Yes, your color printer is spying on you

Or anything else you want traced back to you, or at least your printer.

"The Printer Did It"!

Art


ian lincoln wrote:

"SSW" wrote in message
...
moocho snippage


But David Skidmore, a spokesman at the Federal Reserve Board, said
that the technology, known as the Counterfeit Deterrence System, was
aimed mostly at personal computers and ink-jet printers - not the
high-end machines like DocuColor.


So don't go using your equipment for counterfeiting operations.

rick++ wrote:

All printers have charisteristic quirks which can be used in court
cases. Its similar to the days when metal fonts on each typewriter
was slightly different in shape and angle.

That's true, but these markings are more than something that can verify a
copy coming from a given printer, they're indications of which printer they
came from *regardless* of any prior knowledge. IOW, in the first scenario
someone would have to have both the printer and the page to make the
connection. In the latter scenario, the page reveals the machine all by
itself.

A *huge* difference.

Xerox's identifiers justs makes it easier.

They make possible what was not possible before. Specifically, taking any
printed page and discerning it's origin with no other evidence at all.
Before this "tag" implementation an abusive government or employer would
typically have to sift through hundreds or thousands of potential
dissidents to build a list of potential targets. And that list would be
imperfect because the document might have been printed at any time. Now,
the document itself pinpoints at least the machine it was printed on, and
the exact time. And most likely a very tiny list of targets as a result.

In essence, any of this sort of identification is forcing someone to sign
every document they print. It's a direct and indisputable assault against
privacy and anonymity, under the guise of "security". A punishment of the
whole for the actions of the minority. Akin to fitting each and every
citizen with an ankle bracelet because a few have proved themselves
deserving of electronic monitoring.

--
Hand crafted on October 20, 2005 at 11:42:13 -0400

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx

wrote:
On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 20:27:38 -0400, Impmon wrote:

Better solution: used printer or copy machines from anonymous source
like thrift shop,....
Let the original owner sweat while you make millions out of
counterfeit $20 bills.

Millions? Ok, one million would be 50.000 twenty dollar bills, and
if 'millions' means at leat two, then it would mean printing at least
100.000 twenty dollar bills. That would cost a fortune in yellow
ink!

Geo

Let the yellow run out then

1) save a fortune in yellow ink refills
2) no more yellow spy dots



Thanks to a previous poster for pointing out their
security work around )



How long are 100,000 bills going to take me to print?
I might have to get a few of these printers!

4Q

Jeffrey F. Bloss wrote:

Steve wrote:



"ian lincoln" wrote:


So don't go using your equipment for counterfeiting operations.


Or for printing political leaflets if you live in China or Saudi
Arabia or Zimbabwe, etc etc etc.



Or for whistleblowing on any employer who might have a blue light.

"Steve, can you explain why the letter with the details of how my secretary
and I used pension fund money to vacation in Aruba without my wife have the
same dot patterns as every spreadsheet you've printed in the last 2 years?"






DAT CAUSE FRANKIE CRANKIE WAS KEEPING UR WIFE BUZY

GET YOUR PRINTER A LAWYER

Mike T. wrote:

"ER" wrote in message
...


FROM NOW ON!

DO NOT REGISTER YOUR PRINTER WITH THE MANUFACTURER!!

ER




How will that help when the serial number is on each page printed? Yeah, it
might slow down the authorities tracking you, but when they find you, they'd
still have proof that YOUR printer was involved. -Dave

In article ws.net,
"Mike T." wrote:

"ER" wrote in message
...
FROM NOW ON!

DO NOT REGISTER YOUR PRINTER WITH THE MANUFACTURER!!

ER


How will that help when the serial number is on each page printed? Yeah, it
might slow down the authorities tracking you, but when they find you, they'd
still have proof that YOUR printer was involved. -Dave

If you don't register your printer with the manufacturer, how is the
government going to identify that serial number back to you? At most,
they can associate that serial number with a physical printer, but if no
one knows where the printer with that serial number is located, your
privacy is preserved.

"Jeffrey F. Bloss" wrote:
All printers have charisteristic quirks which can be used in court
cases. Its similar to the days when metal fonts on each typewriter
was slightly different in shape and angle.

That's true, but these markings are more than something that can verify a
copy coming from a given printer, they're indications of which printer they
came from *regardless* of any prior knowledge. IOW, in the first scenario
someone would have to have both the printer and the page to make the
connection. In the latter scenario, the page reveals the machine all by
itself.
A *huge* difference.

Yup. And it's pretty astounding that this government-industry
agreement apparently existed for a decade or more without ever
becoming public knowledge.



************************************************** *********************

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

....P.J. O'Rourke

Still not spying on you.

Arthur Entlich wrote:
The serial number and the date.

Art

Rod Speed wrote:

No it isnt, at most its recording what printer
a particular document was created on.

SSW wrote:

EFF reveals codes in Xerox printers

NEW YORK (AP) -- Just because a document from a color laser printer
doesn't carry your name doesn't mean no one can trace it back to
you, privacy advocates warn.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation says it has cracked the tracking
codes embedded in Xerox Corp.'s DocuColor color laser printers. Such
codes are just one way that manufacturers employ technology to help
governments fight currency counterfeiting.

"Underground democracy movements ... will always need the anonymity
of simple paper documents, but this technology makes it easier for
governments to find dissenters," said Lee Tien, EFF senior staff
attorney. "Even worse, it shows how the government and private
industry make backroom deals to weaken our privacy by compromising
everyday equipment like printers."

Researchers found patterns of yellow dots arranged in 15 by 8 grids
and printed repeatedly over every color page, said Seth Schoen, a
staff technologist at the San Francisco-based civil-liberties group.

The dots are visible only with a magnifying glass or under blue
light, which causes the yellow dots to appear black.

By analyzing test pages printed out by supporters worldwide and by
staffers at various FedEx Kinko's locations, researchers found that
some of the dots correspond to the printers' serial numbers. Other
dots refer to the date and time of the printing.

Xerox spokesman Bill McKee would not provide details about the
technology. He said the company "does not routinely share any
information about its customers," though it does respond to requests
from law enforcement...

The EFF is now studying other printers from well-known manufacturers
with similar tracking codes...

Adobe Systems Inc. has acknowledged quietly adding the government
software to its Photoshop software at the request of regulators and
international bankers.

But David Skidmore, a spokesman at the Federal Reserve Board, said
that the technology, known as the Counterfeit Deterrence System, was
aimed mostly at personal computers and ink-jet printers - not the
high-end machines like DocuColor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See pic at http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000663063763/

Shawn Hirn wrote:

How will that help when the serial number is on each page printed? Yeah,
it might slow down the authorities tracking you, but when they find you,
they'd
still have proof that YOUR printer was involved. -Dave

If you don't register your printer with the manufacturer, how is the
government going to identify that serial number back to you?

You might get away with not being identified by not sending in the reg card,
but if you believe a printer's serial number can't be at the very least
tracked to a specific retail location and general date/time of sale you're
mistaken. If "they" want you bad enough it may be as easy as reviewing
store security tapes, or interviewing employees.

And that's just for bottom end printer buyers. The people who can walk into
Wal*Mart or Office Max and leave with a cash sale "SOHO" or "Entry Level"
printer. There's a whole world of mid range to upper end equipment you
can't even touch without dealing with a company rep, and *usually* signing
a service contract.

At most,
they can associate that serial number with a physical printer, but if no
one knows where the printer with that serial number is located, your
privacy is preserved.

Your privacy is flatly breached every time you print a document because
you're being forced to essentially put a digital signature on it. And
without people who watch out for such things, you wouldn't even know about
it. It's surreptitious "RFID" for hard copy documents. Nothing more,
nothing less.

If you're OK with that, I'd like you to use this new operating system i
wrote, or this new "security" chip I want to install in your machine. Don't
worry about those little digital "tags" tacked to every packet of
information that leaves your computer, they're harmless... ;-)

--
Hand crafted on October 20, 2005 at 14:15:56 -0400

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx

Jeffrey F. Bloss wrote:
rick++ wrote:

All printers have charisteristic quirks which can be used in court
cases. Its similar to the days when metal fonts on each typewriter
was slightly different in shape and angle.

That's true, but these markings are more than something that can
verify a copy coming from a given printer, they're indications of
which printer they came from *regardless* of any prior knowledge.
IOW, in the first scenario someone would have to have both the
printer and the page to make the connection. In the latter scenario,
the page reveals the machine all by itself.

A *huge* difference.

Xerox's identifiers justs makes it easier.

They make possible what was not possible before. Specifically, taking
any printed page and discerning it's origin with no other evidence at
all. Before this "tag" implementation an abusive government or
employer would typically have to sift through hundreds or thousands
of potential dissidents to build a list of potential targets. And
that list would be imperfect because the document might have been
printed at any time. Now, the document itself pinpoints at least the
machine it was printed on, and the exact time. And most likely a very
tiny list of targets as a result.

In essence, any of this sort of identification is
forcing someone to sign every document they print.

Nope, not when a particular printer cant
be associated with a particular individual.

ALL the authoritys know is that all the documents came
from one particular printer and the date it was printed etc.

It's a direct and indisputable assault against
privacy and anonymity, under the guise of "security".

Just like countless other situations are, like ID for bank
accounts, cameras in ATMs, ID for license plates, etc etc etc.

A punishment of the whole for the actions of the minority.

Bull****. No 'punishment' at all for those who dont breach the law.

Akin to fitting each and every citizen with an ankle bracelet because
a few have proved themselves deserving of electronic monitoring.

Nothing like. Not even as intrusive as social security numbers.