Code is Trademark 2435991 and was filed on 29 September 1998 with an amended registration date of 13 March 2001, assigned to Denso Corporation. Risks The only context in which common QR codes can carry executable data is the URL data type. These URLs may host JavaScript code, which can be used to exploit vulnerabilities in applications on the host system, such as the reader, the web browser or the image viewer, since a reader will typically send the data to the application associated with the data type used by the QR code. In the case of no software exploits, malicious QR codes combined with a permissive reader can still put a computer's contents and user's privacy at risk. This practice is known as "attagging", a portmanteau of "attack tagging". They are easily created and can be affixed over legitimate QR codes. On a smartphone, the reader's permissions may allow use of the camera, full Internet access, read/write contact data, GPS, read browser history, read/write local storage, and global system changes. Risks include linking to dangerous web sites with browser exploits, enabling the microphone/camera/GPS, and then streaming those feeds to a remote server, analysis of sensitive data (passwords, files, contacts, transactions), and sending email/SMS/IM messages or packets for DDoS as part of a botnet, corrupting privacy settings, stealing identity, and even containing malicious logic themselves such as JavaScript or a virus. These actions could occur in the background while the user is only seeing the reader opening a seemingly harmless web page. In Russia, a malicious QR code caused phones that scanned it to send premium texts at a fee of $6 each. QR codes have also been linked to scams in which stickers are placed on parking meters, posing as quick payment options, as seen in Austin, San Antonio and Boston, among other cities across the United States and Australia. See also Aztec Code Data Matrix JAB code PDF417 QRpedia SnapTag SPARQCode Touchatag References Bibliography External links Reed Solomon Codes for Coders – an elaborate tutorial on Wikiversity, covering both QR code structure and the Reed Solomon codes used to encode the data. 1994 introductions Automatic identification and data capture Barcodes Encodings Hypermedia Japanese inventions