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USPS fail

PigsDad said:
But almost all business documents are created electronically, so no need to scan, etc. -- just directly send it. Boom! Much faster. Honestly, I hadn't seen the business I recently retired from use a fax in 20 years.

Kurt
Click to expand...

I also don't believe many businesses still use fax machines but admittedly I've been out of the business world for a while
I settled a real estate transaction online in 2021 using only DocuSign
 
People come into the library yet to fax, as required by their insurance company or another business.
 
Brett said:
I also don't believe many businesses still use fax machines
Click to expand...

Every medical practice. Their fax machine is also the usual venue hackers use to break in and steal patient records. None of those machines use encrypted anything and are typically (and foolishly) wired into the office network.
 
CO skier said:
I recently completed a real estate transaction using DocuSign. Difficult to imagine anything "faster" than that. Certainly not my grandmother's dusty fax machine.
Click to expand...

PigsDad said:
But almost all business documents are created electronically, so no need to scan, etc. -- just directly send it. Boom! Much faster. Honestly, I hadn't seen the business I recently retired from use a fax in 20 years.

Kurt
Click to expand...
The use of fax has decreased significantly, but there is a lot more paperwork that moves around behind the scenes that what you may or may not sign during your real estate transaction. It would be fairly uncommon for the borrower to have a need to fax something in, but again there are business to business transfers of documents that still happens through fax. Not as much as 20 years ago, but fax still has to be supported for those few that do. There may or may not be a physical fax machine on the either end, as many documents received through fax are managed through software and automation.
 
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Patri said:
People come into the library yet to fax, as required by their insurance company or another business.
Click to expand...
? I looked and saw they offer fax but documents have to be in pdf or online. Does the library offer regular paper document fax ?
 
Yes.
 
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dioxide45 said:
Not everyone has a printer or scanner in their home anymore. Fax is still widely used in many businesses, even real estate transactions.
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If you have an iPhone, one of the options in the NOTES app is scan a document. Works great. I don't know about Androids, though.
 
A friend recently offered me some of his birthday cake.
I asked him to fax it to me, but he declined. Too messy.
.
 
¿Quasi?
 
Anyone who hates the USPS has never been to a country with a truly bad postal service. The USPS is the best of the best. No country enjoys a postal service as good as the USPS.

When diamond merchants move $10 million gems across the country, they use USPS registered mail.

I can mail a vinyl record from Hawaii to Puerto Rico for $4.05. And the chances it will arrive on time and in perfect condition are so close to 100%, they may as well be 100%

I've lived places where I had to watch clerks hand-cancel the stamp -- otherwise they would peel it off and resell it. Even in Europe, there are postal services that look at packages as "free stuff roulette."

We pay MUCH less and get far better service across more time zones and remote areas than anywhere else. Why? Veterans. The USPS employs veterans. Mission critical is a way of life.

I have no use for people who [defecate] on the USPS.
 
ScoopKona said:
Every medical practice. Their fax machine is also the usual venue hackers use to break in and steal patient records. None of those machines use encrypted anything and are typically (and foolishly) wired into the office network.
Click to expand...
The old (unattended receive) fax machines were phone-to-paper devices that were "air-gapped". Even today most use POTs dedicated fax lines. I suppose that some are connected to the office network through VOiP. But so are all the phones with voice mail.

I am unaware of fax machines that take a received graphic image, automatically convert it via OCR and then transmit it over the office network. Maybe they exist, but I'm a bit skeptical.

Can you help me fill in the possible gaps in my knowledge with specifics such as enabling hardware or software that could be a risk.

Fax is an old technology. No question there. But I have used it in the recent past to send stuff to my lawyer, close on a timeshare or two, etc. I prefer to use DocuScan, or print/scan/send or send graphic files.
 
ScoopKona said:
Anyone who hates the USPS has never been to a country with a truly bad postal service. The USPS is the best of the best. No country enjoys a postal service as good as the USPS.

When diamond merchants move $10 million gems across the country, they use USPS registered mail.

I can mail a vinyl record from Hawaii to Puerto Rico for $4.05. And the chances it will arrive on time and in perfect condition are so close to 100%, they may as well be 100%

I've lived places where I had to watch clerks hand-cancel the stamp -- otherwise they would peel it off and resell it. Even in Europe, there are postal services that look at packages as "free stuff roulette."

We pay MUCH less and get far better service across more time zones and remote areas than anywhere else. Why? Veterans. The USPS employs veterans. Mission critical is a way of life.

I have no use for people who [defecate] on the USPS.
Click to expand...

I don't hate or "defecate" on the USPS.
I use the USPS infrequently and recognize that it's partially funded by the US government
 
BJRSanDiego said:
The old (unattended receive) fax machines were phone-to-paper devices that were "air-gapped". Even today most use POTs dedicated fax lines. I suppose that some are connected to the office network through VOiP. But so are all the phones with voice mail.

I am unaware of fax machines that take a received graphic image, automatically convert it via OCR and then transmit it over the office network. Maybe they exist, but I'm a bit skeptical.

Can you help me fill in the possible gaps in my knowledge with specifics such as enabling hardware or software that could be a risk.

Fax is an old technology. No question there. But I have used it in the recent past to send stuff to my lawyer, close on a timeshare or two, etc. I prefer to use DocuScan, or print/scan/send or send graphic files.
Click to expand...

There are loads of all-in-one machines which are connected to the same network which has patient records. These aren't the fax machines of the 1980s. Doctors offices install the fax/printer/copier and then forget about it -- never updating software or plugging security leaks. It is very often the back door into the office network, thus patient records, thus "keys to the financial kingdom" information. Which is why it's such a popular hack.
 
dioxide45 said:
I am referring to business to business communications. Fax is faster than scanning, saving and emailing. Your purchase contract likely got to the loan officer via fax.
Click to expand...
Even ten years ago, there were business copier/scanner/fax machines into which you could enter a fax number or an email address as the destination. I think only the tiniest businesses use print-scan-save-email any more.
 
ScoopKona said:
Anyone who hates the USPS has never been to a country with a truly bad postal service. The USPS is the best of the best. No country enjoys a postal service as good as the USPS.

When diamond merchants move $10 million gems across the country, they use USPS registered mail.

I can mail a vinyl record from Hawaii to Puerto Rico for $4.05. And the chances it will arrive on time and in perfect condition are so close to 100%, they may as well be 100%

I've lived places where I had to watch clerks hand-cancel the stamp -- otherwise they would peel it off and resell it. Even in Europe, there are postal services that look at packages as "free stuff roulette."

We pay MUCH less and get far better service across more time zones and remote areas than anywhere else. Why? Veterans. The USPS employs veterans. Mission critical is a way of life.

I have no use for people who [defecate] on the USPS.
Click to expand...
Thank you ScoopKona for that most accurate description of the USPS. We deliver for you.
 
My experiences with the USPS have mostly been positive, at least where I live they have been very reliable. FedEx is usually the least reliable, i can't tell you the number times my shipments show as "out for delivery" only to be rescheduled to the next day, sometimes multiple days in a row...
 
Brett said:

Congress passes $50 Billion U.S. Postal Service relief bill​

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us...illion-postal-service-relief-bill-2022-03-08/


"The rise of the Internet and a requirement to set aside funds for future retiree health benefits led to chronic losses at USPS"
Click to expand...

This one slipped by me.

You realize they have to set aside 75 years of retirement funds per employee, as they are hired? That's insane. No company does that -- anywhere.

So, fine, a bail-out -- in order to fix a problem that was handed to them without any discussion. If FedEx or UPS had to fund 75 years of pensions, what do you think it would cost to mail a small package from Guam to Puerto Rico?
 
ScoopKona said:
This one slipped by me.

You realize they have to set aside 75 years of retirement funds per employee, as they are hired? That's insane. No company does that -- anywhere.

So, fine, a bail-out -- in order to fix a problem that was handed to them without any discussion. If FedEx or UPS had to fund 75 years of pensions, what do you think it would cost to mail a small package from Guam to Puerto Rico?
Click to expand...

I believe USPS financial problems are more than "retiree funding" but admittedly the financing of this quasi-government agency is complicated
Enjoy your low-cost USPS services --- others continue to throw out their physical junk mail ;)
 
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