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Malicious QR Code Use On the Rise

Posted by Soulskill on from the time-to-incorporate-rorschach-verification-tech dept.

New submitter EliSowash writes "Malware developers are increasingly using QR Codes as an attack vector. 'The big problem is that the QR code to a human being is nothing more than "that little square with a bunch of strange blocks in it." There's no way to tell what is behind that QR code.' The advice we've always given to the computer user community is 'don't click a link in an email if you don't know who it's from or where it goes' — so how do we protect unsuspecting users from QR codes, where you can't see the destination at all?"

2 of 234 comments (clear)

  1. Just like evil hyperlinks by LikwidCirkel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This just in:
    Clicking a hyperlink may result in being directed to a malicious site.

    Considering 99% of uses don't check the URL of hyperlinks, I'm not sure how QR codes are any different... they're just physical hyperlinks for camera phones.

  2. Re:Just like with TinyURL... by GIL_Dude · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For Chrome users, the LinkPeelr extension works well to pre-decode links for you in a little tooltip window. I've been using it for quite some time and it seems to work pretty well. Saves your from many a rickrolling or goase link. Although I guess when people bounce them through several layers of link shortener it doesn't work for that.