5 ms·

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

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 12y ago
> 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 12y ago
  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 12y ago
    > They've even worked out ways of letting people know if they've been hit with a "PATRIOT" act demand. How?
    - schoen 12y ago
      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
seanwilson 12y ago
You can count on people not knowing about this kind of tracking or just forgetting to take precautions against it.
DanBC 12y ago
Imagine Bob is someone like the Unabomber[1] or the Mardis Gras bomber. LEO can inspect documents received by targets to see if they actually came from the same printer or some other printer. This provides a small amount of information. When they raid Bob's house they seize the printers and compare output. That provides a small amount of information. While it's easy enough to subvert it is another thing that people need to remember. [1] like the unabomber, but uses technology.

dingaling 12y ago

> 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 12y ago
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 12y ago
  > They've even worked out ways of letting people know if they've been hit with a "PATRIOT" act demand. How?
  - schoen 12y ago
    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

seanwilson 12y ago

You can count on people not knowing about this kind of tracking or just forgetting to take precautions against it.

DanBC 12y ago

Imagine Bob is someone like the Unabomber[1] or the Mardis Gras bomber. LEO can inspect documents received by targets to see if they actually came from the same printer or some other printer. This provides a small amount of information. When they raid Bob's house they seize the printers and compare output. That provides a small amount of information. While it's easy enough to subvert it is another thing that people need to remember. [1] like the unabomber, but uses technology.