2.2 : Direct data entry and associated devices Flashcards
what are magnetic stripe readers ?
- they are used to read magnetic stripes on the back of cards.
what are the uses of a magnetic stripe readers?
- bank cards : contains bank account details
- hotels : to allow entry or access to rooms, buildings etc.
- gift cards ( voucher ) : contains the amount of voucher
- arcades : contains balance
what are the advantages of magnetic stripe readers ?
- can be easily updated
- robust and not affected by water or dust
- can be an alternative to chip and pin
- allows faster data entry than typing the data in manually
- ## eliminates typing errors
what are the disadvantages of magnetic stripe readers ?
- can not be read from a distance
- can become unreadable from use and scratches
- can be clones easily ( card fraud )
- can store small amounts of data
- can be easily lost or misplaced
- can be easily damaged by magnetic fields
what is chip and pin readers ?
- they are used by inserting debit / credit cards inside them and then a numeric keypad is used to type in your PIN which is used to verify that this is the owner of the card , then the data in the chip on the card can be read , there main use is to make secure payments using debit / credit cards , but they are also used in ID’s and some passports , public transport tickets etc.
what are the advantages of Chip and Pin readers ?
- they are not damaged as easily as magnetic stripe cards
- they can store a lot more data
- more secure as the owner has to provide his PIN
- they are harder to copy compared to magnetic stripe cards
what are the disadvantages of Chip and Pin readers ?
- owner can forget his PIN
- PIN can be observed by somebody , for fraud reasons
- not available in some countries
- there are fraudulent machines that can copy card details
what are contactless cards ?
- they are cards that allow data to be transferred without the need to type a PIN , it works by a chip that is embedded on the card that emits radio waves , so when the card is close enough to the terminal it will pick up the signals. Mostly used for credit and debt cards , for security reasons there will be a limit on spending
what are the advantages of a contactless card ?
- takes less time at the POS terminal
- there will be no errors as there is no need to type in the PIN
- more secure as it uses encryption for the data
- it uses a secure unique transaction number rather than transferring the account number
what are the disadvantages of a contactless cards ?
- they are more expensive
- there is a limited amount
- if there is a person close to you with a suitable reader they can record the whole transaction and scan the card
- if a person uses the card as a Chip and Pin he will risk the card being read twice , which means he will buy two times for the product.
what is a RFID tag ?
- it uses the same technology as the contactless card , it uses radio waves to read the information stored in the tag, data can be read from several meters away , it is made up of two separate components which are a microchip where the data is stored and processed and an antenna to receive and send informations
what are the advantages of RFID tags ?
- they can be read from a distance
- they are read really fast
- they pretty robust and reliable
- data can be read and written
- it is more efficient as the reader can detect multiple RFID tags at onc e
what are the disadvantages of RFID readers ?
- it is expensive to set-up a RFID system
- it is easy to hack the signals
- tag collision can occur which is when signals from more than one RFID tag collide with eachothre
- RFID waves can be easily jammed
what are the uses of RFID tags ?
track movements : of livestock or people
stock control : scan stock items for quantity
airport Luggage : to make sure nothing is lost
contactless cards : to make payments
what does QR means ?
Quick response
what are QR codes ?
- it is made up of a matrix which is filled with black squares on a light background , these codes can hold up to 7000 digits, they redirect the device to a specific website after the code has been scanned , they are used in shopping malls and public transportation for advertising reasons
- they work similarly to barcode readers but these can hold more information and data , they are usually scanned via a mobile phone camera , and can redirect it to a website , play audio or hold information about a company
what are the advantages of QR ?
- there is no need to type in the information that can be stored on the QR
- good for advertisment as they are easily and quickly scanned
what does MICR stand for ?
- magnetic Ink Character Reader
what is MICR ?
MICR is able to read character that are printed with special ink and then convert it to a form that the computer can understand
where do we use MICR ?
MICR is used in banks when clearing checks. The MICR reads the characters at the end of the cheques as these characters are printed with special ink
what are the advantages of MICR ?
- 100 % accuracy when reading the cheque
- high speed of reading the cheques
- does not get affected if it was written over
- does not get affected if the cheque was crumbled
- no need to type in any infromation manually
- difficult to forge
what are the disadvantages of MICR ?
- the readers are very expensive
- only able to read a limited amount of characters
Describe how MICR is used to read these details from the cheque ?
he magnetic inkon the chequepasses over a magnetin the magnetic ink character Reader (MICR). The MICR then reads the magnetic signalgiven out by the magnetic ink characters on the cheque. Each character produces a unique signalwhich is read and translated by the MICR.
what does OMR stand for ?
- optical mark reader
