QR Codes, Popular or Not?

Scan the QR Code

Even though the existence of QR codes are as old as most dot com websites, they have not enjoyed a lot of attention. This is due to the fact that you had to have a camera to scan the QR code to get its content. Most people back in the 90s did not have this kind of technology readily available, at least not like we do now. Currently, most smartphones have a camera and an app that can get the content from these QR codes. The use of QR codes greatly increased since smartphones have been exponentially gaining more popularity.

Peak of QR Code usage

The highest peak of the use of QR code was around 2010 where smartphones were beginning to become more popular amongst adults and students. This was the peak time that Android phones were coming out every other week and where Apple enjoyed record breaking sales for their iPhone. These codes were used in many retailers so customers would have reviews of a product available. What these retailers did not expect was for online retailers to take advantage of QR codes to increase their influence. Amazon had a strong presence during this time because they had a QR code scanner that would direct people to its prices. Usually these prices were lower so most people decided it was better to buy off of an online company rather than in-store.

Online sales increasing year to year

Reasons to use QR Codes:

1. Easy way to direct people to your website
2. To store simple information such as contact info
3. Promote local deals
4. To direct people to your social media page

Now that you know the advantages of QR codes, try making your own. Click the hyperlink to be directed to making your own QR code.

Sources:

1. Cohen, Heidi. "QR Codes: 26 MUST-HAVE Facts [Data & Charts] - Heidi Cohen." QR Codes: 26 MUST-HAVE Facts [Data & Charts]. N.p., 4 Apr. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
2. Ellis, James. "Why You Should Use QR Codes (Really)." NBC Chicago. N.p., 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
3. Pinkham, Ryan. "11 Reasons You SHOULD Be Using QR Codes at Your Place of Business | Constant Contact Blogs." Constant Contact Blogs. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
4. Schonfeld, Erick. "Forrester Forecast: Online Retail Sales Will Grow To $250 Billion By 2014 | TechCrunch." TechCrunch. N.p., 8 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

Human Engineering, the Biggest Flaw in Cyber Security

"Social engineering is using manipulation, influence and deception to get a person, a trusted insider within an organization, to comply with a request, and the request is usually to release information or to perform some sort of action item that benefits that attacker." - Kevin Mitnick

The most vulnerable part of a system.

The single most problem with keeping a system secure is the human element in it. Even if you make a computer’s firewall as tough as you can, the single most vulnerable element is the person using it. People can:

• Be deceived
• Make mistakes
• Be vulnerable of too much empathy
• Be social engineered into giving secrets away

Kevin Mitnick quote on cyber security.

The person most responsible for bringing the term “social engineering” to light is Kevin Mitnick. He spent a lot of time in the 80s and 90s using deception and manipulation to get secrets from companies. He did not sell these secrets, but he did expose how vulnerable these companies were from the people working in the company. You can make a firewall as strong as you want, but if you don’t have proper security protocol for your employees then that firewall becomes meaningless. A lot of what Mitnick did was appeal to people’s sense of empathy and he also used common sense. Most of the time the information he needed to manipulate people was accessible with a phone book.

Anonymous's mantra.

          In order for cyber security to be stronger, first there needs to be a revision of taking the human element out. Once the human element is out you take out a huge percent of the fault. The fault of cyber security does not lie all on human error, but the human element is something that can be dealt with. A new introduction into the tech world is the existence of Artificial Intelligence systems. Maybe it might be possible in the future to have a computer build its own firmware to protect itself. In that system, the computer would exist by itself and would control its own well-being. Until that point, I think the most cyber security control we can have is to try to stay ahead of the hackers who are trying to expose the vulnerabilities. But with so many new hackers from all over the world, this might be too much of a task to undertake. 

Open vs Closed Source, Which is Better?

Open vs Closed Source

The most talked about conversation of open source is whether having a closed off system is better than having an open one. The most used example is iOS vs Android. iOS is a closed off system which is updated only by Apple. Apple is the only manufacturer that makes iOS electronics and they are the ones that dictate which direction it can go. Android on the other hand is an open system meaning that there are multiple manufacturers who makes phones with the Android operating system and the companies can dictate what skins they want on their version of the Android system.

Proliferation of Android Phones on Sale

Open Source Disadvantages and Advantages Chart for Android

Disadvantages	Advantages
No cohesive feeling between manufacturers, due to the many iterations.	Gives developers more of an ability to change the system to their liking.
Updates are less likely to be updated in accordance with when Google releases software updates since there are many iterations.	Direction in which the operating system goes is dictated by the community of developers.
	Google keeps track of forums such as XDA-Developers where individual developers release patches of their own of Google’s software.

Family line of Apple iPhone's.

Closed Off System Disadvantages and Advantages Chart for iOS

Disadvantages	Advantages
No variations are possible even if the user wants it.	Seamless experience for the end-user across phones from Apple.
Less control for developers to optimize their system.	Updates are timely and within days of when Apple releases their updates.
	Copycats will have a harder time trying to build their own software for iOS.

End-user has more options to pick from, from this competition.

The end result of the open vs closed source battle is what the end-user wants. More competition is good for the market since that gives rise to better innovation. Within Android’s ecosystem, manufacturers are constantly battling each other for who has the better phone. This results in a proliferation of Android phones which lets the user pick what they want. This proliferation can be seen as good or bad because while this helps keep the market competitive, this sometimes results in phones that have the same specifications but slightly different operating systems. The user does not benefit from this because innovation is not occurring, only confusion. iOS on the other hand has one iteration, but at least the end-user is not confused by it. In the end, the battle is not between open vs closed systems, the choice is for the end-user to decide on what they want to use.