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Security experts hack payment terminals to steal credit card info, play games
If a payment terminal could be forced into servitude as a crude handheld gaming device, what else could it be made to do? Researchers at the Black Hat conference showed just what mischief a commonly used UK PoS terminal could get up to when they inserted a chip-and-pin card crafted with malicious code. That enabled them to install a racing game and play it, using the machine's pin pad and screen. With the same hack, they were able to install a far less whimsical program as well -- a Trojan that could record card numbers and PINs, which could be extracted later by inserting another rogue card. On top of that, criminals could use the same method to fool the terminal into thinking a transaction was bank-approved, allowing them to walk out of a store with goods they hadn't paid for. Finally, the security gurus took a device popular in the US, and used non-encrypted ethernet communication between the terminal and other peripherals to hack into the payment device and take root control. Makes you want to put those credit cards (and NFC devices) away and stick to cash -- at least you can see who's robbing you blind. [Original image credit: Shutterstock]
USB Piggy Card Reader for geeky farmers
Leave it to Brando -- leaders of the 'alternative' USB lifestyle -- to offer the discerning consumer a card reader shaped like a pig. As to why someone would buy this four-slot model instead of something a little less tacky, the e-tailer helpfully notes "its piggy-like design which is cute and its weight is light so that easy for storage and also as a decoration on working desk." Thanks guys, and while we're quite satisfied with the reader built into our 24-inch monitor, anyone sporting a pair of pink pig PC speakers will surely appreciate this $10 swine.[Via TRFJ]
Wave Scanner: bulky DS attachment ups the fun
There's probably no small overlap among folks who play fantasy video games and those who while away the hours engrossed in Magic-style card battles, so we're thinking that a new attachment for the Nintendo DS has a real shot at succeeding. Capcom and TakaraTomy will jointly be launching the so-called Wave Scanner in Japan next month, finally bringing the fun of collectible playing cards to the Megaman series of games. The rather bulky scanner works with a number of different Rockman Star Force titles (Rockman is Megaman's original Japanese name), and allows players to swipe special cards for influencing gameplay. We're not really sure why this ¥4,200 ($35) add-on needs to be so big and thus hinder the whole portability thing that the DS has going for it, but who knows, maybe it takes a Cell processor and some serious RAM to process those complicated bar codes.
Alfa Media's "world's smallest" miniSD reader: MNCR
While the miniSD cards themselves certainly aren't the leanest of the SD bunch, Alfa Media has unveiled the self-proclaimed "world's smallest" reader for these minuscule cards. Coming in at a hair smaller than Apple's latest iPod shuffle, but not quite as petite as the nearly microscopic Oki Electric Industry MP3 chip, the 24 x 21.5 x 2.4-millimeter MNCR plugs directly into your computer's USB port, theoretically creating an incredibly tiny USB flash drive. The company claims its (presumably) easy-to-misplace reader will play nice with Windows and Mac-based operating systems and keep those transfer moving along at 26Mbps. Although we aren't yet sure of pricing and availability details, we'll go out on a limb and assume your 2GB miniSD card will demand a bit more coinage than this bantam liaison.[Via Red Ferret]
Delkin targets pros with ExpressCard 34 CompactFlash Adapter
There are already a number of solutions on the market for amateur photographers looking to offload SD- and MemoryStick-confined photos to an ExpressCard-equipped laptop (Buffalo and Y-E Data both offer such card readers), but for pros looking to transfer pics from more capacious CF cards or MicroDrives, USB readers and camera tethering have so far been the only options. Well that long nightmare is about to come to an end, thanks to Delkin's upcoming ExpressCard 34 CompactFlash Adapter, which works with both PC and Mac laptops sporting either 34- or 54-millimeter slots. Coming October 16th for $60, the Delkin adapter promises 20MBps file transfers, keeping downtime at those weddings and Bar Mitzvahs to a minimum. Okay, so soon you'll be able to get your SD / MS / CF transfers on without much hassle, but won't someone please, please think of the humble xD card?
USB media reader now with Bluetooth, blinkenlights
From the city that brought us such delicious items like dim sum and old school Chow Yun-Fat movies, we now have what may be the most amazing memory card reader in history. In fact, one might even say that its card reading fu is better than yours. This reader supports 52 types of memory cards (switch 'em up every week!) and also features an integrated Bluetooth adapter. As you can see in the semi-annoying animated gif at right, it comes in "multi moody colours" -- is that like a mood ring?
Maxell announces SDHC-compliant card reader
Accessory manufacturers like Hitachi-owned Maxell must love new memory card formats almost as much as we hate them, because each tiny new card that hits the market requires a corresponding round of high-profit-margin peripherals to support it. We already knew that the new high-capacity SD version 2.0 (or SDHC) cards would not work in readers that don't support the FAT32 file format, so Maxell has leveraged this incompatibility to come up with a new 5-in-1 reader that will support the 4+GB cards when they hit the market, along with MMC, MemoryStick/MS Pro, and our old favorite, xD. Better known as the UA20-SDMSXD, the new reader will be available sometime this summer -- about the same time we're expecting the first SDHC cards from Panasonic.
