Windows Print Vulnerability: Disable Printer Connection

In early July 2021, a critical Microsoft vulnerability was identified and, in line with actions recently taken by other universities, colleges, and organizations, the University of Windsor was required to disable all printing services on campus and University managed devices. This article outlines how to manually disable your printers if they have not been disabled automatically.

Introduction

In early July 2021, a critical Microsoft vulnerability was identified and, in line with actions recently taken by other universities, colleges, and organizations, the University of Windsor was required to disable all printing services on campus and University managed devices. This Microsoft vulnerability also affects unmanaged devices used by UWindsor community members. If you know your device is unmanaged, or you have identified that your printers are still connected, please follow the steps below to disable them manually.

Steps

To disable your printers:

1. In bottom left corner of screen in the Search bar, type "Services."
2. Click the Open link.
3. Scroll through the alphabetized list and right click Print Spooler.
4. In the drop-down list, click Properties. 
5. In the Print Spooler Properties pop-up window, on the General tab, change the Startup type to "Disabled."
6. If the Service status reports "Running", click the Stop button to stop it.
7. Click the Ok button.

Follow Up

If you need further assistance disabling your printers, please submit a General Printing Support service request. 

If you need to print to a Xerox printer while your printers are disabled, there is an option to do so from a web browser. Please read this article for instructions.