Technology is changing ever so rapidly and there has never been a better time to ensure the security of your data transmissions. In just about every business activity, data is sent or retrieved in some way or fashion to or from the cloud. For your typical end-user he or she has no idea how that information gets from point A to point B, all they know is that it gets there. There’s no problem with that but to have peace of mind and know that the data is being sent “securely” is extremely valuable.

Click this link to learn about how you can avoid downtime through a proactive approach to IT.

Many file transmission protocols still in use today such as FTP aren’t considered secured protocols and provide little security against the tools (and people) of today. While many devices such as MFD’s (Multifunctional Device/ Multifunctional Printer) still offer these protocols, they have been superseded by much more secure protocols such as SMB (Server Message Block) w/Kerberos or NTLMv2 authentication protocols. This ensures that data is encrypted, passwords are not sent in clear text, and will be more difficult to decipher. For data transmission into the public cloud you will still see use of FTP as SMB is typically reserved for transmission on private networks.

Wireless communication has also dramatically improved over the years to increase the security of your device. Past protocols such as WEP are still used to great extent these days but are vulnerable and easy to crack. Most MFD’s and printers sold by Advance offer WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) or higher encryption which offers a much more secure connection.

Many businesses are also using the scan to email feature on their MFD as a primary means of document distribution. Email security has also improved dramatically over the years which has helped mask passwords and encrypt messages. The majority of email domain hosts in the cloud require SSL to securely send SMTP transmissions. While this a very secure method of transmitting data via email, not all MFD’s were enabled with this protocol. Manufacturers have started to build in this support and most devices from Advance will allow you to take advantage of this security feature. If the device does not directly support these protocols there are add-on applications using JAVA which enable these encryption methods.

Regardless of what security technology presents itself next, rest assured that Advance is working with the manufacturers to provide the highest level of device security.