The printer manufacturer HP has with one Firmware-Update anew Drucker disabled that use cheaper ink cartridges from competitors. HP had already attracted attention with such a practice in the past and had therefore also filed class action lawsuits. After that, many devices stopped only allowing cartridges that are equipped with a special chip and instead warned about third-party ink on the printer display. With the latest firmware update, numerous new devices seem to be affected again.
Opposite the British newspaper The Independent HP stated that with the update there is a risk of attacks malware wanting to decrease. Non-HP cartridges could also adversely affect the hardware performance or affect the print quality, it said. In addition, the service is also improved with such updates. Customers would also be warned in good time that their ink would soon run out.
Angry customers
Affected customers think little of this and vented their anger in online networks. “It’s absolutely crazy,” says one post. “You are cybercriminals,” in another.
HP already had 2016 for selected devices the so-called “dynamic security” introduced, which prevented the use of third-party cartridges via a chip. In 2020, the manufacturer had to pay out millions of customers after a class action lawsuit.
According to HP, the “dynamic security measures” are currently only used on a few devices. But they didn’t want to tell the Independent which one it was. With some devices, the feature can also be deactivated via the settings, the company said.
