PDA

View Full Version : Is your color laser printer spying on you?


lotuseclat79
July 13th, 2007, 11:59 AM
The Seeing Yellow website wants you to call your printer's manufacturer and ask them to stop spying on you.

I found the link to Seeing Yellow (http://www.seeingyellow.com/) from Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net/).

As posted on Boing Boing:
-{ Quote: "
When you print on a color laser printer, it's likely that you are also printing a pattern of invisible yellow dots. These marks exist to allow the printer companies and governments to track and identify you -- presumably as a way to combat money counterfeiting. When one person asked his printer manufacturer about turning off the tracking dots, Secret Service agents showed up at his door several days later.

Upset? You should be!

Let's stand up to silent tracking and government bullying and send a strong message to printer manufacturers. Our privacy and our control over our own technology is far too important to give up over trumped up fears of photocopied money.
" }-

If you are not counterfeiting money or issuing threats via color laser printer notices - you probably have nothing to worry about other than you are still subject to being spied upon via your color laser printer output - be careful what you print!

-- Tom

simple_guy0085
July 17th, 2007, 01:44 AM
Wow, got no idea :o
but would those invisible dots have any significance in developing nations (which i live in) with less stringent regulations and no records of printers purchase????

lotuseclat79
July 17th, 2007, 07:30 AM
Hi simple_guy0085,

Welcome to Wilders!

I do not know, but never underestimate the value of being careful!

-- Tom