
Printers Which Do or Do Not Display Tracking Dots - 8_hours_ago
https://www.eff.org/pages/list-printers-which-do-or-do-not-display-tracking-dots
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throwawayexleo
These identification dots have been around at least 15 years. Working in a LEO
in 1999, I was aware both laser and inkjet printers were traceable then (not
just color). For serious enough cases (drugs mostly at that time, the
terrorism stuff was strictly post 2001) prints could be sent for technical
analysis (probably via 3 letter agency) and details came back (within 24 hours
if it was serious enough).

No-one seems to have picked up on the more concerning fact that nowadays with
internet connected everything, your printer driver can quite easily report in
the printer details via your connection (that friendly, 'do you want me to
check for updates?' or 'live ink/toner status' tool can do more than what they
say and if it's a net connected printer itself, it can do it directly). So
now, an IP/location/ISP bill payer can be identified with the printer (even
over time if you sell it on). Much better tracking than before when it relied
on you filling in and sending off that 'warranty registration' card.

Better hope you've got details of who you sold the printer to if it happens
that Craigslist John Doe has some other use in mind other than printing
vacation photos.

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userbinator
It seems there could be a demand for open-source printer firmware... but I'm
not aware of any projects. There are some efforts to get around cartridge DRM
though, but they tend to be relatively small. I suppose one problem could be
the massive number of different models out there, although from what I've seen
a lot of models are based on the same mechanics and processor platforms.

On the other hand, completely open-source _3D printers_ seem to be a lot more
prominent and successful.

~~~
SwellJoe
Oddly enough, the original inspiration for GNU was a proprietary printer
control program that upset RMS enough that he decided to start a revolution.

You'd think somebody would be working on that. Printers are so evil, in
general, that I try very, very, very, hard to avoid them entirely. I've been
known to take a picture of my signature and edit it in GIMP and paste it into
a document in order to avoid using a printer to print/sign something.

~~~
psykovsky
I do work for a record label where artists sometimes do stuff like that, take
a photo of their signature and use Paint to add it to the contracts. The guys
at the office get mad. They want them to print it, sign it, scan it and send
it back. Oh, well...

~~~
literalusername
Any intentional mark is a legally valid signature. It doesn't matter what tool
is used to make the mark, be it a computer, a muddy twig, or anything else.
The established legality of electronic signatures is the reason why we have
HelloSign.

~~~
psykovsky
Tried to exhaustion to convince them. I've given up. They're like tied up to
that specific process and nothing will change their mind, not even reason it
seems.

~~~
SwellJoe
I was flabbergasted when someone expected me to send them a fax a few weeks
ago. I unintentionally responded really rudely; I was just so surprised,
expletives were the result.

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cmdrfred
I wonder if this is the real reason why some printers won't allow you to print
in black and white when you run out of color ink.

~~~
mark-r
I'm pretty sure the reason for that is just to make sure you spend money for
more cartridges. It's hard to do counterfeiting in black-and-white.

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TazeTSchnitzel
Joke's on the Feds: my next printer is a 1980s daisy-wheel printer which is
completely incapable of printing tracking dots!

(Also expensive, slow, incredibly noisy, power-inefficient)

Though I remember that the Stasi could tell which typewriter something was
printed from (assuming that detail of _Das Leben der Anderen_ was true), and a
daisy-wheel printer works much like a typewriter.

~~~
lisper
If you're the only one using daisy wheel printer then it won't be hard to
figure out where the daisy-wheel-printed document came from.

Also, it's hard to print convincing counterfeit currency using a daisy wheel
printer, which is the main thing the government wants to stop with these
tracking dots.

~~~
gus_massa
And probably each daisy well has small differences that make your prints
identifiable. One they get you and your daisy well, you have no deniability.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
As I mentioned (typewriters, Stasi)

In the old days they'd magnify the printout and compare the characters to the
prints that the manufacturers had given them.

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lucaspiller
I wonder what the purpose of this tracking is. If you want to avoid it* then
the simple solution is don't use a laser printer or just use a printer in a
public location like a library. It seems like if you want to avoid it, then it
is pretty simple.

Even if you do know the serial number it is going to be pretty hard to find
out the owner of the printer, they could have paid cash on Craigslist for
example.

*I mean in terms of carrying out nefarious activities. I'm not saying this tracking is ethical.

~~~
dingaling
> or just use a printer in a public location like a library.

My library identity is encoded in the printing job ( I've seen the queue that
the librarians manage to release the job ) so a determined authority wouldn't
have much difficulty rounding-up the suspects.

~~~
OliverJones
Hmm. The librarians I know are among the most determined defenders of personal
privacy you can imagine. They've even worked out ways of letting people know
if they've been hit with a "PATRIOT" act demand. Still, you're right that a
relentless agency could grab the data.

~~~
JadeNB
> They've even worked out ways of letting people know if they've been hit with
> a "PATRIOT" act demand.

How?

~~~
schoen
Probably a reference to

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_canary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_canary)

originally proposed by Jessamyn:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessamyn_West_%28librarian%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessamyn_West_%28librarian%29)

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aikah
I guess it's time for an opensource DIY kit for printers which, of course, an
opensource firmware...

~~~
gabriel34
simpler solution would be to add lots of noise by printing your own wellow
dots in every printed page best solution is openhardware and software, but
printers are subsidezed by the ink cartridges, so it would cost a lot more
than commercial ones.

~~~
aikah
yes, ink is definitely the problem.

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Cowicide
Could this be done with jpeg and gif compression?

For example, could Adobe's apps export jpegs laced with patterns within the
compressed pixels that could be traced back to the owner of the app?

And, has anyone checked for this behavior?

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joesb
I never notice that before. Can I see the scanned image of that yellow dot?

~~~
8_hours_ago
There are images of some of the tracking dots, along with more background
information here: [https://www.eff.org/wp/investigating-machine-
identification-...](https://www.eff.org/wp/investigating-machine-
identification-code-technology-color-laser-printers)

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ridgeguy
Is it known whether inkjet printers have a similar issue? My brief search
didn't find anything.

~~~
SwellJoe
If they did, the feature would stop working correctly by the end of the first
ink cartridge.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
So does printing.

~~~
SwellJoe
[http://thatsthejoke.net/](http://thatsthejoke.net/)

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Qantourisc
Is this even allowed outside of the US?

~~~
schoen
It was a multinational initiative, at least in its later stages. (You're
welcome to ask a local data protection authority if they approve...)

