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Business Owners: Five Tips for Protecting Your Privacy When Using a Photocopier

Photocopier machines, in many cases, store a copy of every single item that has ever been copied by that machine. Surprised by this fact, many business owners are wondering what they can do to ensure their details are safe when they use copy machines. To guide you, here are five tips:

1. Avoid using public copy machines

If you are transmitting delicate or personal information (of yours or a client's), do not use public copy machines. Avoid shops where you pay to send copies as well as libraries or other public venues. Instead, invest in a photocopy machine of your own for your business.

2. Look for a photocopier that doesn't store images

Contrary to misconceptions, not every type of photocopier stores images. When looking for photocopy machines for sale, look for ones that do not store images that have been faxed, scanned or copied on an internal hard drive or in the copier's random access memory.

Work with a company like Copyworld to learn more about the different types of photocopiers and what features they have.

3. Review data security features

If you find a photocopier for sale that meets all of your other needs but still stores images, you can make that work if the security features are adequate. For example, if the copier stores images on its RAM or hard drive, make sure those images are encrypted before they are saved.

The copier should also only store data temporarily. Ideally, it should wipe data after every transmission, and that function should happen automatically rather than being user initiated.

4. Restrict access

In most cases, for the so-called average person, finding data that is on a photocopier hard drive is difficult. However, a crafty programmer or savvy tech can easily find info on a photocopier.

If you don't have a photocopier that automatically erases all of its data, you need to ensure you restrict access to it. If it is online, do not have it connected to a public Wi-Fi system. For example, if you offer Wi-Fi to the patrons in your shop or restaurant but you also have a photocopier in the back office, that copier should be connected to a different network than your customers use.

Similarly, block physical access by keeping your copier in a room that only employees you trust can enter.

5. Scrub the hard drive before selling

If you decide to sell your photocopier, make sure to remove and destroy the hard drive or have a qualified photocopier technician scrub it for you. That way, your old copies cannot get into the wrong hands.


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