top priority for many software manufactures, many of the updates they implement are to provide better compatibility with various devices such as a scanner or intraoral camera. Software updates are aimed at making the user experience better. While repeated pop-ups can be annoying, they could be the answer to boosting performance or providing stability within your software applications. 

Are you annoyed by repeated software update notifications? As an experienced dental IT managed service provider, Pact-One takes the frustration out of software updates. We provide IT maintenance that includes hardware and software management, monitoring, and upgrades. We handle the updates, so you can focus on your growing dental practice and patients. Contact us today to see how outsourcing your IT management can keep your practice secure and up to date. 


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