I really really hate QR codes.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
There are plenty of good QR code generators. I use
https://www.qr-code-generator.com/But you are right to be wary - especially when reading QR codes. Make sure that your QR code reader is one that lets you look at the URL first, not one that just loads up automatically. Then you can see that the website being loaded is the one that you are expecting. People have been known to paste fake QR codes over real ones in public places, for example.
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@sundogplanets
The main problem I have with QR codes is how opaque they are. For any given code:
-Who generated it and is it therefore trustworthy (tw).
-What other sites does the code transit while in use? The generator could be tw but are the cdns used equally tw?
-Is malware, phishing, or data harvesting injected along the transit chain?
-How do you *really* know where your browser is going before you use the qr code?
For me using a qr code in general is asking for id theft.@mildpeach @sundogplanets I feel like the second point onwards could very well be true for any URL you encounter in the wild.
A good QR scanner app will display what it read and lets you choose what to do with that information.
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@sundogplanets For things like text & URLs duckduckgo can create QR codes by searching for "qr code <text/URL>"
@paddi @sundogplanets that’s wild.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
Thank you! I am sad to have missed helping you. (I learned several new options from everyone for when I am in a pinch like you were!)
An option for the list here, a reader-generator combo:
QR Scanner (Privacy Friendly Apps) by the Security Usability and Society research group at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
This is one that pauses to show you the link. It works well paired with the URLCheck app as the default web application.
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.secuso.privacyFriendlyCodeScanner
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@mildpeach @sundogplanets I feel like the second point onwards could very well be true for any URL you encounter in the wild.
A good QR scanner app will display what it read and lets you choose what to do with that information.
@phl @mildpeach @sundogplanets yea, just turn off "open immediately" or whatever your setting is
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
Here is one you can embed an image into by @andrewt
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
-
I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets if you are one of those astronomy folks who dabbles in using python on the side, to plot data or ephemeris position stuffs... there are a few libraries for python one can use to create QR codes. No online interaction needed, except to install the library.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets
https://gchq.github.io/CyberChef/
1. Choose 'Other' on the left.
2. Click "Generate QR Code" and drag it into the "Recipe" box in the middle.
3. Adjust settings if desired.
4. Paste or type your text into the "Input" field on the top right.
That's it. You can even download the page and run it offline since it's all in your browser.
Also, LibreOffice can do it: https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/01/qrcode.html -
I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets @rayckeith great question, and thanks for sharing the answer!
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets Also was going to mention LibreOffice. But @Vivaldi browser has a QR generator built right into the URL bar. Super handy.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets Also was going to mention LibreOffice. But @Vivaldi browser has a QR generator built right into the URL bar. Super handy.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
Thanks @sundogplanets for the pointer, very useful !
There exists alternatives like this simple programmatic approach offered by
https://pypi.org/project/qrcode/
Once installed, it’s a single command like ˋqr "Some text" > test.pngˋ
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets Another nice solution: https://zint.org.uk/
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Thanks @sundogplanets for the pointer, very useful !
There exists alternatives like this simple programmatic approach offered by
https://pypi.org/project/qrcode/
Once installed, it’s a single command like ˋqr "Some text" > test.pngˋ
And you are right @sundogplanets - QR codes really are everywhere these days. What I appreciate, though, is how their ubiquity stems from the inventor’s decision to open-source the technology. It’s a rare example of how sharing an idea can lead to its widespread adoption and utility:
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What OS are you using? Should be able to get a generator that runs locally with no web needed.
@dlakelan @sundogplanets
All OS that can run LibreOffice. Local, FOSS, no Google, no web needed.LibreOffice, because you wanted to get rid of Microsoft 365 Slopilot crap anyway.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
I have a QR generator I wrote (using ZXing libraries). It is written in Java, & runs locally on your system. There are Debian packages, but also an installer for other systems (e.g., MacOS, Windows, etc.). You should install openjdk first. The Debian packages will configure the system to recognize icons, etc., but for other systems, I just provided the files as I had no way of testing that. It can also decode QR codes so you can see what a URL is.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets Inkscape includes an extension to make them, and bar codes as well.
https://daviesmediadesign.com/how-to-generate-qr-codes-in-inkscape/ -
I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets another one, https://staticqrcode.org/
Done all client side in the browser.
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I really really hate QR codes. But a lot of people really like them. And they're useful during a talk for the people who really like them (I'm also including the text of the link, though, dammit!)
But... I have never done this before, and a lot of the "free QR code generators" look kind of scammy and I don't want to give people weird viruses or spam. So... fediverse, help!
EDIT TO ADD SOLUTION: within like 2 minutes https://zxing.appspot.com/generator
I love you, fediverse.
@sundogplanets
Framasoft has also a QR Code generator in their toolbox (among a lot of respectfull tools) :
https://omnitools.framatoolbox.org/image-generic/qr-code
