Connecting personal wireless printer at work

[osufocus]

I have a personal wireless printer at work which I cannot connect to the network at my work.

Is it possible to connect my laptop wirelessly to this printer and my work internet network at the same time?

 

[USAFRet]

I have a personal wireless printer at work which I cannot connect to the network at my work.

Is it possible to connect my laptop wirelessly to this printer and my work internet network at the same time?

Why can't you connect it at work?
What did your IT guy say when you asked him about this?

 

[osufocus]

They just don't connect personal equipment to my school district's network. Never really pushed for an answer for why that is. I have always just used a USB connection. My wifi router does not have connection to the internet, just the printer.

I have a personal wireless printer at work which I cannot connect to the network at my work.

Is it possible to connect my laptop wirelessly to this printer and my work internet network at the same time?

Why can't you connect it at work?
What did your IT guy say when you asked him about this?

 

[USAFRet]

They just don't connect personal equipment to my school district's network. Never really pushed for an answer for why that is. I have always just switched between my district's network and my own wifi router which is connected to my personal printer or used a USB connection. My wifi router does not have connection to the internet, just the printer.

There's a reason for that.
Printer, router, WiFi, whatever....if their policy is no personal devices, that is what their policy is.

Either you can campaign to get the policy changed, or you can live without this personal printer.

Where I work, that would be an instant firing.

 

[Dromoxen]

they would fire you for living without your personal printer? Man that is harsh.. Do you live in North Korea , perchance?

 

[bignastyid]

they would fire you for living without your personal printer? Man that is harsh.. Do you live in North Korea , perchance?

That's a firing in most business/corporate environments. Were I work connecting personal laptop to the companies network would be firing offense, even connecting a cellphone to a company system via usb to charge would get you canned. This practice is common place.

 

[osufocus]

Personal devices are allowed in my school system. I have my own laptop and printer and tablets I purchased for student use. I am just not allowed to connect my printer to their network.

I am just wondering if I can remain connected to the school network while printing to a printer that is on a personal network that is not connected to the internet. Maybe by getting a second internet adapter that I can connect by USB. I do not print sensitive documents from this printer nor do I want it to be connected to the schools network.

Currently my only options are to remain tethered to a lan cable or to switch between my personal wifi for the printer and my school's wifi.

 

[USAFRet]

What's the need for your personal printer?
Aren't there approved printers connected to the network?

 

[osufocus]

Very slow printer in classroom. Probably 20 years old. Goal was to be able very quickly print out worksheets from wherever I am in the classroom. I use one printer for speed and an refillable inkjet for color and low cost. I have not actually tried a wireless router at my current job but would make sure that it does not violate any district policies. But you have definitely succeeded in making me question whether it's worth it.

 

[USAFRet]

Very slow printer in classroom. Probably 20 years old. Goal was to be able very quickly print out worksheets from wherever I am in the classroom. I use one printer for speed and an refillable inkjet for color and low cost. I have not actually tried a wireless router at my current job but would make sure that it does not violate any district policies. But you have definitely succeeded in making me question whether it's worth it.

Talk to your IT guy.
If it is possible, they will tell you how.

If they say "No", then you probably don't want to do this.

 

[Solandri]

They just don't connect personal equipment to my school district's network. Never really pushed for an answer for why that is. I have always just used a USB connection. My wifi router does not have connection to the internet, just the printer.

Adding an unauthorized wireless device creates a new avenue of attack for someone trying to hack into your network. That's why IT departments are very strict about allowing wireless printers, and especially wireless routers or access points. Yes it is a fireable offense in many organizations, since a misconfigured device like this can expose the organization's entire internal network to the world.

If you've got your own WiFi router not connected to the school's network, just the printer, then yes you might be able to use the printer that way. But it would still require the approval and cooperation of your school's IT department. The moment your laptop connects to both your personal router and the school's network, it becomes a potential gateway between the WiFi on your personal router and the school's network. An attacker could hack into your personal WiFi network, use that to get into your laptop, which then gives them access to the school's network. And to your IT department that intrusion would be indistinguishable from you using your laptop to access the school's network.

Is there some reason you can't just plug this printer into your laptop via a USB cable? The problem is that you're trying to use WiFi. Most IT departments don't have a problem with using USB or LAN cables to add devices.

 

[bignastyid]

Very slow printer in classroom. Probably 20 years old. Goal was to be able very quickly print out worksheets from wherever I am in the classroom. I use one printer for speed and an refillable inkjet for color and low cost. I have not actually tried a wireless router at my current job but would make sure that it does not violate any district policies. But you have definitely succeeded in making me question whether it's worth it.

Talk to your IT guy.
If it is possible, they will tell you how.

If they say "No", then you probably don't want to do this.

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