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HP Printer: How to connect to local network BUT not to internet? (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 days ago by AstroLightz@lemmy.world to c/techsupport@lemmy.world

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I'm using an HP printer and currently am using the USB cable to connect to my PC to print. I'm running out of USB ports and (for some reason) when I use a USB hub with it, my PC fails to read it.

Instead, I wish to connect the printer to my local network, BUT I don't want it connected to the internet. I've seen how dangerous it is to expose your printer to the internet, so I wish to prevent that (plus I don't want the printer to auto-update).

How can I connect my printer to my local network so I can print wirelessly without allowing internet access to it?

If it's important:

My PC is ArchLinux
My printer is a HP ColorJet Pro MFP (I dont know the model #/what series it is)
I do have cups and hp-lip installed on my system

Also: A guest network does not work on my network for some reason, but that's a separate issue unrelated to this.

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[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago (2 children)

What kind if switch/router are you using? You should be able to set up a firewall rule to block a device from accessing the internet. Of course, the steps depend entirely on your hardware and router OS, but essentially:

give printer a static ip on you main network
tell firewall that any traffic originating from printer static IP on the internal network destined to the ISP is not allowed, and vice versa
assuming printer mac address doesnt change, you can also apply the same rule to the mac address.

[–] AstroLightz@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I have a PiHole setup that my router uses as a DNS server. Can I just block it there?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Probably not. You could set it to not resolve domains, but that doesnt block all traffic from the printer.

[–] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Printer mac addresses never change. Blocking Mac is the easiest and most secure.