Chip cards, digital signatures — more secure?

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A few years ago, I began to hear about the new secure chip technologies. They were coming soon. Just like with online banking and other online monetary exchanges, I could not for the life of me see how they could be secure. I vowed, with online banking, that I would never submit to the activities. I did the same with the idea of using chip cards.

It is turning out to be an interesting exercise to watch how these new technologies are adopted and become ubiquitous in our lives and society. It is like we are being controlled—that we can be convinced to do almost anything. Was it the extra charges for using personal, face-to-face banking or simply the convenience in our ever growing hectic lifestyle that has swayed us into acceptance? Online financial activities are so common now that hardly anybody questions the security aspects. Why don’t we hear more about the problems with electronic financial exchanges?

So, what about chip cards? I wanted to hold off as long as possible, but, credit cards are a different ball game than something like changing the way you do something. Credit cards expire and then you have no choice. But wait, some were too eager to get me using the new chip technology.

One day, I received a phone call from MasterCard stating that my card number, a number I had for about 35 years, was within a range of numbers that they said “might have been compromised.” They had simply gone ahead and terminated my card. I had to cut up the card and I would receive a new one within two weeks. What was I to do in the meantime, I asked? No card! And, you guessed it, the new card was a chip card. I used it for a few weeks and then it expired and I got a new one. Go figure!

So, I had a PIN number to look after now. The first time I used the card, I must have seemed like a dummy. “What, I don’t have to sign? What is safer about that?”, I asked. Soon, I learned that usage at stores can vary. I hand my card over and the cashier (?) hands me back a machine with my card sticking out of it. Careful, misreading the tiny screen and it’s instructions can result in failure and a waist of more time.

Some stores don’t even utilize the technology and opt for a digital signature pad. Now, I am a south paw (lefty) and it is really difficult for me to sign one of these pads, especially when the placement of the pad never accounted for the angle at which most left-handed people write. Absolutely anyone could sign my name better than I do. Slowly, I am starting to develop a new version of my signature, one for use on a digital signature pad. Of course, there are some stores still doing it the old fashioned way, with a slip of paper. I still worry that my digital signature, now scribbled and digitized many times into many systems, might get stolen one day. Does my digital signature get saved somewhere?

Today, my wallet is bursting with chip cards, credit cards, bank cards, and I have a new problem that I think about nearly every time I use one of the cards. What is the PIN number for this one? Unlike some people, I have opted to use a different PIN for each card. My logic tells me that if someone gets my wallet and my PIN, they will have it all, that is, if I have changed all the PIN numbers to be the same code. Thus, I have the numbers kept in a secret place that I have to check before I use the card. But, what if somebody finds my list? Then they will have it all anyway. Stealing a PIN does not seem that difficult, since the keypads are used out in the open with no plastic guards, or anything to stop somebody from seeing what buttons you press. Am I to cup my hand over the keypad like we used to do when we wanted to hide something we were writing in school, like a test?

Isn’t a hand written signature on paper more secure? More authentic? I am always wondering if there is another way. What about fingerprint? Then someone would need to steal both my card and my finger. What about iris recognition? They would have to get my eye too.

I think chip cards are better for the stores than a slip of paper. They certainly do not seem better for me.

There is much more to this business of converting to using chips. See — http://www.spychips.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrITx7_tTT0 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spychips

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Go green bike lanes and other greenish stuff

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We, my family and I, recently drove through town and I found that, although there did not seem to be a lot of cars, traffic was moving rather slowly. In recent months, that might well have been due to road construction. Vancouver has had so much road construction that it has been difficult to go anywhere without having to maneuver through all sorts of fluorescent orange or green traffic control systems. I took to commenting often that, “Vancouver is just one giant construction zone.” Vancouver is a city where folks like their cars. It is hard to get them to give up driving everywhere. Transit systems are in place, as are a variety of initiatives, to make getting around without using a car, much easier. One such initiative is bike lanes and it was a bike lane that got me thinking, as we drove through town.

For those who live in, or near, town, biking is a very viable alternative to using a car. Bike lanes have been added to a few streets and bridges. One street corridor recently received a three million dollar (if I recall correctly) experiment, trial, pilot project, whatever, one that is taking place in the middle of winter. There was quite a bit of discussion about this project because it received approval at around 11 PM at night and the construction began a 7AM the next morning. It seemed the contractors were expecting to be proceeding, even before a formal go ahead. It also seems as if the lane might be designed to be permanent.

We live in a suburb of Vancouver and actually seldom drive downtown, so, I was a bit surprised at how much driving space is lost due to the bike lanes. I always imagined a narrow bike lane. I guess it never really occurred to me that the only way to make the lane is to take a whole car lane. The result, as I soon noticed, is that traffic moves much slower. That got me to thinking. Our drive through town took place on a rainy day and I saw only a few (brave?) bikers. We, however, sat in our car idling and having to start and stop more often than usual. So, how can this be a green option? Three and four lane streets were reduced to two lanes, thus slowing traffic. All this for only a few bikers.

This raises the issue, and it is a real concern, what makes a particular initiative a green one? It can look green, like a bike lane, but, what lies (a pun?) under the surface? Was reduced automobile traffic flow factored into the ‘bike lanes are green’ equation?

It turns out that many corporations and large organizations will take what looks to be a green initiative and publicize it to gain attention. It is a usually a marketing money grab. If you dig under the surface, just like the bike lanes, there are other considerations that may negate some of the green value.

Many corporations struggle with going green. They attempt to take existing products and make them greener, only to find that the consumer gets confused and no longer understands the product. Other corporations have discovered that creating an entirely new product introduced as green, brings more success.

I know I have opened a very controversial can of worms. Here is another green initiative, light bulbs. Today, my mother-in-law brought up the fact that it is getting difficult to buy incandescent light bulbs. She mentioned the alternative, compact fluorescent lights (CFL), and wanted to know what other options were available. I told her that LED (light emitting diode) lights are probably the next answer, but, they are too expensive at this time. LED lights do last far longer that anything else. I forgot to mention Halogen. One can find many halogen bulbs in the lighting section of stores, but, most look like very small spotlights and are usually used in track lighting and pot lights recessed in the ceiling.

Back to our conversation where we were pondering the green value of CFLs since they contain mercury. How can mercury be a better alternative? Without some research, the only reason I can think of is that they are a cheaper transition option to use, getting people to switch to other types of lighting and, while LED or other types come down in price.

I know we can go on with this discussion for years, and I’m sure we will. For now, I’ll end with asking, “Is the world going to end one day anyway, no matter what we do?”