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submitted 5 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

HP CEO says they brick printers that use third-party ink because of 'hackers'.::HP is pushing over-the-air firmware updates to its printers, bricking them if they are using third-party ink cartridges. But don’t...

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[-] SouthFresh@lemmy.ml 91 points 5 months ago

In other words, don't buy HP printers since their CEO admitted they're so vulnerable that you're constantly in danger!

[-] DrCake@lemmy.world 53 points 5 months ago

Why do ink cartridges have chips in them anyway HP? This wouldn’t even be a problem if they never added them in the first place

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 36 points 5 months ago

They say it's tell the printer how much ink is left...

But it's so they can disable a cartridge that's been in a machine X months instead of working till it runs out/dry.

So yeah, it doesn't need to be there.

[-] aaaantoine@lemmy.world 20 points 5 months ago

Is that all it does? Is HP so backwards that they introduce a whole new attack surface just to store a date stamp?

...Actually don't answer that.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 26 points 5 months ago

It's easy to have a printer cartridge that works till it's out.

But they introduced the chip years ago (over a decade?) with the excuse it provides the warning when ink is low. Which is a good thing, they just tacked on the "stop working after X months" on as well.

They tried to cut off 3rd party with the chip, and lost that case.

So this is what they came up with to get it retried.

But most importantly: HP were the ones that came up with this idea and paid someone to develop it...

So not only did they introduce the attack surface, when no one noticed they paid someone to notice and are now telling everyone

So even worse than what you said

[-] billwashere@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

This reminds me a that over-engineered toaster story where they end up with a giant cpu in it and use thermal paste that sorta tastes like butter… you know instead of a simple toaster.

[-] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Cue a queue of cute malware that actually does seek out HP printers just to trick them into self-destructing. Good job HP. Your printers are now targets for malware that doesn't exist without your help.

[-] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

You can queue (stand in line), you can cue (signal or cause to start). Not complete definitions. They sound the same and there are cases where you could use either in an otherwise-identical sentence for a valid but different meaning.

[-] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

Updated. Thank you.

[-] Bitflip@lemmy.ml 30 points 5 months ago

Inb4 capture HP's kill code with Wireshark and forward it to every printer on shodan

[-] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

That would be so cool if someone actually did that. Because at that point there would be a ton of people with a decision to make...do I go to HP and get screwed or do I go elsewhere?

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 11 points 5 months ago
[-] Plopp@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

...where art though printing so beautifully?

[-] ClopClopMcFuckwad@lemmy.world 29 points 5 months ago

If you use third party inks you might get hacked, so we're going to go ahead and hack you in a ransomware style attack by locking your personal property until you comply and use our inks. Get fucked.

[-] flathead@lemm.ee 23 points 5 months ago

I was going to ask how this fucking idiot became CEO of a major company. I was surprised to learn that he joined as an intern in 1989 - based on his stupidity I incorrectly assumed it was nepotism again.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago

It sounds stupid, and they knew it would...

They announced a "bug bounty" and paid the first person to prove it could hypothetically happen

They wanted a reason to ban 3rd party printers, came up with a reason that may work, and then outsourced it to a hacker to actually prove it can be done

It's 100% an asshole move, but it's smart and calculated too.

This isn't to convince consumers, it's to argue in court that some form of reason exists.

And this is the reason they picked, it's not like they could pick a valid one, because no valid one exists

[-] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago

I can't wait till someone produces a hack and widely distributes it, fucking every HP printer it touches.

Should be one helluva lawsuit then.

[-] Fixbeat@lemmy.ml 6 points 5 months ago

The previous ceo, who was pretty decent, left suddenly. Then they promoted this joker and the corporate fuckery started immediately.

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 16 points 5 months ago

Waiting for the OSS 3d print community to return to monke and reinvent an OS ink printer

[-] xavier666@lemm.ee 5 points 5 months ago

I was checking up on this topic. Turns out that 2D printing is harder than 3D printing. Getting the ink to properly settle on the paper and the nozzle are the hardest tasks.

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Interesting. There are millions of existing printer nozzles out there, I wonder if making a frankenprinter would be a good development stage.

Could use a knockoff Chinese company that can't litigate because they themselves are infringing on someone else

[-] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 5 months ago

Add reliable paper feed mechanisms.

[-] DemBoSain@midwest.social 13 points 5 months ago

So, what can I do with the code contained in an ink-cartridge chip? Can I play Doom?

Is it irony if the only virus ever written for an ink-cartridge just bricks the printer?

[-] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

It could be irony but, aside from the plastic, I'd expect it to be a little more coppery and silicony.

[-] anavrinman@lemmynsfw.com 11 points 5 months ago

I mean... If you've purchased anything from HP after Carly Fiorina, you pretty much deserve whatever horrible thing they do to you.

[-] a1studmuffin@aussie.zone 10 points 5 months ago

"Am I so out of touch?"
...
"No, it's the customers who are wrong!"

[-] anarchyrabbit@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

You know what. Fuck HP they will never see a cent from me again.

[-] JoeKrogan@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

I still have an old deskjet. It works with linux, has no online bullshit and uses cheap third party cartridges. Suck it HP

[-] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 5 months ago

HP are dead to me

[-] benni@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

Well maybe we should 'hack' his limbs off

this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2024
293 points (97.1% liked)

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