Columbia University researchers have discovered a vulnerability in some Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer lines that could allow attackers to install a modified firmware to steal information, run attacks from within a network or cause physical damage to the printer.

Attacks can be carried out from different vectors. Printers that support a remote firmware update process could allow attackers to take control of a printer’s firmware over the Internet in less than a minute if the printer is not protected properly by a firewall. The researchers during a scan were able to find more than 40,000 devices that they said could be infected within minutes.

Local attacks are another possibility. The researchers were able to send print commands from Macintosh and Linux computer systems to trick the printer into reprogramming itself. It is not clear at the time of writing if Windows environments are safe or also affected by this.

Printers that the researchers analyzed do not verify the source of the firmware with the help of digital signatures. A HP spokesperson stated that all modern HP printers do require digitally signed firmware upgrades since 2009.

Even worse for consumers and companies, there is no way of telling if a printer’s firmware has bee compromised short from physically disassembling the printer and analyzing its chipset output.

According to RedTape, HP is currently analyzing the claims made by the researchers. HP could release a firmware update of their own to resolve the vulnerability. Compromised printers however may have been programmed to block new firmware updates. That’s bad on the one hand as companies would have to throw away the printer in this case (or talk to HP to find a solution) and good in another as they have just identified a compromised printer in their network.

The researchers have started analyzing printers manufactured by other companies recently but no results have been posted yet. They say it is likely that printers and other devices with Internet access are also vulnerable. (thanks Jojo for sending in the tip)

Unfortunately, those dreams never really came through, or at least they haven’t yet. Microsoft is attempting to pull their Office 365 product out of beta. When stable, the product will offer cloud productivity through online versions of Word, Excel, and other Office programs that allow multiple workers on a job access to edit the files. While a paid service, Office 365 will likely limit use of Google Cloud Connect simply because it will be offered directly through Microsoft, leading many users to think it will present less compatibility issues than transfers through Google might bring about.

While Office 365 may put a damper on much of what Google hoped to accomplish with its Cloud Connect, many of the features being tested by Google will still prove very useful for those looking for a little added cloud capability. One such service is Google Cloud Print beta, which is still being tested for widespread use. The project aims to allow users to connect to their printers from any computer in the world, printing files at work from home or even on a client’s computer in Germany from the office in San Francisco.

While Google is still ironing out a few stubborn wrinkles, you can get online right now and connect your printers to try it out. First, you have to have a copy of Google Chrome – you can download it here if you don’t already have it. Next, open a Chrome browser window and click on the wrench beside the address bar. Click Options and then Under the Hood to bring up the advanced settings available in Chrome.

At the very bottom of the page is a section titled Google Cloud Print. To enable your computer to access cloud-connected printers you must login using a Google account. After you do so, a window should appear verifying that you have connected your computer and any printers connected to it to the cloud.

Once you have connected a computer and its printers to Google’s cloud, you should be able to print to those machines any time you use Chrome and are signed in with a Google Account.

One of the greatest features of Google Cloud Print is that it is not limited to printing between desktops. You can access the printers from your mobile device, printing documents or webpages just as you would on a full-size machine.

Keep two things in mind as you begin experimenting with the service. First, Google Cloud Print is still progressing through its beta stage, and while rumor has it that it is nearly fully functional, you may run into a few kinks with some machines. Second, in order to send files to a printer, the computer that printer is connected to must be on and connected to the internet. Otherwise, how could it receive the signal?

Have fun printing from miles away, and be careful what you print if you don’t know who will pull the document off the printer.

This can all be done in the Windows command line for maximum effectiveness or in the Windows Explorer interface for users who prefer to click their way through the process. To use the GUI approach you press [Windows R], type [services.msc] and look for the Print Spooler service. Right-click that service and select [Stop] from the context menu. This will stop the Print Spooler which will make it possible to delete the print jobs in the print queue. Keep the window open as we need it again to start the Print Spooler service.

Now use Windows Explorer to open %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\ and delete all files that are found inside. Once that has been done it is time to start the Print Spooler service again. This is done in the same menu where it was stopped. a right-click will not show an option to [Start] the Print Spooler service again. All print jobs should be gone and it should be possible to run new print jobs again.

If you prefer the command line you can run the following four commands for the same effect. It is probably a good idea to add them to a batch script.

net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.shd
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.spl
net start spooler

The script does exactly the same as the manual method.