Online security is a growing dilemma that needs to be discussed, especially when businesses are using internet-based communications to send across confidential documents, messages, or files. People tend to believe that their electronic devices are protected against viruses. However, there are many security threats out there, where documents people think are being securely and privately sent can easily be compromised.
As individuals and businesses tend to rely on emails, as well as faxes, it is important to acknowledge the different benefits each of these methods of communication have and to determine which of these—internet fax or email—is more secure for you to engage in.
Email Advantages:
- Emails are a fast and convenient form of communication.
- A lot of people use emails as they are easy to use and to send content.
- Emails can be sent to a single recipient to ensure that no one is privy to the information the email contains.
- Emails include a reliable system of logging in and entering a password.
- Firewalls and anti-malware are usually successful at protecting the computer from harmful intrusions/hackers.
Email Disadvantages:
- They are vulnerable to dangerous attachments, which can contain spyware or other malicious software to infect the recipients’ computers.
- Email accounts can be hacked and accessed by people other than the owner. This can lead to scams such as phishing.
- They cannot be used to send legally binding documents (in the same way faxes can).
- Unlike faxes, emails can get blocked or get sent straight to your spam, mostly when attachments are too large and named inappropriately.
Internet Fax Advantages:
- First-tier online fax providers such as FAX.PLUS store all faxed documents fully encrypted to protect and keep data that is being privately sent and received.
- Cloud-based fax can be used to send legally binding documents that comply with federal regulations.
- Internet faxes are not blocked, and they do not contain spam or viruses.
- Online fax utilize cloud phone systems to send messages, meaning that they are less likely to be intercepted and tampered with.
- It is a paperless solution that creates less of a hassle for you and that also reduces your carbon footprint.
Internet Fax Disadvantages:
- Internet faxes can be directed towards machines in a less private space within an office where other people can see.
What should you or your business use, internet fax or email?
As assessed with the advantages and risks that both email and internet fax offers, privacy and security are two crucial aspects that need to be considered when it comes to choosing a form of communication.
Emails get sent through servers, ISPs, firewalls, virus checks and even data harvesting bots. Consequently, they get stored, saved, copied, and forwarded multiple times without any form of encryption. Emails can very easily become intercepted and, as a result, important data can be read and downloaded by third parties. In addition to that, email data can be stolen.
On the other hand, faxes use Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), which is much more secure. A document that is faxed is converted into Base64 binary at its source and then sent through PSTN, and ultimately reassembled at the other end. Therefore, Internet fax should be prioritized when sending over confidential content, dealing with contracts, other private documents, and personal information.
Why choose FAX.PLUS?
- Swiss grade security & HIPAA compliance: At FAX.PLUS our top priority is the privacy and security of our customers' data and we do this through strict security controls, which allow us to comply with standards such as HIPAA, PCI and more. Also, being a Swiss company gives all our users' data protection of strict Swiss privacy laws.
- Integrations on different devices & platforms: FAX.PLUS has got you covered from sending and receiving faxes on your email to using your phone, tablet or laptop. You can even integrate FAX.PLUS with your multi-function printer.
- Data residency: FAX.PLUS allows you to specify where to reside data to meet and exceed your local data residency requirements. There are over 20 regions to choose from, which include the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, and many more. You can reside your faxes along with their backups in the same data center or different data centers.
- Flexible pricing: Not only do we offer flexible pricing that starts at free but we also provide different features and accounts that best meet your requirements.
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