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My assumption - unfounded? paranoid? - is that: 1) Printers leave a unique "invisible" watermark; similar to the way you can hide an image within an image. The

My assumption - unfounded? paranoid? - is that: 1) Printers leave a unique "invisible" watermark; similar to the way you can hide an image within an image. The naked eye can see it, but it's there. 2) Aside from that the printer itself has a unique fingerprint, similar to how keyboards do (i.e., AI can pick the difference in the sound of each key and with that audio can translate your typing into letters / words). 3) Networked printers phone home; with snippets. Again, similar to the way some smart TVs send screenshots. Perhaps not every printer does all of the above, and some not at all, but enough do or might. Finally, law enforcement explanations like the article's to me are suspect. For example, how often do we hear that a random-y car stop led to a sizable drug bust? So of all the thousands of car going up Rt 95 the police randomly picked one with loads of drugs? What are the odds? Moral of the story, if (federal) law enforcement has "insider information" they're not going to share that with the public.

InCityDreams 5y ago
>Moral of the story, if (federal) law enforcement has "insider information" they're not going to share that with the public. I agree: all I've learned is to make a doc on my oldest laptop, multi-paged and-fonted, have it printed at different public (paid or library) sources and then cobble them together and post them from a random place (not taking my phone there, either). From what I've anec-heard, those 'rando' car stop/ mega busts are politely arranged so the cops get their bust, but the real mega-shipments sail on by, untouched. Everybody gets a payday, even the Prison system! *the captured mules get to live rent free for a whilem so there's that, for them.
- ComputerGuru 5y ago
  > have it printed at different public (paid or library) sources and then cobble them together That feels like it exposes your attack surface enormously! More witnesses, more cameras, more data to cross reference, etc. Buy a cheap laptop and printer at Goodwill or a garage sale, print, destroy them, then mail your manifesto or whatever.
  - chiefalchemist 5y ago
    > mail your manifesto Just be sure not to get DNA or fingerprints on the stamp :)
    - ComputerGuru 5y ago
      Yeah, the last part was very much tongue-in-cheek since the difficulties of mailing anonymously are definitely much more complicated than “just mail it.”
trompetenaccoun 5y ago
>similar to the way some smart TVs send screenshots Wtf! Just when I thought I'd heard it all.
- chiefalchemist 5y ago
  Yup. Look it up. It's come up on HN before. Tbh i bet it doesn't need to full screen shot to "fingerprint" what you're watching. If you want to take the deep dive read "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism."
  - trompetenaccoun 5y ago
    I expect Youtube or Netflix to know what I've watched but the screenshots mean they can analyze everything you view, even stuff that has never touched the internet. Who would ever imagine their TV does that, that's insane!

InCityDreams 5y ago

>Moral of the story, if (federal) law enforcement has "insider information" they're not going to share that with the public. I agree: all I've learned is to make a doc on my oldest laptop, multi-paged and-fonted, have it printed at different public (paid or library) sources and then cobble them together and post them from a random place (not taking my phone there, either). From what I've anec-heard, those 'rando' car stop/ mega busts are politely arranged so the cops get their bust, but the real mega-shipments sail on by, untouched. Everybody gets a payday, even the Prison system! *the captured mules get to live rent free for a whilem so there's that, for them.

ComputerGuru 5y ago
> have it printed at different public (paid or library) sources and then cobble them together That feels like it exposes your attack surface enormously! More witnesses, more cameras, more data to cross reference, etc. Buy a cheap laptop and printer at Goodwill or a garage sale, print, destroy them, then mail your manifesto or whatever.
- chiefalchemist 5y ago
  > mail your manifesto Just be sure not to get DNA or fingerprints on the stamp :)
  - ComputerGuru 5y ago
    Yeah, the last part was very much tongue-in-cheek since the difficulties of mailing anonymously are definitely much more complicated than “just mail it.”

trompetenaccoun 5y ago

>similar to the way some smart TVs send screenshots Wtf! Just when I thought I'd heard it all.

chiefalchemist 5y ago
Yup. Look it up. It's come up on HN before. Tbh i bet it doesn't need to full screen shot to "fingerprint" what you're watching. If you want to take the deep dive read "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism."
- trompetenaccoun 5y ago
  I expect Youtube or Netflix to know what I've watched but the screenshots mean they can analyze everything you view, even stuff that has never touched the internet. Who would ever imagine their TV does that, that's insane!