CLB: If you scan a banknote using Adobe / HP technologies amongst many, and then procede to print the image, your computer will make a call to the rulesforuse.org website, and print only half the image followed by a URL: rulesforuse.org. I use these technologies. I did not know there were enforced prohibitions on use. Nor did I know that pattern recog software was sophisticated enough to evaluate the images I may decide to scan or print. Could this technology be used to prevent downloading graphic material as well? Could it be used to kid-proof an internet connection? Read on to learn more about banknote counterfeit prevention techniques:

What does r u l e s f o r u s e . o r g tell us:

English: You have been directed to this website because banknote images are subject to specific rules governing reproduction. Restrictions for use of banknote images vary by country.

For information specific to either the country you ar in, or the banknote image you want to use, click on the appropriate country from the list or region from the map.

This procedure is enabled by a system developed by a consortium of central banks to deter the use of personal computers, digital imaging equipment and software in the counterfeiting of banknotes. This group is soliciting the support of the digital imaging and computer industry and cooperation with equipment manufacturers and sortware developers to facilitate the adoption of the system.

And from Security Focus' Bugtraq, Richard M. Smith writes:

"Last week, the Associated Press reported that Adobe has incorporated anti-copying technology in their Photoshop CS software which prevents users from opening image files of U.S. and European currency. Here's the article:

Adobe admits to currency blocker

http://tinyurl.com/2xnno

(http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11271~1882929,00.html)

I did some investigating on my own computer and discovered that HP has also been shipping currency anti-copying software in their printer drives since at least the summer of 2002. I have an HP 130 photo printer and found the string "http://www.rulesforuse.org" embedded in the driver.

According to a few newsgroup messages posted in 2002 and 2003, folks are seeing this URL printed out when they attempt to print images of certain types of bills. An HP printer with this anti-copying technology only prints out an inch of a currency image before aborting the print job.

Here is a list of HP printers which appear to have this anti-copy technology embedded in their Windows printer drivers:

• HP 130
  
• HP 230
  
• HP 7150
  
• HP 7345
  
• HP 7350
  
• HP 7550
  

I suspect the list of affected HP printers is much longer.

I located these printer drivers simply by searching all files in my Windows and Program Files directories for the string "rulesforuse". If other folks run this same experiment, please let me know of other programs which appear to contain currency anti-copy technology.

There are some unanswered questions raised by this quiet effort by U.S. and European governments to turn home computers into anti-counterfeiting "cops":

1. Besides graphic programs and printer drivers, what
   other kinds of software is this currency anti-copy
   technology being embedded in?
   
2. Are companies being required to include currency
   anti-copying technology in their products? If not,
   what incentives are being offered to companies to
   include the technology on a voluntary basis?
   
3. Will future versions of this technology, "phone home"
   to the rulesforuse.org Web site with details about
   a violation of the currency copying rules? It would
   be very easy to include an email address, name of the
   image file, software version number, etc. embedded in
   a URL to the rulesforuse.org when a violation has been
   detected."
   

Richard M. Smith

http://www.ComputerBytesMan.com

And, from a whois search, rulesforuse.org is owned by:

Registrant:

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK (RULESFORUSE3-DOM)

Eurotower Kaiserstrasse 29

FRANKFURT, FRANKFURT 160319

DE



Domain Name: RULESFORUSE.ORG

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK (EC2410-ORG) no.valid.email@worldnic.net

Eurotower Kaiserstrasse 29

FRANKFURT, FRANKFURT 160319

DE

4969 13447439



Record expires on 21-Oct-2006.

Record created on 22-Oct-1999.

Database last updated on 17-Jan-2004 13:13:54 EST.

"Mondo the awesome phillipino bass player” and several of your blogging friends do the same, he should start to appear in a google search. I’ll ask the kids to do the same thing on Live Journal. His website is http://www.m2020.com/ so a reference to that would increase traffic to his (rather cryptic) website