Can an ethernet cable be used as a pinter to USB cable

[LAPIII]

Also, a printer can't get infected, right? I think that my hard drive has to be wiped due to some spyware.

 

[Guest]

I think you are asking if you can use an ethernet cable instead of a USB cable to connect to a printer, right? The answer depends on the printer. If the printer has ethernet connectivity (most low-end models don't), you can. Otherwise, I don't think you can.

 

[Agent Blue]

That's right, unless your printer has an ethernet port on it (and of course your PC also has an available network port), it won't work. And even if it does, you'll probably have to reconfigure stuff on your PC to work since the printer will now need a network port and IP address instead of a USB port. The software that came with your printer should have a utility to help you with that.

An alternative is to get an external network print server, but that costs a lot more than a USB cable, and also generally requires a USB cable anyway. (You connect the server to the network with an ethernet cable, and the printer to the print server with a USB cable.)