This is being widely reported, but I still haven’t been able to figure out exactly what printers and what firmwares this is applying to. I’ve got a brother laser printer, but it’s been unplugged for a few weeks now as I moved around my home office. I do usually use it on wi-fi for wireless network printing, but I haven’t tapped update on it for months. I would like to know what I should look for to identify if this is an issue for me.
Obviously I’ve got a few possible scenarios:
1 - my printer is updated past this firmware already:
A. I can only buy brother toner
B. I figure out to downgrade, which sounds tricky.
C. I buy a new(old) printer?
2 - my printer isn’t updated:
A. I turn off network functions on it entirely, printing using the USB port or with a USB cable.
B. I block internet access on my network, but allow it to work locally. This is potentially risky if i do setup wrong or change my network config and forget about it.
C. I say fuck it and only buy brother toner since it’s probably going to impact pricing either way
I’d put it behind a closed firewall with logging enabled. Your home router might be able to do this even. Then you can see if it’s trying to connect to the Internet beyond NTP without you clicking “update”.
Then you should do exactly that before it has the opportunity to download an “improved” firmware. Maybe create a DHCP reservation and matching firewall rule before connecting it to the home network. Good luck!
This is being widely reported, but I still haven’t been able to figure out exactly what printers and what firmwares this is applying to. I’ve got a brother laser printer, but it’s been unplugged for a few weeks now as I moved around my home office. I do usually use it on wi-fi for wireless network printing, but I haven’t tapped update on it for months. I would like to know what I should look for to identify if this is an issue for me.
Obviously I’ve got a few possible scenarios: 1 - my printer is updated past this firmware already: A. I can only buy brother toner B. I figure out to downgrade, which sounds tricky. C. I buy a new(old) printer? 2 - my printer isn’t updated: A. I turn off network functions on it entirely, printing using the USB port or with a USB cable. B. I block internet access on my network, but allow it to work locally. This is potentially risky if i do setup wrong or change my network config and forget about it. C. I say fuck it and only buy brother toner since it’s probably going to impact pricing either way
I’d put it behind a closed firewall with logging enabled. Your home router might be able to do this even. Then you can see if it’s trying to connect to the Internet beyond NTP without you clicking “update”.
I have a pi-hole. And my asus router can probably close all outbound traffic. I also think USB printing is fine tbh. I don’t need AirPrint.
Then you should do exactly that before it has the opportunity to download an “improved” firmware. Maybe create a DHCP reservation and matching firewall rule before connecting it to the home network. Good luck!