Printers Leave a Yellow Dot Road

Believe it or not, if you own or use a laser printer, it leaves microscopic yellow dots on each printed page to identify the printer's serial number which can ultimately leave literally, a yellow dot road right back to you. While for most of this may not seem like a big deal, privacy experts point out that for political dissidents, whistle-blowers or anyone who prints materials that authorities want to track this may be a very easy way to catch up with them. As the cost of laser printers declines, more homes are installing them as their printer of choice beyond businesses who have been using them for years. All of this came about because the US Secret Service who is in charge of counterfeiting investigations was interested in tracking criminals who used laser printers to copy bills and asked printer manufacturers to help with the dilemma. While privacy experts have no problem with that, they do warn that your laser printer may be leaving a trail of yellow dots to your door - which so far only the Secret Service can read. Just something to be aware of......