Lexmark printers are spyware

Lexmark Printers Spy on You
Printer claim emerges once again

According to Silicon.com, your peripherals may be spying on you. Users in on-line newsgroups have re-discovered that some Lexmark software monitors printer usage, creates a log file at c:\program_files\lexmark500, then sends that information off to Lexmark.......

 

The local hospitals and schools and government institutions here in Singapore are all using lexmark's laser printers. If lexmark is caught transmitting personally identifiable information, I guess they are really gonna be in hot soup...
Anybody with a lexmark printer, just take it and throw it in the rubbish dump. Get a printer from HP or others.

 

Isn't HP doing the same?

Somewhere I remember me HP printers are calling home too.....


Ciao,

Smokey

 

Lexmark makes Dells printers too. they just do little changes to make the cartriges different to charge more.

 

More stuff for you to consider......


JetDirect based Printers attacked on port 9100

POST EDITED TO GIVE CORRECT LINK
there as a "</a>" tag at the end, dunno how, that was making trouble...

 

Link leads to ? page?

 

So which one of these processes is spying on me?

 

Post above shows correct link for JetDirect printers

@BigBuck... dunno.. I posted a news link (sorry for being so useless), but the 2nd link in the short preview at the top of the thread is the complete news, while the headline is the discussion... the little link will lead you to better info.

 

Here's what I found;

Lexbces Lexbces.exe

(Lexmark) This program is a component of the Lexmark MarkVision software. If your Lexmark printer comes with an internal network card, you will need to install MarkVision to configure that network card. This results in LEXBCES running as a background process on Windows 9x and as a service in Windows NT4.

Recommendation :
If you are not experiencing any problems, leave alone. In our case, however, we have found the MarkVision software extremely buggy, to cause Windows startup problems, to cause serious performance hogs, and a number of other problems. As a result, while we often recommend Lexmark printers, particularly for the high end lasers, we now never ever buy Lexmark printers with in-built network cards – we use external Intel Netport Express print servers instead (HP JetDirect 300x now that Intel no longer make print servers).

Lexpps Lexpps.exe

(Lexmark) Lexmark Printer Port Scanner. Background task which auto-loads with the rest of the printer drivers and which allows your Lexmark X or Z Series to be shared over a Windows peer-to-peer network using the conventional method of setting up a shared networked printer (without it, you will not be able to share the printer using the conventional Windows method).

Recommendation :
This task is a comprehensive nightmare. From preventing your PC from booting up, to interfering with your network card, to asking your Internet firewall for permission to install itself as a server application, to general PC instability, this task has everything to make you instantly return your Lexmark X or Z Series printer and go for something else, and some users have done so !! In order to regain your sanity the first thing to do is to rename LEXPPS.EXE to LEXPPS.EXE.OLD (do it in Safe Mode if you cannot boot your PC normally) – this will ensure that this task never loads and will cure all the problems that it causes. If you need to network the printer over a peer to peer network, do not use the standard manner, instead install the printer as a local printer on the remote PC, and then go and change the port from a local port to the network share that the printer is known as.

Lxbbbmgr LXbbbmgr.exe

(Lexmark) Lexmark X74/X75 Button Manager, also called "Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program". System Tray icon for the Lexmark X74/X75 multifunction printer/scanner/copier. Through that icon you can access from your PC all the functions available on the control pad of your Lexmark X74/X75 : scan, scan to e-mail, scan and fax, scan to OCR, copy, scanning resolution settings.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference. This program is not strictly necessary for the proper operation of your Lexmark X74/X75 as you can use most of the above features via the printer’s control panel. However you need this System Tray program to scan to e-mail, fax, or OCR, and to change the machine’s defaults, such as the default scanning resolution, the email address to scan and e-mail to, etc... Should you decide to disable this task with The Ultimate Troubleshooter, you can start it at any time via "Start \ Programs \ Lexmark X74/X75 \ Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program".

Lxbbbmon LXBbbMon.exe

(Lexmark) Lexmark X74/X75 Button Monitor. Background task installed by the drivers for the Lexmark X74 or X75 multifunction printer/scanner/copier. This background task monitors the X74/X75 for activity and interacts with LXBBBMGR above for operations involving the PC (e.g. scan to e-mail). Also, for large copy jobs it relays the current copy count back to LXBBBMGR so you can view it on your PC.

Recommendation :
In the main this task is necessary, so leave it alone.