Canon Printers At Risk: How To Manually Wipe Wi-Fi Settings Before Discarding

Discover the essential steps to protect your network’s security as Canon Inc. CAJFF issues a warning on manually wiping Wi-Fi settings from printers before disposal.

What Happened: Canon has issued a vital security advisory stating that sensitive Wi-Fi settings stored in the memories of its inkjet printers (home and office/large format) may not be automatically deleted during a factory reset or initialization process. 

Simply put, users who intend to sell, lend, or dispose of their Canon printers, the Wi-Fi settings containing crucial information such as SSID name, password, MAC address, and network profile may be left vulnerable to potential hackers or unauthorized users.

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How To Protect Your Network: To protect your network and prevent potential security breaches, following Canon’s recommended manual wiping process for Wi-Fi settings before disposing of your printer is crucial. 

Performing a factory reset or initialization alone might not be sufficient to remove these settings entirely.

Step-by-Step Manual Wiping Process:

Step I: Reset All Settings

Access your printer’s settings menu and look for the option to “Reset all settings.” This will revert all configurations to default.

Step II: Enable the Wireless LAN

After resetting the settings, navigate to the wireless LAN settings and turn on the Wi-Fi.

Step III: Reset All Settings Again

Once the wireless LAN is enabled, repeat the “Reset all settings” process. This double reset helps ensure that all sensitive Wi-Fi information is thoroughly wiped from the printer’s memory.

Guide For Canon Printers Without A Dedicated Reset Function:

Step I: Reset LAN Settings

Go to the LAN settings menu and select the reset option to return the network configurations to their default state.

Step II: Enable the Wireless LAN

After the LAN reset, enable the wireless LAN to establish Wi-Fi connectivity.

Step III: Reset LAN Settings Again

Lastly, perform another reset of the LAN settings to ensure all Wi-Fi-related data is erased from the printer’s memory.

Why It’s Important: Canon has listed nearly 200 printer models impacted by this issue. To find out if your printer is on the list, you can refer to the advisory released by Canon.

Users who don’t take appropriate actions would inadvertently give invitations to malicious actors, leading to victims facing data breaches, unauthorized use of network resources, or other cyber threats.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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