diff --git a/client/components/events.js b/client/components/events.js
index 49b68604..8c4b8573 100644
--- a/client/components/events.js
+++ b/client/components/events.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 // cheap event system that handle subscription, unsubscriptions and event emitions
 import React from "react";
+import { randomString } from "../helpers/";
 const emitters = {};
 
 function subscribe(key, event, fn) {
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ function emit(event, payload) {
 }
 
 export function EventReceiver(WrappedComponent) {
-    const id = Math.random().toString();
+    const id = randomString();
 
     return class extends React.Component {
         subscribe(event, callback) {
diff --git a/client/pages/adminpage/settings.js b/client/pages/adminpage/settings.js
index 71e01d07..c19c6049 100644
--- a/client/pages/adminpage/settings.js
+++ b/client/pages/adminpage/settings.js
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export function SettingsPage({ isSaving = nop }) {
     const onChange = (_form) => {
         _form.connections = window.CONFIG.connections;
         delete _form.constant;
-        refresh(Math.random());
+        refresh(Date.now());
         isSaving(true);
         Config.save(_form, true, () => {
             isSaving(false);
diff --git a/client/pages/filespage.helper.js b/client/pages/filespage.helper.js
index c4a81030..2cc8dfab 100644
--- a/client/pages/filespage.helper.js
+++ b/client/pages/filespage.helper.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Files } from "../model/";
-import { notify, upload } from "../helpers/";
+import { notify, upload, randomString } from "../helpers/";
 import Path from "path";
 import { Observable } from "rxjs/Observable";
 import { t } from "../locales/";
@@ -180,16 +180,6 @@ export const onUpload = function(path, e) {
 
     extractFiles.then((files) => upload.add(path, files));
 
-    // adapted from: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/105034/create-guid-uuid-in-javascript
-    function _rand_id() {
-        function s4() {
-            return Math.floor((1 + Math.random()) * 0x10000)
-                .toString(16)
-                .substring(1);
-        }
-        return s4() + s4() + s4() + s4();
-    }
-
     function extract_upload_directory_the_way_that_works_but_non_official(items, files = []) {
         const traverseDirectory = (item, _files, parent_id) => {
             const file = {
@@ -210,7 +200,7 @@ export const onUpload = function(path, e) {
             } else if (item.isDirectory) {
                 file.type = "directory";
                 file.path += "/";
-                file._id = _rand_id();
+                file._id = randomString();
                 if (parent_id) file._prior = parent_id;
                 _files.push(file);
 
diff --git a/client/pages/sharepage.js b/client/pages/sharepage.js
index 98aed8b5..54c2a2cd 100644
--- a/client/pages/sharepage.js
+++ b/client/pages/sharepage.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import React, { createRef } from "react";
 import { Redirect } from "react-router";
 
 import { Share } from "../model/";
-import { notify, basename, filetype, findParams } from "../helpers/";
+import { notify, basename, filetype, findParams, randomString } from "../helpers/";
 import { Loader, Input, Button, Container, ErrorPage, Icon } from "../components/";
 import { t } from "../locales/";
 import "./error.scss";
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ export class SharePageComponent extends React.Component {
             };
         };
 
-        const className = this.state.error ? `error rand-${Math.random().toString()}` : "";
+        const className = this.state.error ? `error rand-${randomString()}` : "";
 
         if (this.state.path !== null) {
             if (!!findParams("next")) {
diff --git a/client/pages/viewerpage/ide.js b/client/pages/viewerpage/ide.js
index 19c11046..ba1dd9e5 100644
--- a/client/pages/viewerpage/ide.js
+++ b/client/pages/viewerpage/ide.js
@@ -97,11 +97,11 @@ class IDEComponent extends React.Component {
     download() {
         document.cookie = "download=yes; path=/; max-age=120;";
         this.setState({
-            random: Math.random(),
+            refresh: Date.now(),
             id: window.setInterval(() => {
                 if (/download=yes/.test(document.cookie) === false) {
                     window.clearInterval(this.state.id);
-                    this.setState({ random: Math.random() });
+                    this.setState({ refresh: Date.now() });
                 }
             }, 100),
         });
diff --git a/client/pages/viewerpage/imageviewer.js b/client/pages/viewerpage/imageviewer.js
index 500ead13..ab0e2895 100644
--- a/client/pages/viewerpage/imageviewer.js
+++ b/client/pages/viewerpage/imageviewer.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import ReactCSSTransitionGroup from "react-addons-css-transition-group";
 
 import { MenuBar } from "./menubar";
 import { Bundle, Icon, NgIf, Loader, EventEmitter, EventReceiver } from "../../components/";
-import { alert } from "../../helpers/";
+import { alert, randomString } from "../../helpers/";
 import { Pager } from "./pager";
 import { t } from "../../locales/";
 import "./imageviewer.scss";
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ export class ImageViewerComponent extends React.Component {
             if (e.keyCode === 27) this.setState({ show_exif: false });
             else if (e.keyCode === 73) this.setState({ show_exif: !this.state.show_exif });
         };
-        this.refresh = () => this.setState({ "_": Math.random() });
+        this.refresh = () => this.setState({ "_": randomString() });
         this.$container = createRef();
     }
 
diff --git a/client/pages/viewerpage/org_viewer.js b/client/pages/viewerpage/org_viewer.js
index 8f49c6d6..9c285092 100644
--- a/client/pages/viewerpage/org_viewer.js
+++ b/client/pages/viewerpage/org_viewer.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { StickyContainer, Sticky } from "react-sticky";
 import { Modal, NgIf, Icon, Dropdown, DropdownButton, DropdownList, DropdownItem } from "../../components/";
 import { extractEvents, extractTodos } from "../../helpers/org";
 import { leftPad } from "../../helpers/common";
-import { debounce } from "../../helpers/";
+import { debounce, randomString } from "../../helpers/";
 import { t } from "../../locales/";
 import "./org_viewer.scss";
 
@@ -53,9 +53,7 @@ class OrgViewer extends React.Component {
             search: "",
             _: null,
         };
-        this.rerender = () => {
-            this.setState({ _: Math.random() });
-        };
+        this.rerender = () => this.setState({ _: randomString() });
         this.findResults = debounce(this.findResults.bind(this), 150);
     }