OT: Odd system folders!

[Atrocities]

Imperator Fyron said:
Do you have any creditable (not sensationalist news story) sources on the yellow dot thing?

Last year, an article in PC World magazine pointed out that printouts from many color laser printers contained yellow dots scattered across the page, viewable only with a special kind of flashlight. The article quoted a senior researcher at Xerox Corp. as saying the dots contain information useful to law-enforcement authorities, a secret digital "license tag" for tracking down criminals.

If you choose not believe this than that is fine Fyron. Its real, its not a conspiracy theory, its not imagined, and all because it was disclosed on the discovery channel, a channel that you sight without any proof at all as being dubious in its program honesty, doesn't discount the fact that the dots are real. I would ask you to provide proof that the discovery channel's programing is dishonest. I would ask you to disprove the yellow dots as I have already provided sufficient proof as to their existence and use with the "news" article link. Unless that site is in league with the Discovery Channel and or is a spoof site, which I believe it is not, then the article is valid as is the information it reports upon.

[Will]

Atrocities said:
Last year, an article in PC World magazine pointed out that printouts from many color laser printers contained yellow dots scattered across the page, viewable only with a special kind of flashlight. The article quoted a senior researcher at Xerox Corp. as saying the dots contain information useful to law-enforcement authorities, a secret digital "license tag" for tracking down criminals.

Edited emphasis. Yellow dots, but on laser printers only. And color laser printers only, to boot. Not only that, but "many" color laser printers, not "all" color laser printers. And the "many" most likely corresponds to only the highest quality laser printers, and that's why the Secret Service requires the yellow dots. Because, the Secret Service was not created to protect the President of the US... it was created as a branch of the Treasury Department to track down counterfeiters of US currency. The yellow dots allow detected counterfeits to be traced to a printer manufacturer and serial number, allowing the SS to track down criminals, or more specifically, counterfeiters, via information on the location a specific printer was sold. But, this of course is blown out of proportion, and equated with "teh government is spying on all your printers," which is simply untrue. Frankly, they have better things to do.

[Azselendor]

I should also point out that on most enterprise-level printers for businesses, you'll find that when you duplex (double-sided print) they will never line up perfectly, they are offset by 2mm to 4 mm on each side. While annoying to those making brochures, it is a SS anti-counterfeiting tool. Also, if you you print images with many fine details with the same or similar color pallets as found on a dollar bill, it will cause the printer to lock in most situation and require a service technician to unlock it.

[Atrocities]

The US Secret Service must do what it can to prevent the onslaught of counterfiting that was introduced to the US when laser and color printers became previlent in the market place.

I can remember back in the early 90's as a checker when people would try and pass off photocopied fake bills. It was very annoying. If we accepted a fake bill it came out of our pocket to cover the cost. (Illegal now, but mainstream practice back then.) The big red S had earned a notorious reputation because many managers would use the laser printers in the office to photocopy bills and then replacing a real bill with a fake one in many checkers tills when they would turn them in at night. They would pocket the real money, and then bill the checker for the fake bill.

Thankfully it is very hard now to print fake money. I have no problems with any security steps that have been created so long as I have the option to turn them on or off with the exception of the printer dots. Those I think are a good thing and really don't effect me.

[Fyron]

Ok AT, so what you posted several posts earlier is, in fact, still bogus. A manufacturer serial number added by a relatively tiny number of high end printers (which very few people have in their homes) is a far, far cry from "your printer prints all information about itself, and your PC on each and every peace of paper printed." That post is the same kind of sensationalism I was referring to earlier.

[Santiago]

I hear yellow dots are now being used in web pages too!
[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon49.gif[/img]

[Atrocities]

Santiago said:
I hear yellow dots are now being used in web pages too!
[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon49.gif[/img]

Hum, interesting, how would you decode these dots?

[Atrocities]

Imperator Fyron said:
Ok AT, so what you posted several posts earlier is, in fact, still bogus. A manufacturer serial number added by a relatively tiny number of high end printers (which very few people have in their homes) is a far, far cry from "your printer prints all information about itself, and your PC on each and every peace of paper printed." That post is the same kind of sensationalism I was referring to earlier.

That is correct, I did over state and post incorrect information, however, the topic moved away from that incorrect information onto the very real yellow dot discussion. While this technology may not yet be mainstream, it certainly is possible that it could become mainstream within the very near future. While I have no issue with this, I am certain there are people who will.

I doubt that the Washington Post article is bogus, but if you have any proof to verify that, please by all means post that information.