[TriLUG] Fax vs. .pdf - calling all IT gurus

[Randy Barlow]

On 12/23/2014 11:38 AM, Tim Jowers wrote:
> Certainly one can argue the Fax is much less secure as the typical fax
> setup is an open office. If I were to rank security I would say:
> Least: Fax
> Medium: Emailed PDF

I wonder if the above ordering is correct. Neither way is very safe, but
the e-mail is likely to pass through more machines/organizations than
the fax. They are both subject to snooping, but the e-mail might offer
more chances for snooping (depending on its path). Either way, I'd
strongly suggest using neither of these methods to transmit private
information.

When I bought my house, they wanted me to e-mail a bunch of PDFs to them
that included private information. I negotiated using an SSL-protected
document exchange instead so that I could at least share this
information with some privacy, though this does mean you have to trust
the document exchange system as well of course.

> Decent: Emailed PDF with password (accountant uses this)

TIL, PDFs do use encryption for this!

> Best: online PDF requiring SSL login to access
> Most: online PDF with PDF password requiring SSL login to access

+1, though I would also clarify that the word "access" should include
writing as well (not just reading).

-- 
R

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 181 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://www.trilug.org/pipermail/trilug/attachments/20141223/7219b99c/attachment.pgp>