Review: Secret codes in printers may allow government tracking

AFP via PHYSORG.COM ^ | Tuesday, October 25, 2005 | AFP

[garyhope]

So, if they can track all my funny money, can they also track my crackpot letters to the NY Times too?

[traviskicks]

Libertarian Ping List, Freepatriot32 has been suspended until November 1st. Unfortunately, he has said he will not be coming back after that and is now posting at libertypost.org under his same screen name there if you want to contact him - he said he's starting a ping list there too. Hopefully he will change his mind and return. However, until then he has emailed me his updated ping list and I'll be runnning the Libertarian Ping list. I take the responsibility seriously and will try to do a good job. Please ping me on any new Libertarian stories! -Travis Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.

[supercat]

If the details of the code are published, I would think it might be interesting if some hacker found out the serial number of a politician's printer and made use of that information.

[jim-x]

I've wondered if the US hasn't done the same thing with Microsoft's Windows software.

Actually, there is this little item called a GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) used liberally throughout Windows. They are generated on the fly and are supposedly unique to a computer because one of the pieces of data used to create it is the computer's hardware MAC address (i.e., a unique identifier for your ethernet card). Not sure what it uses if there is no ethernet card...

These GUIDs are also passed around between systems, applications, clients, servers, etc., and have (again supposedly) been used to track down a few hackers and virus writers.

[Rob_DSM]

Thanks for taking over. Why was he suspended?

[Fido969]

I think you're righth. IF the contrast is high enough, they may create a dot pattern on the faxed document - but even then you'd have to sort that out of the background dirt.

[traviskicks]

Id ask him when he gets back. I dont really know the details.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Glad you were willing to take over. Freepatriot32 was pretty dilligent about keeping the threads coming. i've seen you on forum, you should be an adequate replacement. Best to you.

CDL

[SAJ]

Swap out your colour cartridge for a black one, and -- No, they can't.

You can reinsert your colour cartridge later.

[SAJ]

Possible, but you'd have to reprogramme the printer's firmware. Depending on the model, this is certainly possible, but is likely completely impractical. An intimate knowledge of, at minimum, the character generation algorithm would be required, as well as the firmware's API.

Possible. Not impossible. Not bloody likely.

[nygoose]

If you pay cash for the printer and don't register it with the manufacturer, do you figure the software can contact the manufacturer anyway in order to give them your internet address and computer serial number?

[SAJ]

MACaddys become irrelevant on a non-networked computer, even non-existent (if one considers the onboard NI to be a 'card', a MACaddress or the equivalent does exist, even if the box isn't attached to a net. To disable this address, though, is child's play. To erase it entirely is a bit more difficult...but not much (g!)).

So, create your (poison-pen letter, scandalous commentary, deliberate and well-deserved insults, whatever) on an old box (c. 1998, running Win95 or even DOS), then send it via 8-bit faxmodem, and tell the PC police to go whistle. Graphics are difficult w/this schema, but doable if you're quite dedicated.

Oh, yes, almost forgot. Route the transmission through a blind turnaround circuit (bit of hardware you can attach to any Western Electric deskset) at some other address, and you've no worries.

[SAJ]

Good question. Point is that you don't know...so why guess, eh? Acquire an old legacy system and see my previous post. Lose the colour cartridge or ribbon, if you have one installed, in favour of all black (any potential ID dots will show up straightaway on your printout (you DO print things out before transmission, yes?), and you can clip these off or white these out.

Mark you, I've no interest in counterfeiting at all, merely in occasionally neatly gutting political filth using that well-known filet knife, the printed word. Nor have I any attention of getting any grief from said filth about doing so.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

So, if they can track all my funny money, can they also track my crackpot letters to the NY Times too?

They're on their way to your door right now. Better get dressed. You don't want to do the perp walk in your underwear.

[garyhope]

ROFL. I knew they were watching me.

Actually I'm wearing some new, rather stylish tinfoil PJ's and I'm watching the market online.