'Some QR codes have "favicon" graphics in dead-space of the QR code where
they are ignored by the QR reader..'

I'm not sure it's fair to call it dead space. The cute little graphic in
the middle of your QR code is taking advantage of - but also eating into -
the redundancy and error correction built into the format. IOW, it
deliberately damages the QR code knowing that it can get away with
it, which it mostly can on web pages. Problems might arise once Charles'
business card has gotten a little worn, or creased, or had some coffee
spilled on it.

On Fri, Dec 1, 2023 at 3:38 PM Hammer, Erich F <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Charles,
>
> Think of your QR code like a braille business card; A sighted recipient
> would need to get it translated, but it's just your text information.  If a
> blind, evil genius came along, what could they do with it?
>
> Some QR codes have "favicon" graphics in dead-space of the QR code where
> they are ignored by the QR reader, but you can't encode a logo into the QR
> code any more than you could convert a logo into braille.
>
> Erich
>
>
> PS:  A related and little known -- by sighted people -- fact:  Braille is
> heavily encoded and distinctly not "regular text" printed in a raised-dot
> font.
>
>
> On Friday, December 1, 2023 at 14:52, Charles Meyer eloquently inscribed:
>
> > Tamarra and Deborah et al,
> >
> > Thank you for your posts and questions.
> >
> > Thanks to Erich I was able to create a QR code with zint although it
> > doesn’t seem to allow me to add our County Library logo.
> >
> > It does give me pause re: how that QR code could be used nefariously?
> >
> > If I just invite a person to read my QR code with their cell phone QR
> > reader could they misappropriate that QR code for unapproved activity?
> >
> > Fascinating conversation.
> >
> > I so appreciate all these helpful posts.
> >
> > Charles.
> >
> > Date:    Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:12:50 -0800
> > From:    Tamara Marnell <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: Re: QR Code replacement for business card
> >
> > A QR code just represents a string. If anything gets embedded, it will be
> > visible in the text. Like in Joe's example, you'd see a different domain
> > that forwards to the URL you wanted. If you test it and the decoded
> string
> > is exactly what you put into the generator, it's fine. (Whether the
> website
> > you visited to generate that code is safe is a different question, so I
> > second the recommendation of Zint or the tools built into your browser.)
> >
> > Most security risks of QR codes are really to the users. If the codes are
> > posted in public places--like those little cards on restaurant tables to
> > pay for your meal--someone could theoretically cover them up with a
> > different code that tricks patrons into giving away their sensitive
> > information, or downloads malware to their phones, etc.
> >
> > -Tamara
>
>
>