Internet Faxing Online

Perhaps, one of the most asked questions about Internet or
online fax is this: how secure is online faxing? Is using
your computer and your Internet connection a safe way to
send and receive your sensitive faxes?

Actually, if you fully investigate the matter, online faxing
is much more secure than regular faxing from the old traditional
fax machine in the office. There are many reasons why this is so,
but the main one has to do with encryption. You can encrypt your
faxes so that only you and the receiver can view them. No one else
will see your sensitive faxes.

Many Internet Fax Providers use SSL and PGP encryption.
Most, if not all email service providers are compliant
with such privacy regulations as Gramm-Leach-Bliley & HIPAA
in the United States and PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection
and Electronic Documents Act) in Canada.

Compared to the old traditional fax machine in the office
where many prying eyes can view your faxes, online faxing
is much more secure. Furthermore, you can securely store your
faxes in your online account, although it is probably a good
business practice to delete any sensitive faxes once you have
read them if you want to keep them totally secret.

Keep in mind, most computer systems (no matter how secure)
may be cracked by any determined individuals who wish to do
us harm. So like any sensitive files you have on your computer,
it is probably wise to store your faxes securely by using an
encryption program or by using other means to make them u
navailable to the surfing public.

If security is of a great concern to you, always check out
any Internet Fax Service Provider before you sign up to discover
what encryption measures they take to protect your privacy.
Make sure any fax service you obtain does meet any privacy
issues that you may have. Since your chosen fax service will
act as an intermediary on your behalf to handle all your faxing,
do you due diligence and thoroughly check out any company
before signing on the dotted line. Make sure there hasn’t
been any major privacy/security issues with past customers
or users.

Again, since we are talking about using your computer and
sending your faxes in emails as attachments, you must make
sure both aspects or components are secure. Fortunately,
computers are becoming much more secure and there are numerous
programs you can use to encrypt your data. Likewise, email also
has become more secure as web users have become cautious about
using email for sending sensitive information and have taken
steps to address this problem.

With a good high quality online fax service, the security
of your faxes should not be a major concern. Just take some
simple steps to ensure your faxes are quickly deleted and/or
stored in encrypted form, both on your computer and in your
online fax account. Always remember, an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure, just make sure your faxes are handled
securely from the get-go and you shouldn’t have any problems.

…

For more information on Internet Fax Services use this
handy online Comparison Guide to learn more about: online faxing
Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing
try here: internet fax services.
Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2009. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Online or Internet fax has become an extremely popular
service on the web. It is being used by more and more
businesses and individuals who want a more mobile and
a more secure way of faxing. Yet, many people still don’t
know exactly how online faxing actually works.

Like anything that is relatively new, it will probably take
a while before this convenient service is widely known
in the general population. Perhaps, the greatest stumbling
block is that most people are so familiar with faxing via
the old facsimile machine in the office; getting their
heads around using the web for faxing will take some
time.

However, just like email revolutionized how we send and
receive our mail, so too has online fax revolutionized how
we send and receive our faxes. Internet faxing is simply
the more modern way to fax.

Actually, these two new communication methods are closely
intertwined since online fax is basically using your email
system and your Internet connection to do all your faxing.
You send and receive your faxes as email attachments
usually in TIFF or PDF format.

Remember, in order to use online fax you have to sign-up
to an Internet fax service provider who will act as your
intermediary to handle all your faxing. You will receive
a local or Toll-Free number which you can give out to
all your contacts. There is no need for an extra fax phone
line. You will also receive an online site (account) where
you can logon and do your faxing. Your faxes are also stored
in this online account.

However, what confuses many people is the fact that you
can send/receive your online faxes in many different ways
including through the old traditional office machine. Your
fax service will act as your intermediary to intercept
your faxes coming from an ordinary fax machine and
direct them to your online fax account.

You can also get desktop applications which will allow
you to directly fax from your desktop. Most services will
work with Windows Outlook and Windows Office. Finally, most
services will let you send a fax by just sending an email,
i.e. destination number(at)yourfaxservice.com - It doesn’t
get any easier than this.

Each fax service has slightly different procedures
and methods so you have to become familiar with your
chosen service. Also, each service will have different
faxing rates and monthly fees, but most charge around
$10 a month. There are less expensive services out there
so it pays to shop around, especially when you consider
this is a long term ongoing business expense.

The main reason why email or online faxing has become
so popular is the total freedom it gives you. Since it
is web based, you can send and receive a fax anywhere,
anytime, as long as you have Internet access. You can
use any mobile device such as a cell phone or laptop to
do all your faxing. It totally frees you from being tied
down to the old fax machine in the office.

Plus, your faxes can be encrypted so it is much more
secure than the traditional way of faxing. And no one
but you has to see your faxes since you have your
own private access to your account. This is important
if you have faxes of a sensitive nature which you want
to keep private.

Lastly, another major reason online fax has become so
popular, most faxing services are completely scalable
for businesses. You can upsize or downsize depending
on your company’s requirements or needs. In this uncertain
economy, having this flexibility is a major plus.

If you’re not using an online fax service you may just
be losing out on one of the most convenient ways of doing
business. You really do need it if your business depends
heavily on faxing for bringing in new sales and clients;
besides you may be falling behind your competition who are
probably already using this new more mobile way of faxing.
Can you afford not to use Internet fax?

It’s your call?

…

For more information on Internet Fax Services use this
handy online Comparison Guide to get your own: online fax
Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing
try here: internet fax services.
Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2009. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Online fax is using your email system and your Internet
connection to send and receive your faxes. It directly
connects all your faxing chores and requirements to
your computer and the web. Online fax totally modernizes
all your faxing by bringing it solidly into the computer
age.

Since it is web based, you can access your faxes wherever
you have Internet access and these days that’s just about
everywhere on the planet. It completely liberates you from
the old fax machine since you’re no longer tied down to just
receiving and sending your faxes from the office. With
Internet fax all your faxing is totally mobile; you can
send and receive your faxes on cell phones, PDAs, laptops…
or any portable device with an Internet connection.

If your business heavily depends upon faxing for sales orders,
customer and employee communications… then it is very easy to
understand why having a completely mobile faxing system will
make your company more competitive. It will increase your sales
and make your business much more productive, especially if
faxing is one of your most widely used marketing tools.

Just imagine, no more lost sales or customers because of busy
signals, paper jams or because no one was in the office to catch
that timely fax that needed your immediate attention. Not to mention,
how important online faxing will benefit your business if you
have traveling sales staff or workers operating in the field
where fast communication is essential to the smooth running of
your business.

Plus, you have to add in the fact that online faxing is much
more secure than regular faxing since your faxes can be
encrypted and no one has to see them but you. You can also
securely store your faxes for later retrieval - even months
after you received them.

Online fax will make your company more competitive and keep
it competitive in this dog-eat-dog business world. This has
even greater significance when you consider today’s harsh
economic climate; every company or business needs every little
advantage it can muster. Internet faxing will give your business
that competitive edge and it can even take your company to
the next level.

How?

Most of the online fax service providers have corporate
faxing plans and are completely scalable for any business.
You can scale up your faxing numbers/lines as your business
requires it. You can easily tool up or tool down depending
on how your business is going. You can also do fax broadcasting,
where hundreds or even thousands of faxes are sent out to your
clients simultaneously.

In order to use web or email fax, you have to first sign-up
to an online fax service which will give you a local or Toll-Free
fax number which you can send out to all your contacts. You
are also given an online site (interface) where you can
access your faxes. You can simply login to send or receive
your faxes. You can also store your faxes in this online account.
Your faxes are sent thru your email as an attachment, usually
in TIFF or PDF format.

Fax services usually charge around 10 dollars a month, but each
company has slightly different faxing plans and prices so it pays to
do your homework since you can save significant money over
the long haul. Remember, this is an ongoing business expense
so shop around and find the best program to perfectly match
your own faxing requirements.

One factor you have to always keep in mind, even if you’re not
using Internet fax, your competitors are probably already using it.
Can you really afford to give them this competitive advantage
over your business? Can you really afford not to use online
fax is the question you have to be asking?

It’s your call.

…

For more information on Internet Fax Services use this
handy online Comparison Guide to get your own: online fax service
Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing
try here: internet fax services.
Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2009. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached.