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Now that we know about colour printers adding dot patterns to every printout, no one is safe from revealing their identity when they create a printed document. (see link)
Add The Dots is a few lines of simple code that you can use to alter the firmware on your printer. It's intended for use by those
who are worried about being spied on. Add The Dots does two things:
1 It finds and subtly alters the programme code that generates the identification dots built in to the printer's firmware, creating a new identity from its database of authenticated people and linked addresses.
2 It can also add sets of extra dots to every print out, and in so doing totally confound anyone trying to read the hidden information.
This page was created by Mobile Richard from 17a Sandy Row, Kinsalla
The dots who know everything
http://www.bbc.com/...ecret-tracking-dots
[xenzag, Sep 14 2019]
[link]
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There are a small number of suppliers who sell non-coded
laser printers. I'm not sure it will be possible to alter the dot-
pattern of existing printers if it's stored in firmware, but
perhaps it would be. The option of confounding the coding by
adding sufficiently dense dots in a different pattern, though,
ought to work unless the printer's firmware is smart enough to
avoid confounding the real dots. (Modern printers and
scanners are pretty smart, for example they will recognize
common currencies and refuse to scan or print them.) |
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My initial idea was to add more dots, but if you
sent several documents a pattern would emerge if
'your' page with the extra dots was compared to an
original one without the extras. I believe the only
real way is to alter the firmware. Otherwise it
would be like adding extra words to a text, where
the original is available for comparison. The more I
thought about, the more convicted I was that the
dots being generated by every print out was
dastardly and actually hard to counter, so
confusion is the way to go for sure. |
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If you printed your documents with a solid yellow background,
that might work, unless the firmware is smart enough to
concentrate. Or a random, dense speckling of dots that
differed per page. |
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Are you going to mention the antenna systems concealed in street furniture and advertising panels in raill stations, airports, shopping centres and other publlic areas which can read contactless payment cards at much longer distances than near field payment terminals and report footfall back to Snoop Central ? |
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Or is that stilll meant to be secret ? |
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I should also mention the antenna systems
concealed in street furniture and advertising
panels in raill stations, airports, shopping centres
and other publlic areas which can read contactless
payment cards at much longer distances than near
field payment terminals and report footfall back to
Snoop Central. |
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Ah, so you do know about that. S'OK, just weren't sure if it was still secret or not. |
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I think everybody knows now. Especially since they published
that hack that transfers the entire budget of GCHQ into your
Oyster card. Admittedly it's not much, but every little helps. |
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