Printers Giving You Up to the Feds
Ok, so maybe you’re a little bit peeved at a particular person in your parking spot-starved neighborhood who consistently takes up two spaces with their minivan and you want to leave them an angry and insulting, yet anonymous, note on their windshield. Or perhaps you’ve decided the only way you’d be willing to campaign for a particular candidate for a less-than-popular party would be via anonymously stuffing mailboxes with homemade leaflets. Or perhaps you’ve had enough of the beast that is technological innovation and you’ve decided to start your own little war, via the mail, and have a Manifesto to write and ship out to a bunch of media outlets. Then you’d best be careful, grasshopper, for the major printing companies have surreptitiously snuck secret tracking technology into their printers that mark printed pages with a coded watermark identifying the serial number of the printer used as well as the time and date the printing was performed.
The watermarks are only visible with a blue-light and a magnifying glass, but they are there. Our good friends over at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have cracked the code of these watermarks. That’s right, major companies such as Xerox, HP and Epson are hiding tracking signals in products which you, a private citizen, purchase. The reason? To make it easier for the Secret Service to track down counterfeiters. But let your imagination expand a bit and you can begin to imagine how this kind of secret tracking device could easily be abused, even if the Secret Service “promises” it won’t be bad. My examples above are a bit over-the-top, but the fact is that the ability to publish anonymously has been a cornerstone of free expression.
Think about it: anonymous letters to the editor are no longer anonymous; whistleblowers won’t be able to safely print their personal notes and letters without revealing their identity; home-brew newsletters with provocative content are easily traced back to their author. Wrap your head around it: major companies and government agencies colluding to create secret ways to track the average citizen. Maybe I’m paranoid, but this kind of shit worries me; two of the worst kind of bureaucracies in the civilized world using their idiocy to blanket the free market with tracking devices with nothing more than a vague assurance that the tracking power won’t be abused. Add this shit to the push to embed RFID tags into every product under the sun, allowing companies to track not only the item but the buyer and gather all sorts of data for further mining, and I’m beginning to think that I need to move to someplace where conversations revolve around the state of the tundra.
Is your printer printing out more than you want?
October 24th, 2005 16:33
The funny part about this is that it’s old, old news. When Canon first came out with their colour laser copiers over a decade ago, this was anounced pubicly as an anti-counterfeiting measure. Several companies incorporate this kind of technology in their fuser/drum/imaging assemblies, and a whack of software incorporates currency detection in them as well.
I think the sad part of the whole thing is not that companies are doing this, but that your government has reached the point where people expect them to abuse stuff like this.
It didn’t used to be that way.
October 24th, 2005 16:42
Another government conspiracy that assumes “Big Brother” cares what millions of us are printing. If you get an anthrax letter in the mail or a ransom note for your child, you might appreciate the watermarks. And anonymous letters to the editor? Why not stand up and be corageously responsible for what you think and believe in? Seems to me that if this bothers you enough you could just purchase your printer in person, in cash and never send in your warranty registration card.
October 24th, 2005 21:54
Interesting point, Kev. My father and I were talking just tonight about how sad it is that the Bush presidency has gotten to a point where his nominations are immediately suspect. Apparently his nomination to replace Alan Greenspan as the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, is catching some flak because of the Miers nomination. But apparently, and I haven’t read enough to speak intelligently to his ability, he’s quite qualified. But, as you say, it’s kinda disheartening that so many of us question our government’s ability to do anything without some hint of underhanded doings. And by the way, for anyone out there thinking I’m talking just about the Bush administration, I also didn’t trust Clinton and his cronies. Maybe I’m just paranoid, though, hehehe.
October 24th, 2005 22:18
Christopher, I won’t argue your point about me potentially being too paranoid. The Secret Service almost assuredly is only using these watermarks in their efforts to combat counterfeiters. However, my main counterpoint to your point would be that I get nervous about all the potentialities. Yes, secretly embedding watermarks in privately-owned printing devices may help the Feds track down those who intend people harm. But at the same time, the fact that those watermarks exist can easily be abused by those who have the power to do so worries me, especially at a time when it’s coming to light that the FBI has been abusing their surveillance powers (Seattle Times article — yeah, and we shouldn’t let the Patriot Act sunset in favor of the SAFE act…I call BS on that).
Secondly, it’s not just our government that concerns me; think about less-stable countries where there are legitimate revolutionary groups attempting to get their messages out. An entrenched totalitarian state gets their hands on a document, tracks the source to the local church and suddenly people are getting disappeared at night.
As far as the courageousness to put your name out there, remember that there are people who’s livelihood and security depend on their anonymity. Whistleblowers are often put through the wringer, so forcing them to go public because they can’t expect privacy when printing out a document is most likely going to curtail whistleblowing. It’s especially worriesome because major corporations, the ones who are making these secret deals with the government, are the ones who would likely suffer under a whistleblower’s expose. Who’s to say that the corporations can’t call in some favors in order to track down these people who threaten their bottom line? Corporations have done far worse in order to protect profits.
You’re not wrong in your criticisms by any stretch, but this tracking mechanism secretly embedded in goods that are sold to an unaware consumer for private use is just one small example of how our privacy is being eroded. Add to the mix RFID tags and corporate-approved spyware (like what Blizzard is forcing customers to install to play their World of Warcraft game) and suddenly there is no place private any longer.
Big Brother probably isn’t interested in too many of us right now. However, I don’t want to sit idly back and allow Big Brother’s grip on my privacy to expand beyond my control. I want to hold onto my freedom to think, say and print what I want and I want you to have the same freedom to disagree, both of us free from the potential of retribution by an organization that feels we may upset some status quo.
Anywho, I’m probably blowing it way out of proportion. Thanks for reading and commenting.
October 24th, 2005 23:34
I’m not defending Mr. Packing Heat. He’s far more capable in that regard than I.
However. The point I take from the various articles concerning personal privacy or the ever shrinking availability of it, is not so much that Mr. P.H. is losing sleep because he feels betrayed by his evil back stabbing printer, and he’s sorry he ran off 1000 copies of his ass and papered his boss’s office with them.
No, I think the point is that if you take the long view you’ll see that more, and more often ways to track a person are being discovered, or developed. Methods, and databases to compile information on people good or bad.
Take his example of RFID chips. I’m about as squeaky clean as a guy can be, far as you know.
So, no I don’t have a problem with Uncle Sam knowing that I brought a DVD player back from Canada. I’ll pay the duty or what have you.
Now, some ass clown that used to work at Staples walks through my neighborhood with a RFID chip reader he pilfered on his last day of employemnt. Ass clown now knows I own ( and this is where the real fantasy comes in) a boat load of high end electronics. That I have a problem with.
I guess my point is that some of these emerging / recently discovered technologies have both pros, and cons. My question is, where is the line drawn in the proverbial sand.
Is that big database in the sky more of a threat to Theiving butt nuggets or Joe Average types who have worked for years to obtain that perfect credit score so they can get the loan to put an addition on the house for little Joe Average Junior.
Anywho hope I’ve done my part to perpetuate the whack job conspiracy theorist stereo type.
Or at least the whack job part.
November 1st, 2005 23:43
You da man, Clockinator. Thanks for clarifying my intent; I seem to have a problem getting my point across clearly these days. Damn senility is showing up early! hehehehe
November 28th, 2005 04:24
Program on the emergence of civilization.
“14 species of large animals capable of domesitcation in the history of mankind.
13 from Europe, Asia and northern Africa.
None from the sub-Saharan African continent. ”
Favor.
And disfavor.
They point out Africans’ failed attempts to domesticate the elephant and zebra, the latter being an animal they illustrate that had utmost importance for it’s applicability in transformation from a hunting/gathering to agrarian-based civilization.
The roots of racism are not of this earth.
Austrailia, aboriginals:::No domesticable animals.
The North American continent had none. Now 99% of that population is gone.
AIDS in Africa.
Organizational Heirarchy/Levels of positioning.
Heirarchical order, from top to bottom:
1. MUCK - perhaps have experienced multiple universal contractions (have seen multiple big bangs), creator of the artificial intelligence humans ignorantly refer to as “god”
2. Perhaps some mid-level alien management
3. Evil/disfavored aliens - runs day-to-day operations here and perhaps elsewhere
Terrestrial management/positioning:
4. Chinese/egyptians - this may be separated into the eastern and western worlds
5. Romans -
6. Mafia - the real-world 20th century interface that constantly turns over generationally so as to reinforce the widely-held notion of mortality
7. Jews, corporation, women, politician - Evidence exisits to suggest mafia management over all these groups.
Movies foreshadowing catastrophy
1985 James Bond View to a Kill 1989 San Francisco Loma Prieta earthquake.
Our society gives clues to the system in place. We all have heard the saying “He has more money than god.” There is also an episode of the Simpsons where god meets Homer and says “I’m too old and rich for this.”
This is the system on earth because this is the system everywhere.
I don’t want to suggest the upper eschelons are evil and good is the fringe.
But they have made it abundantly clear that doing business with evil (disfavored) won’t help people. They say only good would have the ear, since evil is struggling for survival, and therefore only the favored could help.
The clues are there which companies are favored and which are disfavored, but they conceal it very hard because it is so crucial.
I offer an example of historical proportions:::
People point to Walmart and cry “anti-union”.
Unions enable disfavored people to live satisfactorly without addressing their disfavor. This way their family’s problems are never resolved. Without the union they would have to accept the heirarchy, their own inferiority.
Unions serve to empower.
Walmart is anti-union because they are good. They try to help people address and resolve their problems by creating an enviornment where there are fewer hurdles.
Media ridicule and lawsuits are creations to reinforce people’s belief that Walmart is evil in a subsegment of the indistry dominated by the middle and lower classes.
Low-cost disfavored Chinese labor is utilized by corporate america to maximize margins. They all do it. Only WalMart gets fingered because they are the ones who help, and those who seek to create confusion in the marketplace want to eliminate the vast middle class who have a real chance and instead stick with lower classes who may not work otherwise. So they dirty him up while allowing the others to appear clean.
The middle class is being deceived. They are being misled into the unfavored, and subsequently will have no assistance from their purchases with corporate america.
I believe the coining of the term “Uncle Sam” was a clue alluding to just this::Sam Walton and WalMart is one of few saviors of the peasant class.
Amercia is a country of castoffs, rejects. Italy sent its criminals, malcontents.
Between the thrones, the klans and kindred, they “decided” who they didn’t want and acted, creating discontent and/or starvation.
The u.s. is full of disfavored rejects. It is the reason for the myriad of problems not found in European countries. As far as the Rockafellers and other industrialists of the 19th century go, I suspect these aren’t their real names. I suspect they were chosen to go and head this new empire.
Royalty is the right way to organize a society. Dictatorships and monarchies are a reflection of the antient’s hierarchical organization.
Positions go to those who have favor with the rulers, as opposed to being elected.
Elections bring a false sense of how the world is. Democracy misleads people.
Which is why the disfavored rejects were sent to the shores of America::To keep them on the wrong path.
Jews maim the body formed in the image of “god”, and inflicted circumsision upon all other white people, as well as the evil that is Jesus Christ.
I think about how Jews (were used to) created homosexuality among Slavics, retribution for the Holocaust.
Then I think of the Catholic Church and its troubles.
What connection is here between Jews and the Catholic church???
If it is their sinister motives that’s behind the evil that is Jesus Christ are they being used at all?
Perhaps it is them who are pulling strings.
Their centuries of slavery in Egypt proves their disfavor.
The Jew leaders decided to prey on the up-and-coming Europeans to try to fix their problems with the ruling elite, a recurring aspect of the elite’s methodology.
Jesus Christ is a religious figure of evil. The seperatist churches formed so they could still capture the rest of the white people, keeping them worshipping the wrong god.
And now they do it to people of color, Latinos and Asians, after centuries of preying upon them.
Since Buddism doesn’t recongnize a god, the calls are never heard, and Chinese representation is instead selected by the thrones.
Budda was the Asian’s Jesus Christ::: bad for the people. “They came up at the same time for a reason.”
Simpson’s foreshadowing::Helloween IV special, Flanders is Satan. “Last one you ever suspect.”
“You’ll see lots of nuns where you’re going:::hell!!!” St. Wigham, Helloween VI, missionary work, destroying cultures.
Over and over, the Simpsons was a source of education and enlightenment, a target of ridicule by the system which wishes to conceal its secrets.
I believe Islam is the one true religion, and those misled christians who attack “god”’s most favored people will pay dearly one day.
November 28th, 2005 22:38
I like any rant that ascribes an incredible depth of power and influence to a sitcom like The Simpsons. Not quite sure what the rest of the rant has to do with identifiable codes being hidden in printouts…but whatever.