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Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

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Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#221
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Current Android WiFi list has a dedicated QR Code button next to it, so it should become more accessible in half a year when most people are on Android 10

This data [1] from google is a bit old (from May 2019), but shows about 10% on Android 9, and maybe a third on Android 8+; to get 50%+ (the common interpretation of most) you're looking at Android 7+, and that was released three years before the stats. Maybe, if uptake of 10 is as good as 7+, we'll see most people on Android being able to use this in 2022. [1] https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/

Project Trebble made a huge difference, and Android 9, which is one year old, is already at 48% market share. This is so much faster than older Android upgrades before it.

Source: https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/12/18/pornhub-does-what-g...

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#222
post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Qrafter on iOS has exactly that UI, which is why I use it.

If anyone knows of an equivalent on Android (preferably available on F-Droid), I'm all ears.

SecScanQR shows you the URL and lets you decide if you want to open it or not. It's on F-Droid. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.t_dankworth.secscanqr/

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#223
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This data [1] from google is a bit old (from May 2019), but shows about 10% on Android 9, and maybe a third on Android 8+; to get 50%+ (the common interpretation of most) you're looking at Android 7+, and that was released three years before the stats. Maybe, if uptake of 10 is as good as 7+, we'll see most people on Android being able to use this in 2022. [1] https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/

Project Trebble made a huge difference, and Android 9, which is one year old, is already at 48% market share. This is so much faster than older Android upgrades before it. Source: https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/12/18/pornhub-does-what-g...

Stats from different places are going to show different trends. Google's stats are a lot closer to all of the Android market than PornHub's. It's unfortunate that Google is slow to update. But it might be interesting to look at trends in PornHub's data, if they provide it over multiple years.

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#224
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was mostly thinking about URLs in untrusted contexts, like maybe from an ad you see on the street, that you want to screen by hand against malicious intent; not so much about things like your banking app example, which should always have some kind of confirmation anyway.

It really shouldn't matter to the browser what URL you enter. Maybe it's not the page you're looking for. But opening a website itself should cause no harm. Just compare with today's internet advertising. Legit websites are still full of somewhat malicious ads. And users click on it - of course, since that's what a website is for. What I'm trying to make clear is that there is no such case where QR scanners, browsers…

> It really shouldn't matter to the browser what URL you enter.

In a world where browsers are vulnerable to remote code execution, and a world where users do not run the latest version of a browser, and in a world where zero days exist in browers, it absolutely does matter.

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#225
post #17

I have an NFC card that contains the connection information with the QR code and plain text credentials taped to it. Even less devices support that, but when they do you don't even have to open an app. Just tap and you're in.

Which devices support this?

Pretty much any Android device from the past 4-5 years should support connecting to WiFi via NFC (assuming the device actually supports NFC).

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#226
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The largest QR code in the standard, "version 40" - can only store 3 kilobytes at the lowest level of error correction and 1.2 kilobytes at the highest level [1]. And that's a pretty huge QR code [2] My back-of-the-envelope calculations say you'd need 61 bits per line on a receipt just to encode UPC, quantity and price. So the largest QR code would only allow 19-50 lines. And that's without including data like the st…

1.2 kilobytes = 9.6 kilobits. If you need 61 bits per line, you’ve got enough bits for 157 lines. 393 lines if we go with 3 kilobytes. I think you may have used 61 bytes per line in your calculation rather than 61 bits.

I (not OP) would say bytes would be closer. The product name could be 20 characters long (20 bytes minimum)

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#227
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.2 kilobytes = 9.6 kilobits. If you need 61 bits per line, you’ve got enough bits for 157 lines. 393 lines if we go with 3 kilobytes. I think you may have used 61 bytes per line in your calculation rather than 61 bits.

I (not OP) would say bytes would be closer. The product name could be 20 characters long (20 bytes minimum)

OP was assuming the receipt would list the product UPC code rather than product name. A UPC code is 12 digits, which can be encoded in 40 bits.

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can X.509 ceros use elliptic curve? They’d be much smaller.

Even without the key they start to look pretty dense. You can definitely fit one in a QR code, they just start to become less reliable to scan (especially on cheap devices), and they go from looking nice to looking quite ugly. Technically most X.509 certs would have been within the limitations of QR codes (though I don’t think there is an upper bound to how large they can get), but I realized it just wasn’t fit for p…

Are you using 8 bit encoding? An alphanumeric mode QR code containing base 64 encoded data provides less capacity. In binary mode even a 4096 bit RSA secret key fits while ECC keys produce smaller codes.

The qrencode tool has an 8 bit mode but not all decoders can handle binary data. For example, my phone shows me mangled results and I can't redirect them to a file. Like structured append, it doesn't seem to have much support.

I've sent patches to ZBar improving this:

https://github.com/mchehab/zbar/pull/64

Hopefully it will make QR codes more useful for storing keys and other small files.

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you never click URLs in emails? Of course you do, when you're confident the sender is reputable. Parent was referencing trusted contexts: the default password printed on your wifi router, the bill a cashier just handed you for what you just bought, the legal papers you just signed, etc. The QR code just links the trusted document with trustworthy digital versions & extended content. I'm not worried a spammer is go…

I can't imagine a qr code on a receipt being anything but tracker-infested spam.

Yep, it'll definitely have a tracking code added to the URL.

Re: Encoding your WiFi access point password into a QR code

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you not concerned that QR code’s are just completely opaque URLs asking to be clicked? Do you confidently click on URLs in spam emails? Of course not since we all know URLs can point to malicious payloads. So why should we love QR code’s that could just as easily do the same. If I’m a spammer trying to get people to click on my bogus links in my email messages, why wouldn’t I also print those same URLs as QR code…

Do you never click URLs in emails? Of course you do, when you're confident the sender is reputable. Parent was referencing trusted contexts: the default password printed on your wifi router, the bill a cashier just handed you for what you just bought, the legal papers you just signed, etc. The QR code just links the trusted document with trustworthy digital versions & extended content. I'm not worried a spammer is go…

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