April 22, 2021 | Matt Gerchow You don't need to search for “fax places near me” when you need to send a fax. Instead of dropping by your library or local business store, you can turn your computer into a fax machine using your email account.Test Drive Our #1 Recommended Choice!Looking for “Fax Places Near Me”? (It's Your Computer)These days, most people don't have a fax machine at home. The last time you probably saw a fax machine was at a pharmacy, hospital, or legal firm. Because of advancements in technology, fax machines for the home have become a rarity: even fax machines that are combined with printers. Fortunately, you can easily turn your computer into a fax machine using your email accountWhat Tools Do You Need?To send a virtual fax, you will need to have a few tools. The most important tool to have is a subscription to a fax service that will assign you an online fax number you can use to send a virtual fax. Your digital fax number will create an end-to-end encrypted channel that you will use to send a digital fax to a fax machine. Other tools you need include:Active Gmail AccountSince most online fax services partner with Google, you will need to have an active Gmail account to have a virtual fax machine. The Gmail account you use can be your personal email or your business email. You will need to verify your email account when you sign up for your subscription service, so make sure you have the proper login information.Internet ConnectionTo send a virtual fax, you will also need to have a steady internet connection. Fortunately, the type of internet connection you use is flexible, so you can use Wi-Fi, a hotspot, a modem connection through an Ethernet cable, or even 4G or 5G internet signals to send virtual fax. The flexibility of your internet connection is one of the main reasons why digital fax is much more convenient than using a physical fax machine.Text DocumentsFinally, you will need to have text documents that are ready to be sent over virtual fax. Although many fax services will automatically convert text files into PDF format to make it easier to send your documents, it's generally a good idea to use text-only files, such as Microsoft Word, Google documents, or plain text HTML.Can You Use Other Devices to Send Virtual Fax?Other than your computer, you can use almost any device with access to the internet to send a virtual fax. For example, some people may prefer to use a smartphone or tablet to send a virtual fax since using a smart device is more convenient if you aren't at your home office. You may also be able to use your laptop to send a virtual fax.The reason you can use other devices to send a fax is that you can access your digital fax service in two ways. You can either use your email account to directly send a virtual fax, or you can use a web portal to send a digital fax from an internet application, such as Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Google Chrome.You don't need to drive around town to find a fax machine when the closest fax machine is your computer or even one of your smart devices. When you subscribe to a virtual fax service, you can send as many faxes as you want from anywhere as long as you have a reliable internet connection.Test Drive Our #1 Recommended Choice!Matt GerchowMatt Gerchow is an author, marketer, inventor, husband, father and yoga enthusiast. He enjoys travel to distant lands , fine wine, time with his family and dinner with friends.