We’re happy to announce we now offer our customers digital business cards, also known as a vCards. .
Why pay for boxes of paper business cards that people will throw away? Use the technology that everyone already has, mobile phones, to hand out your digital business cards on the spot. Your information goes directly into their contact list, guaranteeing that they’ll remember you and have all of your information at hand. Perfect for sales, marketing, small businesses, and making connections with anyone.
You can show as much or as little as you want. For the other person to add you, all they have to do is take a photo of the QR code that your digital business card provides, and your vCard displays on their browser. It is simple for anyone to add your contact info, and works on any mobile phone or computer.
Features
SSL protected links
SEO optimized or private
Full information including business address and contact details
All of your social media links
Custom content including images, text, video or products
Simplified view to encourage saving your vCard
Full colour customization
Supports analytics codes such as Google analytics, Matomo, Clicky, etc.
Following up on the heels of the Rogers Outage scam is the upcoming payment from ICBC that people may be entitled to. However, don’t fall for the fake emails or texts on your phone, the legitimate refund will notify you most likely with a letter, as most ICBC correspondence does. Don’t click on these links!
I think it bears repeating, do not click on any link sent to you by text message or email from Rogers claiming to credit you for the recent Canada-wide outage. You may not even be with Rogers – scammers don’t know this information so people on other networks still click to see if they can get money.
If and when Rogers does so, any legitimate refund will come in the form of an automatic credit on your statement. You won’t have to click on anything to receive it. Here’s an example of a fake message:
With the rise of Covid-19, we have also seen a rise in use of QR codes. What are QR codes?
https://paramountdigitalsecurity.com
QR or Quick Response codes are a 2 dimensional barcode first designed for the Japanese auto industry in 1994. The three blocks in the corners are for error-correcting, so that if part of the code is covered over or not visible, it can still piece together the original code. They are popular now because unlike a regular barcode, you can just use a camera to scan them instead of a traditional laser barcode scanner. QR codes are now used across many industries, including product tracing, payments, website logins, restaurant ordering, joining a WiFi network and even QR codes on tombstones, where mourners can get a link to a digital tribute to the deceased!
Restaurants
Covid-19 has ushered in a new era of contactless activities, and restaurants have been the first major switchover from paper and plastic menus to QR codes. You simply scan the QR code on your mobile phone and the restaurant’s website and menu appears. We have helped restaurants switch to QR codes for menus, it is simple and inexpensive to do and saves on physical menu costs. You can even use a second QR code for weekly specials or to send customers to where they can order online.
WiFi Networks
If you have a guest WiFi network for visitors, you can further increase the security of this network and making it easier to connect to by using a QR code to connect guests to the network instead of using a posted password. All guests have to do is scan the QR code, then hit “connect” or “join” and they are in. No need to type passwords or risk connecting to the wrong network. We can help set up your WiFi networks this way.
47%: Fraction of US and UK consumers who said they’ve noticed QR code usage on the rise since the start of the pandemic
31,329: Maximum number of tiny squares you can cram into the largest QR code
>65%: Share of the Chinese population using QR codes for mobile payments in 2017
$143,000: A Chinese hacker stole this much by pasting malicious QR codes on top of real ones
55%: Share of the global population that doesn’t own a smartphone
Security Concerns
Like any other technology, QR codes are prone to certain types of security breaches. We typically do not use them for electronic payments in Canada, which is where most of the breaches occur. However, Paypal has begun testing certain types of QR codes for contactless payments in North America. We will be watching this to quantify the risks.
How to read QR codes
Most modern smartphones have cameras that can read a QR code directly. Try the main one, but in some cases you’ll have to use the front-facing camera instead. Smartphones older than a few years will require a third party QR code reader such as ZXing on Android or QR Code Reader on the iPhone App store.
Contact us today for a no-pressure free consult on how we can help you implement QR codes for your business.
To further support our customers during this pandemic, Paramount Digital Security would like to offer a free video conferencing service to our customers. There is no cost nor download, it all runs in a browser. It includes a password protected page to ensure only your invited staff and partners can participate, and those without a camera can still chat using the text chat feature. Current customers can contact us to book one of the video conferencing rooms for free starting today. It is very easy to use and we will help your group set it up and use it at no charge.
In an admirable move, video conferencing company Zoom is lifting the 40-minute time limit on their free basic accounts for schools. A number of software companies are starting to do the same for various groups because of the coronavirus. We’ll try to stay on top of it and relay this to you. You can apply here: https://zoom.us/docs/ent/school-verification.html
With the COVID-19 coronavirus at the forefront of today’s news, companies are encouraging their staff to work from home. Conferences and events are being cancelled. Even if your organization is not cancelling in-person meetings or events, you can still save money with virtual connections.
