2.2 : Direct data entry and associated devices

Question 1

what are magnetic stripe readers ?

Answer 1

• they are used to read magnetic stripes on the back of cards.

Question 2

what are the uses of a magnetic stripe readers?

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

what are the advantages of magnetic stripe readers ?

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

what are the disadvantages of magnetic stripe readers ?

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

what is chip and pin readers ?

Answer 5

• 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.

Question 6

what are the advantages of Chip and Pin readers ?

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

what are the disadvantages of Chip and Pin readers ?

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

what are contactless cards ?

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

what are the advantages of a contactless card ?

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

what are the disadvantages of a contactless cards ?

Answer 10

• 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.

Question 11

what is a RFID tag ?

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

what are the advantages of RFID tags ?

Answer 12

• 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

Question 13

what are the disadvantages of RFID readers ?

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

what are the uses of RFID tags ?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what does QR means ?

Answer 15

Quick response

Question 16

what are QR codes ?

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

what are the advantages of QR ?

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

what does MICR stand for ?

Answer 18

• magnetic Ink Character Reader

Question 19

what is MICR ?

Answer 19

MICR is able to read character that are printed with special ink and then convert it to a form that the computer can understand

Question 20

where do we use MICR ?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

what are the advantages of MICR ?

Answer 21

• 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

Question 22

what are the disadvantages of MICR ?

Answer 22

• the readers are very expensive

- only able to read a limited amount of characters

Question 23

Describe how MICR is used to read these details from the cheque ?

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

what does OMR stand for ?

Answer 24

• optical mark reader

Question 25

what is OMR ?

Answer 25

- OMR is able to read marks written with pen or pencil ,. the position of the mark is stored in the computer's memory. - it is used for multiple choice exams , surveys and the lottery

Question 26

what are the advantages of OMR ?

Answer 26

- very fast with reading if form is filled correctly , thus saving money as you only need one computer and no human operator - more accurate than OCR - less error chance

Question 27

what are the disadvantages of OMR ?

Answer 27

- need a form to be filled cant be any paper - if form is crumbled it may be rejected - instruction to fill it 100% correct if not it may be rejected

Question 28

what does OCR stands for ?

Answer 28

- optical character reader

Question 29

what is OCR ?

Answer 29

- an OCR scans an image of the text then it uses a special recognition software to recognise each character and then it can be used in a software like word processor it used in utlities bills for reading account number aand details - used along side CCTV for recognising car plates

Question 30

what are the advantages of OCR ?

Answer 30

- faster input device than typing the document - reduces risk or RSI - can read handwriting - reduces typing errors

Question 31

what are the disadvantages of OCR ?

Answer 31

- if handwriting is not clear it will not read it | - the form should be filled correctly

Question 32

what are barcodes ?

Answer 32

they are a series of parallel lines that differ in width and under them is a number , a barcode reader is used to scan them mostly used at POS terminals

Question 33

what does the code store ?

Answer 33

- the country of origin - the name of the product - the price - details - the manufatcurer

Question 34

advantages of barcode reader ?

Answer 34

- faster way of inputting data - more accuracy than writing it manually - can be updated easily so no need to change price tag on every producted