Color Laser Printers Secretly Encode Information On Pages

[jyl]

I thought this was remarkably disturbing. Your color laser printer may secretly imprint its serial number and the date on every page it produces. I'll be interested to learn more about this, and buy a model that doesn't. I wonder if inkjets do this too?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801663.html

It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it isn't. The pages coming out of your color printer may contain hidden information that could be used to track you down if you ever cross the U.S. government.

Last year, an article in PC World magazine pointed out that printouts from many color laser printers contained yellow dots scattered across the page, viewable only with a special kind of flashlight. The article quoted a senior researcher at Xerox Corp. as saying the dots contain information useful to law-enforcement authorities, a secret digital "license tag" for tracking down criminals.

[snip]

Yesterday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco consumer privacy group, said it had cracked the code used in a widely used line of Xerox printers, an invisible bar code of sorts that contains the serial number of the printer as well as the date and time a document was printed.

With the Xerox printers, the information appears as a pattern of yellow dots, each only a millimeter wide and visible only with a magnifying glass and a blue light.

The EFF said it has identified similar coding on pages printed from nearly every major printer manufacturer, including Hewlett-Packard Co., though its team has so far cracked the codes for only one type of Xerox printer.

The U.S. Secret Service acknowledged yesterday that the markings, which are not visible to the human eye, are there, but it played down the use for invading privacy.

[snip]

It's unclear whether the yellow-dot codes have ever been used to make an arrest. And no one would say how long the codes have been in use. But Seth Schoen, the EFF technologist who led the organization's research, said he had seen the coding on documents produced by printers that were at least 10 years old.

"It seems like someone in the government has managed to have a lot of influence in printing technology," he said.

Xerox spokesman Bill McKee confirmed the existence of the hidden codes, but he said the company was simply assisting an agency that asked for help. McKee said the program was part of a cooperation with government agencies, competing manufacturers and a "consortium of banks," but would not provide further details. HP said in a statement that it is involved in anti-counterfeiting measures and supports the cooperation between the printer industry and those who are working to reduce counterfeiting.

[snip]

[sivaDseliM]

I read a long time ago that ALL manufacturers employ this capability and that it can not be disabled while allowing the printer to still function.

[greglepore]

I believe this is an attempt to make the printers difficult to use for things like creating bogus cashier's checks etc.

[Dan Mc Intyre]

Friggin Government.

Dan

[ErVikingo]

If you don't have anything to hide why hide it?

[RickM]

This has been done for a while. Watch out for your (larger) copier as well. FWIU it's done on those as well.

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by greglepore
I believe this is an attempt to make the printers difficult to use for things like creating bogus cashier's checks etc.

Lots of people still trying to use the higher end copiers for making funny money as well.

Not real excited at this news, but not real surprised either.

JoeA

[masraum]

Who cares. Yep, I've got a HP color laser printer. So what.

[Nathans_Dad]

Were you also remarkably disturbed that typewriters could be traced because of imperfections in the typeface and the way they strike the page? How about ink analysis to determine what type of pen was used to write a letter or when that letter was written? Not to mention handwriting analysis. This stuff has been going on for ages...nothing new.

[EdT82SC]

If you never register after you purchase your printer then they don't know who owns it still. It's not like there is a lojack like locator device in these printers. (There isn't, is there?)

[id10t]

EdT82SC - ever notice when your HP software prompts that there is a new version or update available? Your IP address, the time, etc. are all included in communications back to HP (or wherver).... AOL and other big ISPs will gladly pull dialup records, figure out who had that IP at that time, what their username is, billing address, etc.

[Vipergrün]

There appears to be eome printer "hacks" to disable the fingerprinting "feature" I'll have to find the link. We continue to whine about DNA and fingerprint databases. Heck, 'they' already have so much information on us it's sick. Everything from auto tune-ups at the dealer to sending in product warranty cards get's logged and goes some place. Just be good and you don't have much to worry about. I also wonder why folks black out their license plates when posting pics of their cars. Heck, your name and location is most likely in your profile or your sig.......whitepages.com baby!!!

[RickM]

Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Were you also remarkably disturbed that typewriters could be traced because of imperfections in the typeface and the way they strike the page? How about ink analysis to determine what type of pen was used to write a letter or when that letter was written? Not to mention handwriting analysis. This stuff has been going on for ages...nothing new.

Not quite the same. If DNA is extracted from a crime scene they can't look up who it is from the general (non recorde) population.

[84porsche]

I work for a color copier/printer dealer and have asked about this very issue but because I think it is interesting. I know the technology is used on the high end color printers but not necessarily on the regular color/black copiers. I am interested to see what kind of pattern or if a serial # is actually printed. And as far as ownership, all they have to do is find the location of the selling dealer. The equipment keeps quite a history and most equipment of this nature will need service and maintenance so unless you are technician their is no real way to hide out so to speak without some kind of traceability.

[id10t]

84porsche - its a series of yellow dots, sorta like braile or whatever. Very good (but heavy on the tinfoil hat brigade) discussion on slashdot.org about it. If you get there, flip the moderation to 4 or 5 to avoid the trollish junk...

[jyl]

I'm not thrilled about the government planting technology in products to keep track of us. Does my cellphone carrier have a log of where I was every hour of every day? Does my ISP have a log of what websites I visit and copies of the email I send and receive? Does my car keep records of how fast I drive? I'm sure the answer is or will be "yes". If I am lawabiding, does it matter? Depends how much you trust the government. In this War On Terror environment, couldn't another Joe McCarthy emerge, just as he did during the War On Communism? You speak out against a war or some other government policy, and suddenly you're under surveillance? Who here thinks that Rumsfield, Bush, Cheney et al give a whit about your privacy and civil rights?

[Vipergrün]

Originally posted by jyl
Who here thinks that Rumsfield, Bush, Cheney et al give a whit about your privacy and civil rights?

Kind of lame and OT, but I have been watching Commander In Chief. I know it's TV, but I think we are ready for a woman president. I think if you got rid of the balls, you'd get rid of a lot of problems.

[tabs]

OHHHH FK...there go my plans........

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by bb80sc
Kind of lame and OT, but I have been watching Commander In Chief. I know it's TV, but I think we are ready for a woman president. I think if you got rid of the balls, you'd get rid of a lot of problems.

A Gena Davis fan speaks...

[bryanthompson]

With exceptions to Dan Rather, they've been able to track where a doc was printed from for years, all the way back to typewriters. So it's a little easier now, big whoop?