1984... 2005 Style

by **Aaron** » Wed 19 Oct 2005, 08:02:18

Privacy?

We don't need no stinking privacy...

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ell known privacy advocacy group. the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), said today that it had cracked the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.

According to the EFF, the deal was struck between the printer manufacturers and the US Secret Service as an anti-counterfeit measure.

"We've 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 EFF staff technologist Seth David Schoen.

by **gg3** » Wed 19 Oct 2005, 10:30:55

Good work for EFF.

They're also one of my clients.

Re. privacy, I may have "an announcement" in a few days or a week or so.

Re. "microdots" (the oldschool name for those damn things) in the printer ink: The way to deal with this is, print everything in black & white, and if needed, take your printouts to a copy shop and make copies.

The photocopiers won't duplicate the data in the microdots on your original printed pages.

F---ing pain in the ass, but protecting liberty has never been easy, from the big things right down to the small ones.

We need a Constitutional privacy amendment.

by **Leanan** » Wed 19 Oct 2005, 10:39:23

Are copyshop copiers any safer? A lot of criminals have been caught by tracing the photocopiers they used. Seems like if they could do that, they could also trace political dissidents.

by **strider3700** » Wed 19 Oct 2005, 15:56:57

Currently no modern copiers or printers should be viewed as safe. Any printers and copiers from manufacturers in the US should be viewed as unsafe.

There is a reason china is busy developing computer technology that is 5 - 10 years behind the times. They don't trust any of it coming from the states.

by **ALBY** » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 12:53:31

not to worry.

we're all fuxed anyhow.

by posting in this forum you have probably already been put in the thoughtcrime database.

arm yourself and don't go quietly.

carnivour just picked that one up for sure. :razz: