Sleuths Crack Tracking Code Discovered in Color Printers

Just another way for big brother to find out what you are doing. Sure glad the NRA is around to protect my right to carry assult weapons. That'll come in handy when the FBI breaks down my door.

Sleuths Crack Tracking Code Discovered in Color Printers: "By Mike Musgrove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 19, 2005; D01

It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it isn't. The pages coming out of your color printer may contain hidden information that could be used to track you down if you ever cross the U.S. government.

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.

The content of the coded information was supposed to be a secret, available only to agencies looking for counterfeiters who use color printers.

Now, the secret is out."