Activist@cy @Some_Emo_Chick @strypey @dsfgs I’ve always been annoyed at how #EFF dropped the ball on that project, making a blanket unfounded claim that /all/ color printers have #trackerDots. There are clearly interesting differences. Some printer makers admit to it & some do not. Of those that do not, some have been caught printing tracker dots & some not. We needed EFF to continue accepting samples & testing them.
bojkotiMalbona@YourAnonRiots One thing that’s never talked about is how they caught #RealityWinner. She printed documents using a color printer which surreptitiously printed yellow #trackerDots. Remember that next time you shop for a color printer.
resist1984@mplammers @democracynow I also like to point out how she got caught: RLW used a color printer to print the docs she leaked, and the model of printer in her office printed yellow #trackerDots. Then #wikileaks scanned the docs, and the tracker dots appeared on the digital copy that wikileaks published, which trivially traced to RLW's office. Consumers should be boycotting relevant printer makers.
@mxtthxw @pox #HP also has some anti-consumer tendencies: makes printers that produce #trackerDots & they collect data about what you print: https://robertheaton.com/2019/09/15/hp-printers-send-data-on-what-you-print-back-to-hp, & HP was caught sabotaging printers that used non-HP ink: https://www.npr.org/2021/02/17/968704526/why-printers-are-the-worst
HP printers try to send data back to HP about your devices and what you print | Robert Heaton
Last week my in-laws politely but firmly asked me to set up their new HP printer. I protested that I’m completely clueless about that sort of thing, despite my tax-return-job-title of “software engineer”. Still remonstrating, I was gently bundled into their study with an instruction pamphlet, a cup of tea, a promise to unlock the door once I’d printed everyone’s passport forms, and a warning not to try the window because the roof tiles are very loose.
censored for “transphobia”@eff @HP #EFF used to cover a more important issue: #trackingDots (aka #MIC technology). As of 2017, EFF no longer updates the list of printers with #trackerDots: https://www.eff.org/pages/list-printers-which-do-or-do-not-display-tracking-dots The question is, does EFF still accept test sheets? https://www.eff.org/wp/investigating-machine-identification-code-technology-color-laser-printers
List of Printers Which Do or Do Not Display Tracking Dots
Warning (Added 2015) Some of the documents that we previously received through FOIA suggested that all major manufacturers of color laser printers entered a secret agreement with governments to ensure that the output of those printers is forensically traceable. Although we still don't know if this...
Folks who don't like to be surveilled: This is a friendly reminder to avoid color printers made by #Brother, #Canon, #Dell, #Epson, #HP, #IBM, #Minolta, #Kyocera, #Lexmark, #Panasonic, #Ricoh, #Sharp, #Toshiba, & #Xerox https://www.eff.org/pages/list-printers-which-do-or-do-not-display-tracking-dots #trackerdots
List of Printers Which Do or Do Not Display Tracking Dots
Warning (Added 2015) Some of the documents that we previously received through FOIA suggested that all major manufacturers of color laser printers entered a secret agreement with governments to ensure that the output of those printers is forensically traceable. Although we still don't know if this...
@jonarvid one of the big factors w.r.t privacy is #trackerdots. Be sure to buy a printer that does not surreptitiously print its serial number in nearly invisible yellow dots.