The human rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has released an accusatory article about the activities of Hewlett-Packard. In November, 2020 it became known that HP changed a line of tariff plans, and removed a free opportunity of the press of 15 pages a month under the Instant Ink program. Now, if the user does not pay $0.99 per month, then his mechanically sound and refilled printer will be disconnected remotely.
The initial principles of the Instant Ink program looked attractive: the user paid a monthly fee, HP monitored the level of ink in the printer and sent new refilled cartridges to the user when the ink was low. It was a little more economical than simply buying refilled branded cartridges, and added convenience to users. The Instant Ink program also had a free plan that allowed you to freely print 15 pages per month without a subscription fee. No cartridges were sent in this case, but the user could print 15 pages with the ink he had.
As EFF puts it, HP just broke its own record of stinginess by turning its "Free Ink for Life" plan into "Pay us $0,99 every month for the rest of your life or your printer will stop working." This HP prank challenges the very basis of private property. Thanks to the HP Instant Ink program, printer owners no longer own ink cartridges and the ink in them. Instead, HP customers must pay a monthly fee based on the number of pages they plan to print from month to month. If the user exceeds the estimated number of pages, HP will bill you for each page printed. If the user chooses not to pay, the printer will refuse to print even if the cartridge contains ink.
HP printers are known to include various tabs that allow you to remotely control and lock these devices. Security researcher Ang Cui demonstrated back in 2011 that HP printers are not only controlled externally directly over a network or through computer software, but can also be controlled by code contained in documents sent for printing. HP has taken advantage of these opportunities many times: for example, in 2016, HP distributed a security update with a time bomb that blocked printers with third-party cartridges a few months later, in the midst of the start of the school year. The company responded to questions from users that it never promised that their printers would work with third-party inks.
Linux users can only be advised to use HPLIP (HP Linux Printing and Imaging System) with caution and limit this print service's access to the outside network. If the printer model allows, it is better to use the CUPS printing subsystem. This subsystem does not fully protect the user from the arbitrariness of the device manufacturer, since it uses proprietary binary blobs, but at least with disabled blob updates, you can ensure that the equipment remains unchanged.
Source: linux.org.ru