Currency Detection Discovered in More Products

netbsd_fan writes "BUGTRAQ is reporting that anti-counterfeiting spyware is being found in more and more products. What is also interesting is that these products block fair uses of currency images which do not break the law. What incentive do printer manufacturers have to treat their customers like criminals? Is this a precursor to DRM in scanners, CD drives, and output devices?"

Comments

All ready slow!

[nubbie]

To: BugTraq
Subject: HP printers and currency anti-copying measures
Date: Jan 17 2004 5:10PM
Author: Richard M. Smith
Message-ID:

Hi,

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Adobe has incorporated
anti-copying technology in their Photoshop CS software which prevents users
from opening image files of U.S. and European currency. Here's the article:

Adobe admits to currency blocker
http://tinyurl.com/2xnno

(http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,14 13 ,87~11271~1882929,00.html)

I did some investigating on my own computer and discovered that HP has also
been shipping currency anti-copying software in their printer drives since
at least the summer of 2002. I have an HP 130 photo printer and found the
string "http://www.rulesforuse.org" embedded in the driver.

According to a few newsgroup messages posted in 2002 and 2003, folks are
seeing this URL printed out when they attempt to print images of certain
types of bills. An HP printer with this anti-copying technology only prints
out an inch of a currency image before aborting the print job.

Here is a list of HP printers which appear to have this anti-copy technology
embedded in their Windows printer drivers:

HP 130
HP 230
HP 7150
HP 7345
HP 7350
HP 7550

I suspect the list of affected HP printers is much longer.

I located these printer drivers simply by searching all files in my Windows
and Program Files directories for the string "rulesforuse". If other folks
run this same experiment, please let me know of other programs which appear
to contain currency anti-copy technology.

There are some unanswered questions raised by this quiet effort by U.S. and
European governments to turn home computers into anti-counterfeiting "cops":

1. Besides graphic programs and printer drivers, what
other kinds of software is this currency anti-copy
technology being embedded in?

2. Are companies being required to include currency
anti-copying technology in their products? If not,
what incentives are being offered to companies to
include the technology on a voluntary basis?

3. Will future versions of this technology, "phone home"
to the rulesforuse.org Web site with details about
a violation of the currency copying rules? It would
be very easy to include an email address, name of the
image file, software version number, etc. embedded in
a URL to the rulesforuse.org when a violation has been
detected.

Richard M. Smith
http://www.ComputerBytesMan.com

Re:We can use this ourselves

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, I've thought about this. I don't have complete information about the Eurion pattern, but if it's scalable to larger sizes, it could be interesting.

I was thinking of T-shirts with this design on them so that photographs of you (think driver's license, passport) can't be photocopied.

A little rubber stamp with this pattern on it so that you can copy-proof any document you want (do you want the IRS photocopying your 1040? Nah!)

Anyway, not terribly handy I admit, but a great way to wrench up the works.

Re:As usual, easily defeatable

[Endive4Ever]

Yes, but you fail to understand the purpose of this anti-copying feature. It isn't to make it impossible for determined criminals to copy currency, it's to make it difficult enough that only determined criminals will try.

The court system would be clogged with newbs and 'regular folk' who copied a few $20 and/or their 10 year old son did it.

By implementing a layer of 'prohibition' like this they filter those folks out, which means there will be more resources available to hammer hard on the people who need the hammering (the people conterfeiting on a large scale). Which is a good thing, unless you're some sort of fringe character who thinks counterfeiting is kewl.

Re:it's a test...

[Winkhorst]

As a former photoengraver and member of the IPEU, now the GCIU, I can assure you that at one time it was illegal to make ANY kind of reproduction of American currency. The rules have now been relaxed a bit, but I personally would never do it. It's just too difficult to prove you weren't trying to counterfeit. My father worked with a fellow who claimed he was just "seeing if he could do it" after someone found a plate he left sitting in the water tank in the etching room overnight. He ended up with a long vacation to Leavenworth, Kansas. This is not a joke, and the Feds have no sense of humor about it at all.