Lexcan

: everyone's least-favourite way of ordering at a restaurant has become the preferred way for hackers to steal your personal info.

Alright, so it might not be a "fun" fact, but here's a TL;DR to keep you safe around town the next time you see a QR code and feel compelled to scan it "just to see what it's about":

1. "QR" is short for "Quick Response."
2. "Phishing" is like a fisherman trying to catch fish using a fake worm, but instead of a fisherman, it's a thief, and instead of a fake worm, it's a fake email, message, or QR code that's trying to steal something like your bank account info.
3. Combine "QR" and "Phishing", and you get "Quishing", which is the name for using a QR code to send you to a fraudulent website and/or download malicious software onto your phone.

Yes, that's the short version.

Another way to put it? "COVID ruined QR codes."

QR codes have become so commonplace everywhere you look that most people have let their guard down when it comes to scanning them.

So, what should you do? Well, it depends on whether you're team blue bubble or team green bubble.

For iOS:
1. Keep your phone updated. Just... do it. It's a pain, but at least Apple regularly adds protections for this kind of thing to all of their devices.
2. Preview links before opening them. You can't always do this when scanning a QR code, but whenever you can preview links, preview them. If the preview shows you something you aren't expecting, then don't open the link! Simple.

For Android:
1. Don't use a QR scanning app. Android phones can scan QR codes using their camera (just like iPhones). Plus, you'll see a preview of the website that the QR code is trying to send you to. See a link that doesn't look right? DON'T GO TO THE WEBSITE! Simple.
2. Be careful with app permissions. The best thing about Android is the worst thing when it comes to these kinds of attacks: Android lets you do virtually anything you want to with your phone. The upside? Limitless customizability that iPhone users won't have for another 10 years! The downside? It's way easier to accidentally donate all of your money to a hacker.

So, believe it or not, that's the short version. If you want to read more about Quishing and how you can protect yourself, we recommend this article from Duke University: https://link.lexcan.net/3vis0HA (it goes into too much detail at some points, but it's still a really good article to save in a "don't get hacked" bookmark folder).

Did anyone else catch the Slack vs. Email throwdown?

Spoiler: Slack won by a GIF.

Remember when 'networking' meant awkwardly hovering around a snack table?

Virtual coffees and connecting on social media is great, but anyone else wonder sometimes if all this efficiency was worth giving up the free cookies?

Also, apparently DALL-E's idea of a networking event involves grown adults feeding cookies to each other. Who knew?