mastodon - Link to source

Most "Smart" TVs use Automatic Content Recognition (#ACR), essentially taking snapshots every 10+ms of what you watch and hear, then forwarding & selling that data to companies for ads, etc.

I now feel it's only a matter of time before this "feature" finds its way to our ever "smarter" PC monitors.

#LG with the help of #Windows is already installing adware when the right Device ID is detected.

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/0…

☑️ To disable ACR on #TV:
zdnet.com/home-and-office/home…

#news #Tech #Technology

How to disable ACR on your TV (and why it makes such a big difference when you do)

Samsung, LG, and Sony TVs can pose data privacy risks - here's how to avoid one of the biggest.
Taylor Clemons (ZDNET)
#news #technology #windows #tech #TV #lg
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

I am so thankful that I was able to get my mum to stop using Windows! All because MS decided to put ads in the next one (11) and because her computer is old enough where it would not be able to boot it.

Now she also uses Linux. Much better although she still sometimes needs help (but she did with the other one too). Although at work decades ago she used unix.

As for THIS it rather reminds me of printer tracking dots. You know about those, right?

in reply to Cody Boone Ferguson

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

If you can’t find it let me know and I’ll see if I can although probably not today (slower start than usual and I have a number of things to do including extra things such as baking courgette bread for the neighbours who moved in yesterday.

But I also want to read after finishing a programming session (after I get the dogs back in who I just let out $ and then one quick thing and then read a bit!

I think I won’t get as much as I want to today but oh well.

in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@eff hahaha. Yes you better do that!

I remember reading years ago that some government (I think government - possibly corporation) possibly in Russia started to use the old credit card readers (don’t remember the name but the ones that you slide over and back - haven’t seen them in a very long time now) due to the POS security exploits.

Other things like that too. So your joke has some amount of value irl (whatever the hell that is).

@Electronic Frontier Foundation
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

C++ pays the bills

Yep: laser printers encode a timestamp and the serial number of the printer in a pattern of yellow dots on the printed page. Next time you can't print a black and white letter because you've run out of yellow toner, remember this.

bbc.co.uk/future/article/20170…

@xexyl

20170607-why-printers-add-secret-tracking-dots

www.bbc.co.uk
@Cody Boone Ferguson
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@CppGuy probably not worth it. Iirc some printers don't do it. But I could be wrong and the list is (maybe?) outdated, if I am not imagining it. Maybe the EFF keeps a list? Still it's an interesting way to look at it: wasting ink. That is not only an invasion but also theft and theft that most people do not even know is happening or why. It's theft because it is wasting the resources without permission of OTHERS.
@C++ pays the bills
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@CppGuy absolutely not.

As it is people have had a hell of a time suing a certain government for Agent Orange. And that’s not the only thing that happened.

You would have no chance. The thing is that there’s no such thing as a justice system. This is a complete lie. It is a LEGAL system. There’s a huge difference but so many people want to believe that justice exists.

It doesn’t. If it did people also wouldn’t be wrongly imprisoned.

@C++ pays the bills
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@CppGuy it's something I thought of decades ago and I have thought of it many times since then. But people want to believe there is such a thing as justice when it's just a legal system. If there was justice then people would not be imprisoned when they were innocent. People would not be executed when innocent (or ... what about at all?). And above all it is not justice unless it's prevented. Also the word humane (the etymology) is one of the most cynical and stupidest words ever.
@C++ pays the bills
in reply to C++ pays the bills

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@CppGuy yup. That looks like the article although I could have sworn it was a lot older.

But maybe they had another one or maybe it is because they mention an earlier year. But I have lived several lifetimes (as in a lot has happened) since the end of last decade so that could also explain it.

Nonetheless it looks like the right one. It’s bonkers. I never thought about it wrt running out of ink but I also tend to print black only.

@C++ pays the bills
in reply to C++ pays the bills

mastodon - Link to source

Gerardo Lisboa

@CppGuy @xexyl

In the same Wikipedia article:

"In 2018, scientists from TU Dresden developed and published a tool to extract and analyze the steganographic codes of a given color printer and subsequently to anonymize prints from that printer. (...) [18][11][19] The scientists made the software available to support whistleblowers in their efforts to publicize grievances.[20]"

#anonymization #printing #OpenSource #software #privacy

#privacy #software #opensource #printing #anonymization @Cody Boone Ferguson @C++ pays the bills
This entry was edited (Sunday, August 2, 2026, 9:18 AM)
in reply to C++ pays the bills

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Jonathan Lamothe

@C++ Wage Slave @Cody Boone Ferguson @MadeInDex 📰🌎 So here's what I would do:

  1. Print to PDF
  2. Open the PDF up in GIMP or Krita
  3. Add a ton of random yellow dots (to obscure the tracking dots)
  4. Print that
  5. ???
  6. Profit!

Note: I cannot guarantee this would actually work.

@Cody Boone Ferguson @C++ pays the bills @MadeInDex 📰🌎
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@me @CppGuy whether it would work or not ... it is a hilarious idea. Assuming it was ever read by [them]. But I wonder if they have a way to read it anyway. It seems also a fair exchange - if they want to waste your ink you can waste their time (assuming it would work that way). But of course better that they don't see it. I wonder if any printers will work without yellow ink. If they do that would be the easiest solution (maybe?).
@Jonathan Lamothe @C++ pays the bills
in reply to Cody Boone Ferguson

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@me @CppGuy I also wonder how it would work with black and white mode only. That I would guess they still do print it. I believe printers might whine if you don't have yellow ink but I don't know if they would work or not. It's been a long time since I've had to change ink cartridges though.
@Jonathan Lamothe @C++ pays the bills
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@me of course they do. It just popped into my head as it is a natural progression from ‘what if you don’t have yellow ink?’.

Another thought (though I would never want to test it) is what if you could trick it to have the wrong colour in the printer.

Or .. we could all start printing on yellow paper. That would be harder to read but it would at least make them work harder (assuming we could even get yellow printer paper!).

@Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Cody Boone Ferguson

mastodon - Link to source

MadeInDex 📰🌎

Apparently you have to refill the yellow ink (I also had this issue the other day) mastodon.social/@CppGuy@infose… @me

Mastodon

mastodon.social

C++ pays the bills

2026-08-01 13:02:57

mastodon - Link to source

Yep: laser printers encode a timestamp and the serial number of the printer in a pattern of yellow dots on the printed page. Next time you can't print a black and white letter because you've run out of yellow toner, remember this.

bbc.co.uk/future/article/20170…

@xexyl


20170607-why-printers-add-secret-tracking-dots

www.bbc.co.uk

@Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Paul Tourville

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Jonathan Lamothe

@Paul Tourville @Cody Boone Ferguson @MadeInDex 📰🌎 The black toner only solution probably has you pretty safe. The I'm not doing anything wrong thing only works until someone changes the definition of "wrong".
@Cody Boone Ferguson @Paul Tourville @MadeInDex 📰🌎
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@me @TaoBear sad but true yes.

And so many people including governments (plural!) say that only bad people have things to hide to which I say: okay then give me your banking credentials, your credit cards, your id, your passwords, passcodes, all of it.

If only ‘bad’ people have something to hide then you obviously have no problem giving me those things.

But of course it unfortunately goes far over their poor heads.

@Jonathan Lamothe @Paul Tourville
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@me well yes but possibly no. Unless things changed so far as I know not all printers even do this.

I also imagine there are ways to manipulate it in some form or another. Speaking of which I will reply to your reply to my other somewhat serious but not entirely serious suggestion about yellow paper.

@Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@me yes. Well some might say that doing so would make me an arse but others might say the same about wasting ink of other people’s printers AND trying to track them for no good reason.

But actually I suggested it because it struck me as a hilarious way to screw with those yellow dots. Would be even better if it was multiple shades of yellow, maybe even with actual dots as well. A lot of ideas are in my head about it.

@Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Cody Boone Ferguson

mastodon - Link to source

Cody Boone Ferguson

@me I have a great imagination and I am great at understanding how problems arise. That’s part of being good at troubleshooting and debugging!

It’s more than a science; it’s an art.

Well the problem here is those yellow dots. So the solution (though impractical sadly I guess) is to make it so they don’t all show up.

Just have to make sure you print everything else with the right colour. Yellow be damned.

@Jonathan Lamothe
Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source

MadeInDex 📰🌎

Hahaha yeah Microsoft made me #Recall why people definitely need #Linux ;)
mastodon.social/@madeindex/112…

Software level isn't enough, users clearly demand device level surveillance! 🤣

RE: mastodon.social/users/madeinde…

MadeInDex 📰🌎 (@madeindex@mastodon.social)

Attached: 1 image #Microsoft wants to take #screenshots of our #screen every few seconds now? 📸 This wonderful #AI "feature" for #Copilot+ #PC is called #Recall. "Recall is currently in preview status.
MadeInDex 📰🌎 (Mastodon)
#Linux #recall
This entry was edited (Saturday, August 1, 2026, 11:57 AM)
Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source

MadeInDex 📰🌎

Hell yeah! Satan would be proud!

I heard rumors North Korea was so impressed, they might be considering a switch back from Red Star OS to Microsoft ;)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Star…

Red Star OS - Wikipedia

Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)
This entry was edited (Saturday, August 1, 2026, 12:24 PM)

MadeInDex 📰🌎 reshared this.

in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Alice Pea

Someone tell the MPAA. Taking screenshots if movies and TV at a massive scale is not only a privacy violation, but also a possible copyright violation too.

It isn't hard to understand that having ten thousand TVs sending timestamped screenshots every few seconds will effectively allow them to effectively re-construct whatever is being watched, in real time. This is just piracy with extra steps.

The movie industry would want my head on a pike if I made malware that did this.

This entry was edited (Saturday, August 1, 2026, 1:56 PM)
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Scale Theory

For a Visio, who's "watch free" feature sucks balls in my opinion.

About 5 years old, go to settings, admin & privacy, viewing data, click viewing data and turn off.

This is illegal search and seizure and should be asked if they can track you when you first buy the TV, not on by default. It shouldn't even have been built into the TV's. But seeing how lazy Americans are, they don't give a shit about the constitution.
It's anarchy out there ladies and gents...

in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

mcSlibinas

idk about how democracy can work in every country. I guess there will be different ways.
I want to hear scientists talking about it, i want mass media talk about it with philosophers, writers, unions. There's a lot of people who have much more knowledge about it, but i do not hear them.

So i have some own redneck thoughts, but hey, they're pure diy out of scrap i found on the road.

in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Alice Pea

The media in this post is not displayed to visitors. To view it, please go to the original post.

@christianrickert That #Recall situation reminds me of one of the the fruits of my contribution in a shitposting competition I competed in a few years back. Here's a cropped out version of it.

#MicroSpyware inside #Binbows

#recall #microspyware #binbows @Christian Rickert
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Scale Theory

"Corporations and Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Does the Supreme Court's Decision in Riley v. California Signal the Rebirth of the 4th Amendment in White Collar Cases"

Might be a good read for the guy who's password wiped his phone.

natlawreview.com/article/corpo…

Corporations and Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Does the Supreme Court's Decision in Riley v. California Signal the Rebirth of the 4th Amendment in White Collar Cases

There has been much attention paid to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Riley v. California, Nos. 13-132 and 13-212 (June 25, 2014), and justifiably so.
Financial, Corporate Governance and M&A Litigation Group (The National Law Review)
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

mastodon - Link to source

Karl Auerbach

How soon we forget...

From 2017:

"VIZIO to Pay $2.2 Million to FTC, State of New Jersey to Settle Charges It Collected Viewing Histories on 11 Million Smart Televisions without Users’ Consent"

ftc.gov/news-events/news/press…

VIZIO to Pay $2.2 Million to FTC, State of New Jersey to Settle Charges It Collected Viewing Histories on 11 Million Smart Televisions without Users’ Consent

VIZIO, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and sellers of internet-connected “smart” televisions, has agreed to settle charges that it installed software on its TVs to collect viewing data on consumer TVs without consumers’ knowledge or consent.
Federal Trade Commission
in reply to MadeInDex 📰🌎

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Jonathan Lamothe

@MadeInDex 📰🌎 Doesn't Windowa Recall do exactly this? I think I heard something about Microsoft disabling this feature, but even if so, I imagine they're just waiting for the heat to die down before they silently re-enable it.
@MadeInDex 📰🌎

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