Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Color me stunned. If this applies to all multifunction printers and not only to networked multifunction printers, how do you get an anti-virus program for a single multifunction printer?
1 posted on 02/14/2008 7:36:15 AM PST by STARWISE
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies ]


To: STARWISE
...how do you get an anti-virus program for a single multifunction printer?

I don't think there are any.

2 posted on 02/14/2008 7:45:06 AM PST by rabscuttle385 (Admin Moderator for President. No amnesty for the establishment—Republican and Democrat!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: STARWISE

Many multi-function printers also come with slots for various types of camera media. Thus effectively making them network-atttached disk drives.


4 posted on 02/14/2008 8:22:32 AM PST by Noumenon (The only thing that prevents liberals from loading us all into cattle cars is the power to do it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: STARWISE
You don't. Not now anyway. Which is ok, as you don't need one, yet anyway.

If I were managing printers inside the Pentagon, or inside a major defense contractor, I'd be thinking really carefully about this one. And if I were managing IT inside a big company, I'd be doing as the article suggests, starting to talk up my printer vendors on this, to see what story they have, to begin to encourage them to actually get a clue, and to begin to reward those who take this seriously with more business.

But I see no evidence that this is the year that those of us in small, mundane businesses, or those of us at home or in home offices, should worry. I'll be spending about as much time worrying about this as I worry about threat vectors for Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transports.

Besides, even if it was the year for us ordinary folks to worry about this, there ain't a damn thing you can do yet, except that which would be more effort than it was worth, and require specialized expertise that few have.

Printers are certainly potential threat vectors. They are special purpose computers sitting on the network, ill managed and fully equipped. But (1) the potential isn't being realized yet -- crackers haven't mounted widespread attacks using them yet, and (2) nor are the practical protections there yet either -- neither printer nor security vendors have much to sell you here, nor do us Open Software hackers have much for you to download, compile and mess with yourself, that any ordinary person would find useful.

7 posted on 02/14/2008 9:18:20 AM PST by ThePythonicCow (The Greens and Reds steal in fear of freedom and capitalism; Fear arising from a lack of Faith.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson