QR Code Scanner

Scanning without a phone

The obvious way to read a QR code is with a phone camera, which is no help when the code is already on your screen. A code in an email, a PDF, a screenshot someone sent you, or a web page cannot be scanned by the device displaying it. Reading it from an uploaded image, or through a webcam, solves that. It is also useful for checking a code you have generated actually resolves to what you intended before you print a hundred copies.

Check the link before you follow it

QR codes are worth being careful with, because a code gives no indication of where it leads. Fraudulent codes stuck over genuine ones on parking meters, restaurant tables and payment terminals are now a common scam, precisely because nobody can tell by looking. Reading the code and seeing the destination as text before opening it is a real protection, and it is one of the better reasons to use a scanner on a computer rather than tapping through on a phone.

What to look for in the result

• Check the domain carefully, since lookalike spellings are the usual trick.
• Be suspicious of a shortened link, because it hides the real destination.
• A payment or login page reached through a QR code deserves particular care.
• On a physical code, check for a sticker placed over the original.