Sabocat
19th October 2005, 16:33
An interesting article for those of you with color laser jets.
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Printers Sport Hidden Codes
The Electronic Frontier Foundation alleges some color printers can help track consumer information through hidden codes.
October 18, 2005
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a consumer privacy and digital rights organization, alleged Tuesday that there are codes embedded in printouts made by some color laser printers that can be used to track the origin of a printed document.
The codes are ostensibly a part of anti-counterfeiting measures developed by government agencies to curb the creation of fake currency but could have serious implications for consumer privacy, according to privacy advocates.
A research team led by the EFF said that it has broken the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.
Weve found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer, said Seth David Schoen, staff technologist at EFF.
According to Mr. Schoen, the dots are yellow, less than one millimeter in diameter, and are typically repeated over each page of a document. The pattern is visible under blue light with the help of a magnifying glass or a microscope, the foundation said.
Read the rest (http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=14041&hed=Printers+Sport+Hidden+Codes)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Printers Sport Hidden Codes
The Electronic Frontier Foundation alleges some color printers can help track consumer information through hidden codes.
October 18, 2005
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a consumer privacy and digital rights organization, alleged Tuesday that there are codes embedded in printouts made by some color laser printers that can be used to track the origin of a printed document.
The codes are ostensibly a part of anti-counterfeiting measures developed by government agencies to curb the creation of fake currency but could have serious implications for consumer privacy, according to privacy advocates.
A research team led by the EFF said that it has broken the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.
Weve found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer, said Seth David Schoen, staff technologist at EFF.
According to Mr. Schoen, the dots are yellow, less than one millimeter in diameter, and are typically repeated over each page of a document. The pattern is visible under blue light with the help of a magnifying glass or a microscope, the foundation said.
Read the rest (http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=14041&hed=Printers+Sport+Hidden+Codes)