USA Today: Printer dots raise privacy concerns

My Dell 3100cn records its serial number (and service tag) and the date/time I print something…. so what? Who cares that Dell keeps a record of who owns/purchased a printer?

I don’t fear my printer. I feel safe knowing that my printer encodes that information. I used to use an embosser on things I printed to identify them as mine. I don’t care that my documents are traced back to me.

The bad pun at the beginning of the article amuses me. Paper doesn’t have to be cheap and shitty. Not all of us print on 20#, 87 brightness paper. I print on Hammermill Business Glossy 32#, 108 brightness, its damn near card-stock y’all.

 

If anyone does fear their printer and the use of this technology to trace you, please let me know. I am very interested in what I am missing out on with this fear.