Secret Code in Color Printers Lets Government Track You

EFF ^ | 17 Oct 05 | Seth Schoen

[Trust but Verify]

So, FReepers, be careful of what you print.

I'm sure the SS will be all over that recipe for cream of mushroom soup I printed yesterday. Needless to say, I'm not worried.

[Sgt_Schultze]

Seems to me that you could avoid registering the warranty and remain anonymous.

[Yasotay]

If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you.

I bet you also think the government doesn't do anything illegal .... show me your papers comrade.

[NativeNewYorker]

If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you.

Between the various Supreme Court rulings which effectively eliminate private property, the Sarbanes-Oxley idiocy, and trial lawyer jackpot hunting, there is no way of knowing what a future black robed thug will decide is illegal.

[Kozak]

If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you.

Like printing handbills against say, a future Clinton admin? I'm always amazed at conservatives who think nothing of letting their freedom slip away.....

[RedCell]

Seems to me that you could avoid registering the warranty and remain anonymous.

Don't you ever watch Law & Order (the original)? Those guys could track down who bought the bubble gum stuck to the bottom of a desk... without DNA testing. I'm sure the same thing would apply with a piece of hardware [tinfoil hat on].

[Lazamataz]

Amazing, scary, and Orwellian.

It appears 1984 was not a warning, it was a training manual.

[coloradan]

If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you.

Please don't confuse the desire for privacy with attempts to conceal criminal behavior. Do you seal your letters? Would you object to cameras and microphones being installed in your house and car? If yes, do you have anything to hide?

Those printing money, drivers license, social security cards, false IDs etc. should worry a lot.....

And we can see how many times the government uses those dots to prosecute those crimes from all the newspaper reports of those people being busted. Right?

[Sir Gawain]

If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you.

That stupid comment should be banned from FR.

[pageonetoo]

...and don't use your gps enabled cellphone, nor your new gps equipped car, with dialup capabilities, and OnStar type stuff. Oh, yeah, the black boxes are to track crashes...

[GeorgiaDawg32]

"If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you."

by that logic, it's perfectly ok for police to enter your property and perform a search at any time without a warrant..after all, if you're not doing anything illegal, this shouldn't bother you.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I guess that like guns, it would be smart to buy them privately, with cash. As of yet, it is not illegal to buy printers without government knowledge. When Hillary makes it illegal, then we'll know for sure which way we are headed.

[Lazamataz]

If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you.

The battle-cry of the Hardened Statist.

I am doing nothing illegal, and I am bothered by this quite thoroughly. My only shock is that there are those who are not.

[LIConFem]

"I'm always amazed at conservatives who think nothing of letting their freedom slip away....."

Or applaud while it's happening.

[pageonetoo]

When thinking about government power, assume Hillary Clinton is president with Jame Carville running the FBI.

When thinking about government power, assume Hillary Clinton is president with Jame Carville Craig Livingstone running the FBI, and Bill Clinton as Atty General.

[Quick1]

If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you.
As well as anyone trying to print a dissenting newspaper during the next Clinton administration. Why are you so willing to give up your freedoms?

[Quick1]

That stupid comment should be banned from FR.

Agreed! That moronic comment is one of the few things that makes me really angry around here.

[vrwc0915]

I will send some deputies over later today to search your house, if you have done nothing wrong than nothing to worry about comrade

[Erik Latranyi]

We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer...

And Jello will leave a radioactive trail wherever you took a dump!

This is hogwash and useless as a law-enforcement tool. Just dispose of your printer after use and nothing can be proven.

[Quick1]

Needless to say, I'm not worried.

I guess you wouldn't mind if I read all your mail then, either? How about if I searched your house? Nothing to worry about, right?