Is this a scam or is it legit?

[stoneylonesome]

I just recieved an e-mail canon asking me. Canon Inc. invites you to participate in the Canon Inkjet Printer Usage Survey. It looks legit, but what bothers me is that they say the are going to retrive information from MY PRINTER. during the survey. Is this a scam to take stuff of my computer or am I getting to paranoid?
here is a link to the survey page that bothers me a little
https://prg.c-ij.com/cgi-bin/survey/printerdata/p161/confirm.cgi
guess that page link won't work: it say's this
To help us develop products that meet your needs better, this survey will gather information about the use of your Canon inkjet printer regarding ink and paper usage. This information is stored in your printer, and will be retrieved with a special survey program
here is the first page.
http://www.canon.com/ij-survey/us/index.html

Has anyone else gotten this E-mail?

[eastcoast909]

Hmmmm, I was aware of the fact that most laser colour printer embed information in the prints they produce (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,118664,00.asp) but I was not aware of the ability of a printer to store (more than temporarily) (lower cost ink jets) information on print usage etc. I would expect the higher end laser models have this ability. :(:(

I would expect that an app would be able to intercept print information as it was being sent to a printer and report it back across the web. I am not a programmer however. How about a resident expert chiming in??

Calling CDS, Calling CDS!!!!

How about sending HP an e-mail or calling their 1-800 number??

Really don't like the big brother aspect of this, I'm paranoid enough as it is!!!:):)

[stoneylonesome]

How about sending HP an e-mail or calling their 1-800 number??

Really don't like the big brother aspect of this, I'm paranoid enough as it is!!!
I agree on this it's a Canon offer not HP and the number they gave was an 1-866

I agree on this. This was supposedly from Canon the logo looks the same, the number they gave to call was a 1-866 number I don't even trust that. :confused:

[Blue Deuce]

I received the same email. It looks legit but then again ever since I learned Photoshop I never trust my eyes.:)

[CyberDyneSystems]

My own personal advice.. Even if it IS from Canon.. why install spyware intentionally? (sorry Canon)

The good thing though,. at least they ask! If it were soMe other companieS ,.. the spyware would just be installed without asking and the info sent as soon as a connection was made.

[Moppie]

soMe other companieS


I Sense a yOu have a hidden message, but I caN't work out who You are refering to.

[stoneylonesome]

My own personal advice.. Even if it IS from Canon.. why install spyware intentionally? (sorry Canon)

The good thing though,. at least they ask! If it were soMe other companieS ,.. the spyware would just be installed without asking and the info sent as soon as a connection was made.

My feelings exactly, course who's to say they already haven't done that when I opened the e-mail. guess I better sweep my computer. :confused: :confused:

[Timm]

A quick DNS check at Demon Internet (http://www.demon.net/external) returns the following for the domain C-IJ.COM:-

host -t ns c-ij.com.

The NS (Name Server) records show which nameservers should have full information about this domain. If there are no NS records, the domain does not exist.
c-ij.com name server ns2.canon.net.

c-ij.com name server ns1.jp.canon.com.

c-ij.com name server ns2.jp.canon.com.

c-ij.com name server ns3.jp.canon.com.

c-ij.com name server ns1.canon.net.

host -t soa c-ij.com.

The SOA record (Start Of Authority) shows who owns, or is responsible for a domain; badly administered domains may not have an SOA record, however.
c-ij.com has SOA record ns1.jp.canon.com. admin.stage.jp.canon.com (
2005100301 ; - serial (version)
3600 ; - refresh period
900 ; - retry refresh this often
604800 ; - expiration period
600 ; - minimum TTL
)
host -t mx c-ij.com.

The MX (Mail eXchange) records control which hosts to send mail for this domain to. If there are no MX records, mail may only be used for sub-domains or individual hosts, or may not be used at all. For instance, there are no MX records for the domain ".com"
c-ij.com mail is handled by 10 mail.c-ij.com.

So whilst it looks like the domain is a legit Canon one, I'd side with CDS and be very leary about installing possible spy ware...

This service bought to you by the letters P A R A N O I and A :lol: :lol:

[Ronald S. Jr.]

I got the same e-mail as well, but I'm not installing s*** on my pc just so canon can know how much I use my printer. nope. :|

[crn3371]

Better to err on the side of caution.

[sunbeast]

I concur with previous posts. I do believe that the e-mails were generated by Canon (I received three of the same e-mail, and have three Canon printers registered), but spyware is spyware.

[R Hardman]

Before you do anything call Canon. I was checking my account info on BOA's website a few years ago and noticed it changed. I called the bank and they confirmed the main website was changed by them. If it is a scam then at least Canon will know someone is out there using their name. If it is good to go then you feel at ease.

[Timm]

This may be of interest from www.canonimagine.co.uk - you have to sign up to get to this point as it's not on the public front page of the site.

Win an EOS 350D or an IXUS 55
You could win an EOS 350D by completing the Canon Inkjet Printer Usage Survey. This survey is to help Canon develop products that meet your needs better. With it, Canon will gather information about the use of your Canon inkjet printer regarding ink and paper usage. This information is stored in your printer, and will be retrieved with a special survey program.

So it does indeed look to be legit... but it's still a form of spyware, albeit "User Installed spyware". :rolleyes:

[Hellashot]

Sounds like Canon wants to know what printer you are using, with what paper, and what profiles.

[CoolToolGuy]

I got this email, and from what I saw, you can run the program without installing it on your computer. I followed the instructions and everything went fine.

Have Fun,

[Citizensmith]

Yeah its not a scam, and nothing actually installs. All their script does is grab some log information from the printer drivers to let them know how many of what type of pages you have printed and how often you replaced ink cartridges. Its annonymous and doesnt grab any other info.

So basically it IS safe, but so often these things aren't that getting into the habit of steering well clear is a good thing.

Now if it was Sony asking you to run something.....

[thomascanty]

Now if it was Sony asking you to run something.....

Sony doesn't ask. They just go ahead and do it.

[Citizensmith]

Sony doesn't ask. They just go ahead and do it.

Actually isn't it even worse than that. They do infact ask, but then ignore your answer and go ahead and do it. I think that was one of the first issues with the root kit thing. You'd say no and it would install anyway.

[mrclark321]

Sandy just before Christmas I got hit with the worst virus I ever encountered just because my curiosity got the better of me. This thing wiped out half my drivers and I had to Format and start from fresh. I wasted more than a good day fixing the problem, it's not worth it!

Dan

[Photoguysd]

Research student here. I have a question. I am not super techno savvy. I am compiling emails to send a web survey for a start up photo business. Will people not answer because they are scared the website has a virus / how can I ensure them that there isnt one. (there isnt!)
thanks.

[stoneylonesome]

Research student here. I have a question. I am not super techno savvy. I am compiling emails to send a web survey for a start up photo business. Will people not answer because they are scared the website has a virus / how can I ensure them that there isnt one. (there isnt!)
thanks.

Good question. For me the rule is if I don't know the person/company, it's 'Don't open, DELETE' so if I was to recieve an unsolicited email from your business I would more than likley just delete it with out even opening it.

As an aside, after much research think etc. I did take the canon printer survey, everything went fine. (so Far)

[Mike_B]

Yep that is the best advise if you don't know the sender then into the bin.

[thomascanty]

Actually isn't it even worse than that. They do infact ask, but then ignore your answer and go ahead and do it. I think that was one of the first issues with the root kit thing. You'd say no and it would install anyway.

That's the first I heard of that. I was under the impression that it installed itself in the background without any kind of notification to the user. I don't know anyone personally who was affected though, so I don't have any first hand info. I'm just going by what I read on other online forums and usenet newsgroups.

[Citizensmith]

That's the first I heard of that. I was under the impression that it installed itself in the background without any kind of notification to the user. I don't know anyone personally who was affected though, so I don't have any first hand info. I'm just going by what I read on other online forums and usenet newsgroups.

From what I remember, the deal was to play their music on a computer they wanted you to install their own little media player. The rootkit installed as part of that, but installed anyway even if you hit cancel.

Easy way round all that though. Just turn off autorun.

[thomascanty]

Easy way round all that though. Just turn off autorun.

That's always one of the first things I do with a new computer anyway. I've always thought autorun was annoying.