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… unless you’re running Linux (or macOS, perhaps?) on a desktop or laptop and print something. I’m pretty sure that even in 2024 printing is pretty common, isn

… unless you’re running Linux (or macOS, perhaps?) on a desktop or laptop and print something. I’m pretty sure that even in 2024 printing is pretty common, isn’t it? … isn’t it?

hypeatei 2y ago
The only time I print something is at work and even that is rare.
imgabe 2y ago
I think tech people underestimate how much people want to print things. My wife is printing stuff all the time. Proofreading things on physical paper is better than on a screen. You read more carefully and catch more mistakes.
- mananaysiempre 2y ago
  Rereading things works better when they look different, even superficially. Have you ever noticed a bug or typo immediately on a Gerrit/GitHub/etc. code review submission page that you previously overlooked a dozen times in your editor? And scribbling on paper is still unparallelled as a thinking device for rearranging things, catching repetitive turns of phrase, and the like. A tablet with a pen works to some extent, but I cannot surround myself with tablets showing parts of the same document like I can with sheets of paper, and that’s helpful for long-form texts. No word processor with mouse-and-keyboard input can compare.
- ho_schi 2y ago
  This. Bonus: We must print. Shipping labels, things which require an actual signature. And so on. And sometimes I want just hang the paper on a wall. Maybe the next print says “Dear macOS users. You’re vulnerable, too. Update now!” Computers aren’t made to avoid printing. Their task is printing faster on more paper. At least this is what happened ^^
Moto7451 2y ago
In the other thread about this it was mentioned macOS and many flavors of Linux don’t install the specific package or invoke cupsd as needed and shut it down when printing is complete. The instructions given in the article state they’re just tuning off the network discovery package for CUPS.
nebulous1 2y ago
this article appears to be geared towards linux on a server rather than a desktop
- xena 2y ago
  Author here. Any randomly selected Linux machine is more likely to be a server than it is a desktop.
  - 2shortplanks 2y ago
    Any randomly selected Linux machine is most likely to be a mobile phone, statistically speaking
    - bauruine 2y ago
      Are you sure there are more Android phones than Linux servers?
      - mardifoufs 2y ago
        I don't think there's a way to check for sure but I'd say that's pretty likely. There are billions of android devices, and Linux servers, while popular, are probably less common just because servers are less common than consumer devices in general. But maybe I'm wrong!
    - xena 2y ago
      I'm pretty Android doesn't use CUPS, and most people that use Android don't consider themselves Linux users. I think it's okay.
  - nebulous1 2y ago
    True. Linux machines don't read articles though, people do. Whether any randomly selected linux-using reader will have cups installed on a device they control is a very different question.
t-3 2y ago
CUPS isn't required for printing on *nix, and even if you use it, cups-browsed isn't required. If you need to "discover" the printers on your network, something is probably wrong, as in my experience public printers are always labeled with the relevant information and home printers can print or show that information on their menus.
- pantalaimon 2y ago
  What alternatives are there to CUPS when it comes to printing? And yea sure you can manually configure your printer, but it's a pain in the ass compared to zeroconf auto-discovery.
  - t-3 2y ago
    I just use lpr or netcat if I haven't written a printcap on a system.
    - xena 2y ago
      How would I do that from a browser?
      - t-3 2y ago
        Your browser probably reads printcap to get the printers already. So, the same way you already print from the browser. You can also print to pdf and then send the pdf to the printer from the commandline.
- stbenjam 2y ago
  > If you need to "discover" the printers on your network, something is probably wrong, as in my experience public printers are always labeled with the relevant information and home printers can print or show that information on their menus. This is a terrible take. The average user is not going to go find out the IP of the printer and go on their computer and configure it. Discovery is the primary way people print now. And... CUPS is how 99% of people print on Mac or Linux.
dathinab 2y ago
not really I mean it depends a bit on your living situation. I mean at jobs (e.g. self employed) you have to sometimes print things I guess often enough for it to be a viable attack. And as a student if you might also sometimes prefer paper, but most universities have printer pools you mostly use over USB and that is just way cheaper then your own printer. Sure if you play games like D&D you might print character sheets (or templates for them) but how often? I think the last time I had to print anything was when I sold my car like 7 years ago (doesn't make sense to own one where I live). And sure not everyone will have that experience but the combination of run Linux + has network discovery enabled and "publicly" accessible (i.e. no strict firewall) + uses a printer over the network before it's fixed + gets attacked with it seems not "that" high, actually as long as the fix is delivered quite fast and it wasn't abused for years it seem quite unlikely.
firebaze 2y ago
Popos (out-of-the-box): cupsd running, but on 127.0.0.1.
- crtasm 2y ago
  The one to check is cups-browsed

… unless you’re running Linux (or macOS, perhaps?) on a desktop or laptop and print something. I’m pretty sure that even in 2024 printing is pretty common, isn’t it? … isn’t it?

hypeatei 2y ago

The only time I print something is at work and even that is rare.

imgabe 2y ago

I think tech people underestimate how much people want to print things. My wife is printing stuff all the time. Proofreading things on physical paper is better than on a screen. You read more carefully and catch more mistakes.

mananaysiempre 2y ago
Rereading things works better when they look different, even superficially. Have you ever noticed a bug or typo immediately on a Gerrit/GitHub/etc. code review submission page that you previously overlooked a dozen times in your editor? And scribbling on paper is still unparallelled as a thinking device for rearranging things, catching repetitive turns of phrase, and the like. A tablet with a pen works to some extent, but I cannot surround myself with tablets showing parts of the same document like I can with sheets of paper, and that’s helpful for long-form texts. No word processor with mouse-and-keyboard input can compare.
ho_schi 2y ago
This. Bonus: We must print. Shipping labels, things which require an actual signature. And so on. And sometimes I want just hang the paper on a wall. Maybe the next print says “Dear macOS users. You’re vulnerable, too. Update now!” Computers aren’t made to avoid printing. Their task is printing faster on more paper. At least this is what happened ^^

Moto7451 2y ago

In the other thread about this it was mentioned macOS and many flavors of Linux don’t install the specific package or invoke cupsd as needed and shut it down when printing is complete. The instructions given in the article state they’re just tuning off the network discovery package for CUPS.

nebulous1 2y ago

this article appears to be geared towards linux on a server rather than a desktop

xena 2y ago
Author here. Any randomly selected Linux machine is more likely to be a server than it is a desktop.
- 2shortplanks 2y ago
  Any randomly selected Linux machine is most likely to be a mobile phone, statistically speaking
  - bauruine 2y ago
    Are you sure there are more Android phones than Linux servers?
    - mardifoufs 2y ago
      I don't think there's a way to check for sure but I'd say that's pretty likely. There are billions of android devices, and Linux servers, while popular, are probably less common just because servers are less common than consumer devices in general. But maybe I'm wrong!
  - xena 2y ago
    I'm pretty Android doesn't use CUPS, and most people that use Android don't consider themselves Linux users. I think it's okay.
- nebulous1 2y ago
  True. Linux machines don't read articles though, people do. Whether any randomly selected linux-using reader will have cups installed on a device they control is a very different question.

t-3 2y ago

CUPS isn't required for printing on *nix, and even if you use it, cups-browsed isn't required. If you need to "discover" the printers on your network, something is probably wrong, as in my experience public printers are always labeled with the relevant information and home printers can print or show that information on their menus.

pantalaimon 2y ago
What alternatives are there to CUPS when it comes to printing? And yea sure you can manually configure your printer, but it's a pain in the ass compared to zeroconf auto-discovery.
- t-3 2y ago
  I just use lpr or netcat if I haven't written a printcap on a system.
  - xena 2y ago
    How would I do that from a browser?
    - t-3 2y ago
      Your browser probably reads printcap to get the printers already. So, the same way you already print from the browser. You can also print to pdf and then send the pdf to the printer from the commandline.
stbenjam 2y ago
> If you need to "discover" the printers on your network, something is probably wrong, as in my experience public printers are always labeled with the relevant information and home printers can print or show that information on their menus. This is a terrible take. The average user is not going to go find out the IP of the printer and go on their computer and configure it. Discovery is the primary way people print now. And... CUPS is how 99% of people print on Mac or Linux.

dathinab 2y ago

not really I mean it depends a bit on your living situation. I mean at jobs (e.g. self employed) you have to sometimes print things I guess often enough for it to be a viable attack. And as a student if you might also sometimes prefer paper, but most universities have printer pools you mostly use over USB and that is just way cheaper then your own printer. Sure if you play games like D&D you might print character sheets (or templates for them) but how often? I think the last time I had to print anything was when I sold my car like 7 years ago (doesn't make sense to own one where I live). And sure not everyone will have that experience but the combination of run Linux + has network discovery enabled and "publicly" accessible (i.e. no strict firewall) + uses a printer over the network before it's fixed + gets attacked with it seems not "that" high, actually as long as the fix is delivered quite fast and it wasn't abused for years it seem quite unlikely.

firebaze 2y ago

Popos (out-of-the-box): cupsd running, but on 127.0.0.1.

crtasm 2y ago
The one to check is cups-browsed