Internet Fax Service Review

Internet fax is a relatively new way of communicating.  To this day there are still many businesses and individuals who rely on old fax machines to send and receive documents.

There are many advantages in using Internet fax services, yet many people don’t realize it because of lack of information.  In this article we will explore the most common questions people have regarding Internet faxing. So please, read on and if you have any additional question, don’t hesitate contacting us for further information.

What Is Internet Faxing?

Internet faxing (also called email fax or electronic faxing) is a way of sending and receiving faxes using your email and an Internet connection.

With an Internet fax service, this means that you can access your faxes and send documents from anywhere in the World as long as you have a computer and an Internet connection.  Some great Internet fax services include: Ringcentral Fax, MyFax and Save On Faxes among others.  These services are hired by paying a low monthly fee.

How Does Email Fax Works?

You use your email to send Internet faxes.  With each Internet fax service, you set up a toll-free or local number.  And with it you will be able to send and receive faxes.

You access Internet faxing using a Web dashboard or interface where you can find all the features of a service. You can also integrate a service with your software, using it with Microsoft Outlook, or even sending fax from any application (like Word or Acrobat) with the push of a button, without having to scan anything.

Your incoming faxes will be available for you anywhere.  This of course is extremely convenient for people who are constantly “on the road”.  Additionally some services offer notification to mobile devices, such as PDAs and cell phones.

How Do I Receive Incoming Faxes?

Fax documents your way will be received as an email attachment. Usually, the file format used by machines is TIFF, so you are likely to receive it as it, but you can have also the option of receiving it as a PDF or a JPG, among many other file formats.

To view these documents you’ll need an appropriate reader. These readers are available for free, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader and in Windows you have the option of installing additionally the Windows Fax Viewer.

Do Internet Fax Services Work With my ISP?

Yes.  All Internet fax services are suitable to work with any Internet service provider, whether the connection is DSL, ADSL, or IDSN.  As the service is managed online, it is as simple as using any Web page.

How Are Faxed Documents Tracked?

Each service has its own way of tracking the destination of faxes to check if they were successfully sent or not. The status of each document will be available in your online account, although you can opt for receiving email notifications of them.

Some services allow you also t o calculate the cost per fax. In the long term this can help you adjust your faxing to follow a plan more suitable for your type of business.

Is Internet Faxing Safe?

Well, yes, but you still have to take proper care of your faxes if you want 100% security.  You see, all services have secure transmissions of data with SSL and PGP encryption.  They also make sure they follow all the regulations and compliances when it comes to Internet security. However no system is infallible.

Documents will be stored in your online account, so if you have sensitive information in them, it will be a great idea to delete them after you send or read them. As you know, hackers can enter your account and take advantage of your information if you leave it there.  Even government sites are hacked nowadays, so  you’ll have to make sure you follow all the necessary steps to ensure security.

What Is Fax Broadcasting?

When we talk about fax broadcasting, we are talking about sending a document to multiple recipients at the same time.  Most Internet fax services include broadcasting in their list of benefits.  This is a feature that is mostly needed by businesses and organizations that have to send document to many contacts.  This is in turn a huge time saver for these entities.