• Thomrade
    link
    English
    11 year ago

    Someone should hijack the QR code by strategically filling in back squares with a sharpie and have it point to a pro union URL

    • ChaoticNeutralCzech
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      That’s just barely possible:

      1. Be ready to register a domain that’s off by 1 character. Generate a list of such domains from http://www.0npackjfk8.com/ to http://www.unpackjfkz.com.
      2. Use an advanced, preferrably command-line QR generator that not only allows changing the size (version) or error correction mode but also the mask pattern. Match these parameters to the original code.
      3. Verify that the generator and settings work correctly by regenerating the original code.
      4. Check that when you change a character, only 1 byte in the content part (right of the QR code) and the error correction changes.
      5. Generate QR codes with varying domain names. Increase error correction as much as possible as long as it doesn’t change the layout of where each character is.
      6. Using ImageMagick, overlay each newly generated QR code with the original using the min / max function (depending if the colors are inverted).
      7. Put each result into a QR scanner. Only a handful of the circa 380 codes will scan, about half of which to the original and the other half to the edited URL. Of the latter half, manually check which is the easiest to scan.
      8. If none work well enough, repeat the process but with 2 changed characters per domain.

      Why go through the trouble instead of printing a sticker?

      • Thomrade
        link
        English
        11 year ago

        I’ll admit ignorance to the complexity involved, I had just thought that a sharpie would be less conspicuous than a bag full of QR code stickers if management were to search employees which I believe they do in amazon warehouses. Also the communicability of it, being able to tell others in different warehouses “fill in these squares on the QR code” rsther than distribution of stickers.

        Thanks for the in depth reply about feasibility of it though, very interesting!