Sketchy websites save the day!
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content/posts/sketchy-websites-save-the-day.md
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title: "Sketchy Websites Save the Day"
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date: 2022-09-07T23:04:12-05:00
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description: "Salvaging an old HP LaserJet printer by downloading sketchy files from sketchy websites"
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type: "post"
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tags: ["fun", "printer", "sketchy", "firmware", "security"]
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I tried salvaging an old HP LaserJet 600 M601 printer (it's from 2011, probably earlier) today, and it was... sketchy, to say the least.
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The printer turned on perfectly, but the web interface still uses TLS 1.1 and a self-signed certificate, so firmware update time! (You can also enable TLS 1.1 support in your browser if you like security vulnerabilities.)
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This printer is so old you can't find the firmware files online, but I did finally locate a copy from a [random sketchy YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRynPlcOOWM) which links to a Google Drive zip file containing another zip file containing the firmware. Hey, not as bad as [this xkcd](https://xkcd.com/1247/)!
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Next, I formatted a USB drive with a MS-DOS partition table (GPT is too new I guess) and a FAT32 partition and copied the firmware to that partition. I plugged the USB drive into the printer and flashed the new firmware and rebooted. Somehow, it worked perfectly!
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Except one caveat: the new firmware disabled the print page in the web interface for some reason. Fortunately, there's [a solution for that on HP's website even though most of their other stuff for this printer have been taken down](https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c047436990). Unfortunately, it requires the printer's admin password.
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Oh crap, time to brute-force the password. Not admin. Not password. Not 1234. Not the empty string. Not 10060311 which I found in [another sketchy YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOp4DpJEq8Q). Even this huge [sketchy list](https://theinfocentric.com/hp-printer-default-password/) didn't help.
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Welp, the only other option is to reset it.
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So you can't actually find the instructions on how to reset the admin password anywhere on HP's website. My only clue was [this cryptic post](https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/LaserJet-Printing/reset-of-the-password-cold-reset-of-a-Laserjet-600-M601/td-p/5494913), telling me to track down the printer's service manual.
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So that's when things got really sketchy. You can find the service manual online in a few places, but they're all paywalled with sketchy credit-card-number-stealing paywalls. Except for one site. It might have a sketchy domain name, and a weird Google Translate for Hungarian frame around the website, and a 2010-esque design, and a captcha, and a 5 file per day download limit, but it works: https://elektrotanya.com/hp_laserjet_enterprise_600_m601_m602_m603_sm.pdf/download.html#dl
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On page 185 in the probably-machine-generated-572-page manual, there are instructions on how to access the super secret sketchy hidden preboot menu. Perfect! There's a setting buried in there to reset the admin password! Victory!
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Except... it didn't work.
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I tried many more times before admitting defeat... but I'm so close! Only one option left. Cold reset.
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Also on page 185, there are much more dangerous instructions. The cold reset apparently wipes all your settings and data and maybe even the firmware, so I gave it a try, waited 10 minutes, and I was greated with a printer setup screen. After choosing 24-hour time and the ideologically correct date format, I'd finally vanquished the terrible admin password from the printer! Victory!
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Another 50 pound block of e-waste salvaged!
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