Tuesday Tip: 3 Tips for Improving Security on Your Office Printers

Companies can spend a considerable amount of money protecting their information. That money can go towards everything from security guards to antivirus and document management software.

However, many businesses may overlook a potential vulnerability in their networks—their printers.

As printer technology has become more sophisticated, more information security issues have arisen. For instance, a hacker could access the files saved on a printer’s internal memory. If a printer is connected to an office’s network, someone could take the documents sent to it from different computers. A hacker could also waste your supplies with needless print jobs or lock up your devices.

Thankfully, you can take some simple steps to tighten up security on your printers. Here are some tips for protecting your devices and information.

Set Up Your Printer Password

Many recent printer models come with password protection. Setting one up will enable you to prevent unauthorized users from changing settings on your control panel.

Set User Restrictions

Newer printers and multifunction systems also allow you to set restrictions on who can use a device and which kinds of documents they can print.

Set Firewall to Block Outside Access

If you can connect to your printer over Wi-Fi, make sure that your network’s firewall is configured to block others from accessing it. A good number of newer printers support data encryption and have features such as Image Overwrite to ensure that your information won’t fall into the wrong hands.