Security and Safety

Can I plug other stuff into my transformer-based surge filter?

Please don’t. These surge filters are designed to protect one piece of equipment at a time. And, if you remove your copier or printer from its surge filter, it will violate the terms of your maintenance contract, making you responsible for the expense of repairing any damage caused by Dirty Power.

Why did the delivery technician plug my copier into that little box with all those outlets and cords?

That little box is a transformer-based surge filter, and it comes with your equipment when you choose a maintenance contract. Consider it your equipment’s new best friend.

Transformer-based surge filters protect your equipment’s sensitive microelectronics from “Dirty Power.” This condition is an everyday experience in today’s offices with so many electronic devices. Whenever you turn on lights, flip on the coffeepot, press start on the microwave, or turn down the air conditioning (for example), your power experiences temporary low voltage increases (spikes) and decreases (drop-outs). You may not notice them, but your electronics do.

This Dirty Power can cause unexplained system disruptions and crashes, scrambled data and shortened equipment life spans. It’s estimated that downtime and damages caused by Dirty Power can cost upwards of $26 billion a year. In a nutshell, Dirty Power could fry your copier if left unprotected.

Unlike surge protectors which are fine for one-time catastrophic events like lightning strikes, transformer-based surge filters use a “detect and correct” system to remove noise and convert Dirty Power into clean power. They give your equipment the protection it needs over several years’ use against Dirty Power.

Do your copiers have any options for using card readers or other authentication add-ons?

Yes, Konica Minolta has a variety of optional enhanced security accessories for both the black-and-white and color office systems.

  • The Biometic Authentication Unit scans veins in your finger to recognize the authorized user.
  • The HID Card Authentication Unit lets you use familiar HID proximity cards for fast, secure access to bizhub printing, copying, scanning and faxing.
  • The HID iClass Card Reader allows clients who use these card types to gain access to their office buildings to also be able to use those security cards for access to their bizhub system.
  • The Magnetic Stripe Card Reader has a 3-track bi-directional dual-sided reader design to read any magnetic stripe card regardless of which way the magnetic stripe is facing.

I've heard a lot in the new about copiers storing personal information on hard drives. Is my data safe?

It’s true that today’s digital copiers function much more like a computer with onboard operating systems, hard drives and memory. They also do store personal information such as an address book with email addresses and fax numbers; and your network settings, including IP address. Many have the option to store favorite documents to a user box for easy reprinting.

When you replace your old equipment, you need to ensure that your dealer is taking steps to erase your personal information from your system. Martin Group has a three-step cleansing process to restore the old equipment to “Factory New” settings . For more information, please download our information flier.

Can hackers get access to my network through my copier or printer?

Security features are built in to the Konica Minolta, Muratec and HP equipment that we sell.

Konica Minolta is industry-leading in its role in developing and implementing security technologies. Their systems are evaluated and certified to meet an extremely high security level, one that meets ISO 15408 (EAL3) criteria, the international standard for security. Standard security features prevent unauthorized access to data via the Internet and protect against cyber attacks. 

They also use encryption to protect data, including anything stored on your hard drive; and have audit logs to track usage and control access.

Martin Group recommends that your IT administrator include your multifunction copiers and printers in your company’s IT security policy.