Today I learned that many/most color laser printers layer an array of yellow microdots on top of documents 🔬
This Machine Identification Code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code encodes a print date and a serial number unique to the machine. It only became public knowledge in 2004, ~20 year after deployment 😑
The Technical University of Dresden released a tool 2 years ago to layer on _even more dots_ to render the MIC unreadable and aid whistleblowers publishing https://github.com/dfd-tud/deda ✊
@douginamug
Anybody #FOSS firmware for my HP laser printer, please?
@brombek @douginamug even knowing what hardware your printer has is a major challenge. Manufacturers change hardware mid-run, and drivers or internal compatibility layers make the correction.
@douginamug
Wow this stuff goes deeper
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation
Now I wonder if my printer would let me copy a note - I won't try it though since it is internet connected...