Beware of Malicious QR Codes

Cyber criminals have taken advantage of the proliferation of quick response (QR) codes on posters and marketing material by putting their own malicious stickers over the top of legitimate ones, warns security vendor AVG Australia and New Zealand. PC World reports.

In its latest report, entitled AVG Community Powered Threat Q4 2011, the company warns that cyber criminals are now producing their own QR codes which contain text and URLs with hidden malware. For example, one piece of malware called 'JimmRussia' sends costly SMS messages to premium numbers and also redirects to a URL which downloads a malicious file.

Read full article.

A Crossword Puzzle That Doubles As A QR Code

Filmmaker Christian Svanes Kolding sees an opportunity for QR codes to be more than just lame marketing tools.

[via FastCompany]

In Malaysia, RFID used to track eco-friendly harvesting of trees and illegal logging

According to Springwise, RFID is being trialled in Malaysia to help the Forestry Department detect illegal logging activities.

The decision to use RFID was spurred by pressure from the European Union to guarantee that exported wood products were harvested in a sustainable and eco-friendly way.

It is presumably similar to the preliminary pilot scheme, in which trees were individually fitted with RFID tags. This made it possible to record each one felled legally, which in turn meant each tree could be subsequently traced.

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SkanzJr supplies QR codes for kids - no need for cameraphone

QR Media is turning to a younger audience with the unveiling of SkanzJr, inch-wide silicone QR-coded bracelets, targeted at kids ages 7 to 12. USA Today reports.

Each $10 band contains a QR code along with an alphanumeric code on the back. By scanning the QR code or alternatively — since few kids are likely to carry a smartphone — by entering the alphanumeric code, a kid can build a SkanzJr.com mobile website listing favorite songs, TV shows, books, sports teams, ice cream flavors and more.

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Retailers Use Mobile Devices to Shorten Checkout Lines

Staff in retail outlets are ringing up customers with mobile devices in larger numbers this holiday season, and are integrating in-store shopping apps to facilitate sales as brick-and-mortar retailers aim to better serve customers and streamline a sometimes combative shopping environment. Mobiledia reports.

Apps and software used in-store also enable consumers to pre-order and pre-pay for merchandise with their mobile phones, bypassing long lines and massive crowds. The merger of apps with actual browsing marries the tactility of in-store shopping with the convenience of e-commerce.

Sears, for example, has created "shopping walls" in high-traffic stores such as O'Hare Airport that feature its top-selling products. Camera-enabled phones let customers scan the Quick Response, or QR, code on products, which sends them to a shopping site to purchase the item and have it shipped to their homes.

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Apple Takes iTunes to Other Kinds of Payments

This week Apple introduced a new feature for the iPhone in its Apple Store app. The feature, called EasyPay, allows people to take a picture of the bar code of a product with the phone’s camera and then buy the product on the spot, using their iTunes account.

[via Bits]

Shopping by phone at South Korea's virtual grocery

Online shopping is nothing new, especially in plugged-in South Korea. But one company says it's going further. It's testing out a virtual supermarket in a subway station. [via the BBC]

Previously:

-- Grocery Shopping in South Korea's subways with cameraphones - MIT Technology review describes how an International supermarket giant brings virtual goods to subway commuters in South Korea, eliminating the need for a physical store.

Mobile payments looking at turbulent times

While the mobile-payment players acknowledge that partnerships are necessary for long-term viability, many are gearing up for some chaotic times.CNet reports.

The lynchpin for where mobile payments is heading lies with a technology called near-field communication, which allows you to wave your phone or card in front of newer checkout terminals to make a purchase. NFC has slowly moved into credit cards and a few handsets, and the technology is slowly making its way into new point-of-sale terminals.

But there are differing views on how quickly NFC will hit critical mass, informing a different range of strategies.

Dan Schulman, who is the head of enterprise growth for American Express, believes that it will take two to four years before it becomes widely adopted. As a result, the company has opted to focus on its own Serve digital wallet and partnered with Verizon Wireless to offer services such as payments made by entering a user's phone number rather than a separate account.

Schulman said the first phase of its partnership with Verizon Wireless is set to launch in November, with an expanded set up capabilities to launch next year.

Read full article.

Grocers Are Testing Smartphones

Supermarkets—recognizing that many customers use their mobile telephones to compare prices and check lists as they shop—have begun to experiment with smartphone-related technology. The Wall Street Journal reports.

The stores hope to use apps, high-tech bar codes called Quick Response Codes and other technologies to lower costs.

Building programs around smartphones will allow grocers to break into the space without investing a lot of money and boost customer loyalty.

Read more.

Seoul on Display: How Global Screen Culture Will Affect Us

The evolving design of the digital devices that are starting to fill our stores and schools will change the way we think, behave, and buy.Favorite Jan Chipchase for The Atlantic

... The ubiquity of the mobile phone in South Korea is prompting innovation that bridges display screens and hand-held screens. Consider the recent installation of a completely virtual store by Korean supermarket Home Plus, a division of Tesco, in a Seoul subway station. At this store, life-sized images of food, milk cartons, and other groceries appear on a screen, as if placed on shelves. Busy commuters use their mobile phones to snap QR codes on the ersatz sundries to quickly order the real products online. The groceries are delivered by the time they reach home. Home Plus has reported that during a recent trial run of the virtual store, the company saw a 130 percent increase in online sales.

Of course, this display was more than just a cool example of screen culture. Every purchase made is recorded, and offers retailers and marketers data on what consumers are interested in, what their purchasing choices are. In the future, as screen culture proliferates around the world, this will be more of a common occurrence. Screens will read us; we will not only read them. This brings up the question of how our literacy of not only screens, but also our environments, will be altered forever. We will have to decide whether messages we see on signs that react to us, which change to our needs in real time based on how they acquire and process our demographic data is a deep violation of privacy or helpful, tailored information.

Read full article.

Scan-to-Buy Gets a Trial on Television

In a television experiment, shoppers this weekend watching HSN, the shopping network, can scan their TV screens with a smartphone to learn more about the products on display, and, HSN hopes, become more inclined to buy them.

The network on Friday began running QR codes on its high-definition channel. The codes, featured on the corner of the screen, correspond to products for sale. A scan brings the shopper to a product page on HSN’s mobile Web site or its app, where there is an easy link to the checkout page.

[via The New York Times]

QRpedia: QR Codes + Wikipedia

Wikipedia introduced a program called QRPedia.

QR codes – barcodes for the internet – have been around for decades and the technology is increasingly being used in everything from street advertising to museum object labels. QRpedia takes the concept one step further to allow a single QR code to send you seamlessly to the mobile-friendly version of any Wikipedia article in your own language.

When you scan the code the language setting of your phone is also transmitted. If there is no article (yet!) in your preferred language it will show you the most relevant article instead.

[Wikimedia Foundation via The New York Times]

Dog tags get QR codes

Platinum Pets has adds a QR code to your dog's ID tag.

This way anyone who finds your wandering pet will have access to all kinds of important information, including contact details, vetinary and insurance information and whether you'll offer them a reward.

[via Popgadget]

5 Ways QR Codes Could Shake Up the 2012 Election

Next year’s candidates will be expected to increase their digital presences beyond major platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the president’s social network, My.BarackObama.com. So, what channels are politico tech geeks watching?

With millions of potential voters using mobile devices, strategists would be remiss to write off QR codes as a risky early-adopter consumer trend untranslatable to the political space.

Mashable outlines five ways QR codes will be used in the next presidential elections:

1. Field Organizing

2. Donations

3. Endorsements

4. Merchandise

5. Get out the vote

Protesters Use QR Codes To Get Through To Russia

Protesters who want Russia to stop supplying arms to Syria brought a cyberspace approach to a protest Monday, stapling QR codes to posts outside the Russian embassy on Charlotte Street.

The codes, which can be scanned by most smartphones, open a web page to view an open letter the demonstrators wrote to Russian President Dimitry Medvedev.

“We sincerely hope you will join the conscientious international community in seeking to isolate the Syrian regime and bring to justice those involved in shedding the blood of our people,” the letter reads.

[metro via savent7]

14 Million Americans Scanned QR or Bar Codes on their Mobile Phones in June 2011

Accordiing to a ComScore press release, in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the U.S., representing 6.2 percent of the total mobile audience, scanned a QR or bar code on their mobile device.

No Projector? Use QR Code & SlideShare to Share a Presentation on Smartphones

File under good to know. The Social Times explains what to do if you have make a presentation and the venue doesn’t have a configuration appropriate for a traditional projector and screen. [via Paul Swanson+]

Upload your presentation to SlideShare.net. SlideShare transforms PowerPoint files into a slide deck that is viewable in web browsers including mobile ones.

Read more.

New reports draws powerful ties between Mobile, QR and Digital Signage in Retail

How to get consumers using their smartphones to engage withe brands and retail promotions? SixteenNine reports. [via Paul Swanson+]

The preview version of the report is based on both observation and research on how consumers use their smartphones when they shop and takes on working with interactive QR codes in a Best Buy – a retail described as well ahead of the curve in terms of the in-aisle mobile experience.

Best Buy often earns praise in this regard, because it provides QR hang tags on many store items that a consumer can scan with their phone to get detailed information and product reviews. But in many ways, the promise of convenient, informative mobile usage in-store remains unfulfilled there. The report by the digital marketing agency finds people need guidance on what to do. Following are a few examples that illustrate the scope of Best Buy’s opportunity for improvement:

-- No entrance signage mentions its QR code program;

-- No staff invites consumers to use their mobile phones to scan;

-- No visible signs state that a Best Buy smartphone app is available;

-- No available signage instructs how to download and use a QR code scanner;

-- No signage communicates the difference between scannable codes and nonscannable codes;

-- No ads or flyers promote the experience a consumer can expect to enjoy from the various codes, including QR.

Awesome. A laundry list of all the arguments for integrating signage (ideally digital) in-store to better the understanding and level of activity.

What’s available free is a summary. The full 60-page report is available at www.whitehorse.com/purchase-report and costs $800.

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[Infographic]: How People Use QR Codes

Lab42 via DigitalBuzz Blog on how people are really using QR codes. [via Paul Swanson+]

Almost 60% of people say they are NOT familiar with QR codes at all. Meanwhile, 46% of people who use QR codes, scan them for discounts. And 42% of those people have used them as a Ticket, with 62% of those saying it was a concert ticket. Take a look for yourself below!

Visa Making A Push for Mobile Payments

Visa is accelerating its adoption of both NFC and EMV contact technology in the coming years. US chip suppliers for both technologies will have to "support merchant acceptance of chip transactions no later than April 1, 2013."

[via Gizmodo]

Nissan Begins Using QR Codes On Vehicle Window Stickers

Nissan Motor Company has begun slapping QR codes on vehicle window stickers as so-called “silent salespeople” according to the company. Mobile Marketing Watch reports. [via Paul Swanson+]

You’ve likely waited to visit a dealership after-hours to look at a vehicle you’re interested in simply to avoid being hounded by a salesperson. Nissan recognizes this and hopes QR codes can help provide the information potential buyers want, without having to suffer through a salesman’s pitch.

The QR codes link users directly to a mobile optimized page that includes videos, features, vehicle inventory levels and more. The codes work with any smartphone reader app and is first being offered on the 2012 Nissan Altima and Sentra lines. The company plans to roll out the solution to its entire fleet eventually.

Read more.

Mini RFID Device Stores Personal Medical Data

Japan-based chemical and tech company Asahi Kasei has developed a small healthcare product that makes it possible to instantly access all medical data on a specific person with a PC or smartphone, via RFID, using the FeliCa smart card tech. TechCrunch reports.

In an emergency situation, doctors or paramedics can tap Felica-equipped equipment against the device to view medical data of its owner, for example the blood type, date of birth etc. on the screen in seconds.

Asahi Kasei says that the entire medical history of patients can be stored. If doctors need to view very large files, for example X-ray images, the device can make access possible by letting users click on links that lead to that data (but stored on external servers).

Read full article.

QR Hobo Codes for digital nomads in urban space

From Guerrilla Innovation.

The Free Art and Technology Lab (F.A.T) has created a series of 100 QR stencil designs that can be used to provide directions, information, and warnings to digital nomads in urban space.

The project - called "Hobo Codes" - is inspired by the Hobo signs developed by 19th century vagabonds and migratory workers to cope with the difficulty of nomadic life.

QR codes usually direct users to a URL, but the digital Hobo Codes contains simple information, such as an advice or warning. Scanning the codes reveal messages like "vegans beware", "those aren't women" and "it's fake".

With RFID wristbands, park guests instantly share photos on Facebook

At the Great Wolf Lodge chain of waterpark resorts, visitors can use RFID-enabled wristbands to transmit photos to Facebook over the course of their stay. Springwise reports.

Guests at Great Wolf Lodge resorts already use RFID wristbands as room keys and in-house charge accounts.

Now, beginning at the chain’s property in Grand Mound, Washington, its new Great Wolf Connect service allows guests to register their wristbands at a dedicated kiosk and link them directly to their Facebook account as well. Then, when they stop to pose for a photo at any of the park’s five camera-equipped “Paw Posts,” guests simply scan their wristband and their photo can be automatically posted to their Facebook wall.

Read full article.

With QR-Coded Dresses, a Fashion Statement and More

Thorunn Arnadottir integrated a few QR codes into his dresses, with a tribal twist. [via Paul Swanson+]

Arnadottir embeds the codes—made of Swarovski crystals—into the clothes as part of his line of dresses, QR U?.

More than just a visual reference to ‘online tribes’, the QR codes can be scanned with smartphones to link to relevant websites. For example, a dress designed for Icelandic musician Kali, from the band Steed Lord, links to the latter’s website and music videos.

... Arnadottir said his line of dresses explores “the notion of self-promotion and personal privacy in today’s digitally-networked environment”. Technology has amplified our voice and made fame more accessible, but by doing so, we are becoming our own paparazzi.

Read full article.

PayPal Intros Phone-to-Phone "Bump" Payments

PayPal this morning announced a new mobile phone widget that will let smartphone users tap their phones together to exchange money. The Android widget works on near field communications (NFC) technology installed on the phones to facilitate the transfer of funds.

[via PC World]

Zappos Ads Use QR Codes To Dress Naked Women

Online shoe and apparel shop Zappos has launched an ad campaign using QR codes to let consumers dress naked models featured in print ads. Mashable reports.

The ads seek to drive home the point that Zappos offers “more than shoes,” so that phrase is splashed across the otherwise nude women’s nether regions. The QR codes then lead to a website with a video showing what happened to the women after the ad. Consumers can choose an outfit for the women and go to Zappos to buy it.

Read more.

Grocery Shopping in South Korea's subways with cameraphones

MIT Technology review describes how an International supermarket giant brings virtual goods to subway commuters in South Korea, eliminating the need for a physical store.

In a trial run, Home Plus has plastered a subway station with facsimiles of groceries, labeled with a unique code for each product. As commuters pass by on their way to work, they can use a mobile-phone app to take pictures of the products they want, then check out. The groceries are automatically delivered to their doorstep by the end of the work day.

The virtual grocery store has been a hit among more 10,000 customers, with Home Plus reporting a 130 percent increase in online sales.

Read full article.

Alibaba brings mobile wallet technology to China

For those who are unfamiliar with Alibaba, they have sometimes been called the Google of China, and they are fast gaining ground. As we all know, Google has recently joined up with Sprint in order to put out Google Wallet, which is Google’s NFC payment services, so it’s not really a surprise to see Alibaba follow suit with their own mobile wallet services – AliPay.
Ubergizmo reports.

However, unlike Google Wallet, AliPay is said to work on phones that do not possess the NFC technology. The app that is available on iPhone, Android and Nokia platforms have recently been updated, which brings about a new mobile barcode payment system. What the app does is that it creates a unique and disposable barcode that contains the user’s account information and transaction details, both of which will be encrypted.

Read more.

Mobile apps, QR codes sell homes

Online real estate listings have been common for years, but now an array of search tools and smartphone apps let buyers tap into a wealth of information on the fly. USA Today reports.

Some brokers are using quick response codes — or QR codes — on their "For Sale" signs and flyers. Scan the code with a smartphone loaded with a QR app and it takes you directly to a website with photos, additional details and in some cases videos.

Real estate company Coldwell Banker has in the past two years encouraged agents to use video cameras to record home tours and clips of themselves offering advice. The company has its own channel on YouTube and says it has about 70,000 videos posted, said Coldwell .

Read full article.

Skanz Are Wearable Business Cards/Social Network

Check out business card ditching idea from Skanz -by wristband or phone - on Fast Company.

Naratte's Zoosh: Mobile payments using sound waves

All mobile phones have microphones and speakers. Hardly any have near-field communications chips. At least for now. And that's what a new company, Naratte, is planning on leveraging as it launches a technology that allows fast, secure, short-range, point-to-point communication over ultrasonic sound waves. Cnet reports.

Compared with other device-to-device communication technology, its Zoosh tech is about as fast as NFC (the tap-to-communicate technology Google and other companies are pushing), but slower than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. However, like NFC, the "setup time" for communication is extremely fast--there's no waiting around for a handshake to be established between devices.

Read full article.

New Dutch coins feature QR codes

The Royal Dutch Mint has released two new coins in honor of its 100th anniversary: a silver 5 EUR coin and a gold 10 EUR coin. The back of the coins feature a QR code that leads people to the Royal Dutch Mint’s website.

[via Ubergizmo]

Cracking the Q.R. Code - how it can improve your business.

The New York Times on QR Codes and how one restaurant improved it's business.

Ms. Asapahu has started with the simple step of placing the Q.R. code on the front and back of the restaurant’s menu. The code links to a Web page displaying a set of large buttons that can provide the history of the restaurant and the origins of its cuisine, photos of dishes, links to Facebook, Yelp, Twitter and more.

It’s been a small hit at the restaurant. “We constantly see customers holding up their phones to the menu, and then talking about what they see,” said Ms. Asapahu. “People don’t choose a restaurant just because of the food and service. They want a good total experience, and this adds another dimension to the experience. Customers tell me they think it’s neat.” She intends to make it neater, by beefing up the Q.R.-linked Web page with videos, the restaurant’s loyalty program, an invitation to receive special offers by e-mail, and riddles — and eventually the sorts of promotional, night-on-the-town treats that Q.R. codes gave her in Asia.

Read full article.

QR Code Dress Plays Video When Scanned at Webbys

For the Webby Awards ceremony Jessica Stuart, who won two Webbys for a video she created for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, decided to design a white shift dress printed with QR codes that plays the winning video when scanned by attendees’ smartphones. Mashable reports.

It’s my nerd version of the Lady Gaga meat dress,” Stuart said jokingly, adding that the garment was scanned more than 100 times over the course of the evening.

Read full article.

Pilot Project with NFC Phones Shows Great Potential for Hotel Keys

A trial project to test using NFC-enabled mobile phones as alternatives to hotel room keys in Sweden has been completed, and the companies involved claim it was a success. Cellular News.

During an eight-month long pilot at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm in Sweden, about 30 hotel loyalty guests checked in to the hotel via a mobile key application. After the check-in, the hotel key was sent directly to the mobile phone. Upon arrival the room could be directly accessed without the need to wait in line at the hotel reception. The check-out was also managed through the mobile key service.

Read full article.

NutriSmart: Edible RFID tags describe your food

NutriSmart from HannesRemote on Vimeo.

According to New Scientist, an RFID in a cake could tell you how many calories it contains.

A student at the Royal College of Art in London, Hannes Harms, has come up with a design for an edible RFID chip, part of a system he calls NutriSmart. The chip could send information about the food you eat to a personal computer or, conceivably, a mobile phone via a Bluetooth connection.

The idea is that it could send nutritional data and ingredients for people who have allergies, or calorie-counting for those on diets, or maybe even telling your fridge when the food has gone off. It could even be used to market organic food, with a chip holding data about the origin of that tuna steak you just bought.

Read full article.

Beware of Malicious QR Codes

QR codes can be used by cyber crooks to steal your money or your identity. ABC.net.au explains what to watch out for.

Be careful if:

-- You are taken by a QR code to a web page which asks you to provide your username, password, bank account details, and/or credit card details, then the person behind the web page is either a thief, or an idiot. So don't provide those details to them.

-- You are taken by a QR code to a web page where you need to login, then don't login. Instead, go directly to the web page by putting the correct URL into your browser address bar, or via some other trusted means. Doing this means you're much less likely to fall victim to a phishing scam.

Read more. Image from Website Marketing Consultant.

Technology Brings Digital Memories To Grave Site

npr reports on a Seattle-based company Quiring Monuments that is creating burial markers that include a scannable QR code. Something Japanese cemeteries have been experimenting with since 2008.

The codes can be placed on tombstones so visitors can learn more about the dearly departed, leave messages for their loved ones, and record stories for others who may visit. And all you need is a smartphone and a free app to make it work.

... Another A company in Phoenix has started selling tombstones with RFID tags for digital storytelling.

Read full article.

Related:

-- Last call: Japanese tombs link up with cell phones - Nereaved Japanese will be able to keep in touch with their loved ones beyond the grave by using mobile phones to scan bar-coded tombstones and view photos and other information about the deceased.

-- Japanese Graves Make Mourning Loved Ones Easy - Burial plot prices are skyrocketing in Japanese cities, so one company built a facility that uses RFID technology to help store the dead.

Google Unveils App for Paying With Phone

Google introduced a mobile application that allows consumers to make a payment by waving their cellphones at a retailer’s terminal rather than pulling out a credit card.

Users will be able to tap, pay and save using your phone and near field communication (NFC).

In their own words:

Because Google Wallet is a mobile app, it will do more than a regular wallet ever could. You'll be able to store your credit cards, offers, loyalty cards and gift cards, but without the bulk. When you tap to pay, your phone will also automatically redeem offers and earn loyalty points for you. Someday, even things like boarding passes, tickets, ID and keys could be stored in Google Wallet.

At first, Google Wallet will support both Citi MasterCard and a Google Prepaid Card, which you’ll be able to fund with almost any payment card. From the outset, you’ll be able to tap your phone to pay wherever MasterCard PayPass is accepted. Google Wallet will also sync your Google Offers, which you’ll be able to redeem via NFC at participating SingleTap™ merchants, or by showing the barcode as you check out. Many merchants are working to integrate their offers and loyalty programs with Google Wallet.

[The New York Times via The Official Google Blog]

Google to unveil mobile-payments service

Google is expected to unveil a mobile payments system on Thursday that will operate on select Android-based Sprint phones, according to a Bloomberg report that cited unidentified sources familiar with the matter.

The service, which will reportedly tap near-field communications technology, would allow users to pay for retail purchases by holding the devices up to a specialized reader at checkout counters.

Read full article in CNet.

'Wave and pay' mobile phone spells the end for cash

Orange and Samsung have teamed-up with Barclaycard to provide mobile phone payments. Matt Warman explains why cash is doomed. Why? because this new mobile-based method is quick, simpler and crucially, more secure than anything we’ve got available at the moment.

Read full article in The Telegraph.

Mobile wallet offered to UK shoppers

The first service that allows users to pay for purchases via their mobile phone has been launched in the UK, reports the BBC.

Among shops signed up to the system are McDonalds, EAT, Pret-a-Manger and some Boots stores.

Users wishing to use the system - dubbed Quick Tap - will need Orange and Barclaycard accounts as well as a handset set up for contactless payments.

Only purchases up to a value of £15 can be made using the service but users can preload their mobile with up to £100.

Read full article.

Visa unveils mobile payment best practice guidelines

Visa has released a best practice guide for retailers, software developers and device manufacturers who are using smartphones and tablet computers to accept mobile card payments. Near Field Communications World reports.

The payments giant has stepped in to spell out minimum standards and best practices as the use of mobile devices to accept payments continues to proliferate.

Read full article.

2-D Bar Codes in Glamour's September Issue Will Let You 'Like' Advertisers on Facebook

Glamour's September issue will try to make 2-D bar codes friendlier by including icons that readers can photograph to "like" advertisers on Facebook and recieve special offers in turn. AdAge reports.

Magazines including Entertainment Weekly, Golf Digest and Woman's Day have been exploring 2-D bar codes, quick-response tags and similar systems that aim to make print more interactive by letting camera phones fetch or share content, enter sweepstakes and receive special offers. Readers used the codes in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue over 100,000 times in 2010 and over 120,000 times in 2011. Most executions, however, don't generate so much response.

Read full article.