सैमसंग ने बैटरी में नहीं लगाया कोई जासूसी वाला चिप

बीते दिनों खबर आई थी कि सैमसंग ने अपने स्मार्टफोन्स की बैटरी पर स्टिकर के नीचे एक NFC स्टिकर लगाया है जिसके जरिये आपकी जासूसी की जा रही है। यह सरासर गलत है। सोशल मीडिया साइट्स पर अपलोड हुए एक विडियो में एक यूजर को सैमसंग की बैटरी पर से स्टिकर उतार कर उसके नीचे का NFC टैग हटाते हुए दिखाया गया है। इस विडियो में वह यूजर बाकी लोगों को बता रहा है कि सैमसंग बैटरी के नीचे जानबूझकर चिप छिपा रहा है ताकि आपका पर्सनल डेटा हथिया सके।

विडियो देखने के लिए यहां क्लिक करें

NFC स्टिकर्स को यूजर्स की नज़रों से हटाकर लगाया जाता है, क्योंकि वे सामान्यतः यूजरों की रोजमर्रा की ज़रूरतों का हिस्सा नहीं है। इसलिए बैटरी स्टिकर के नीचे उसे लगाया जाता है। यहां समस्या इसलिए है क्योंकि लोगों को इस बात की जानकारी ही नहीं है कि ये स्टिकर क्या होते हैं। 

दूसरी बात, NFC टैग्स तब तक काम नहीं करते जब तक डिवाइस उनके रेडियस के 20सेंटीमीटर तक करीब न हो। बल्कि यह तो ब्लूटूथ से भी ज्यादा सेफ है क्योंकि इसके जरिये फाइल्स ट्रांसफर करने के लिए दोनों डिवाइसेज का बेहद करीब होना ज़रूरी है। 

इस विडियो में यूजर ने न सिर्फ सैमसंग बल्कि सरकार को भी लपेटने की कोशिश की है। उसने चेतावनियां देते हुए इस स्टिकर को बैटरी पर से हटा दिया। 

इस विडियो ने बहुत ज्यादा लोगों का ध्यान खींचा है। यह किस मंशा से बनाया गया है, यह भी साफ नहीं है।

News Sources @ http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/tech/computer-mobile/samsung-is-not-spying-via-nfc-chips-under-mobile-batteries/articleshow/47861330.cms

Advanced mobile payment options & data sharing capabilities

NFC Chip technology, or Near Field Communication Chips, are short-range wireless chips that can be used to transfer information from one mobile device to each other. Mobile wallets, which are  apps that handle credit card transactions, are expected to be the biggest users of NFC technology, and these chips are rapidly being incorporated into smartphones and credit card terminals. Games, computers, and other input terminals are also employing Near Field Communications chips in order to share data and gain more actionable metrics on everything from proximity to access control. In the future, it is very possible that your phone will not only be used to pay at the register but also act as a wireless boarding pass, key for your front door (or car), and driver's license. NFC chips might also be used in novel applications like implanted medical devices, and the act of "tethering" your phone to a USB cable might become a thing of the past.

Consumers are warming up to the potential of near field communications, since they can now share photos and other information by placing phones back-to-back. With the proliferation of mobile wallets, the interest in chips has increased especially following data breaches which are showing the downside of having an easily copied magstripe credit card. Readers at major retailers include "chip and PIN" EMV solutions as well as the contactless transceiver chips which are expected to power uncounted billions of dollars in transactions over the coming years. Tomorrow's consumer may only be carrying a smartphone for identification and payments, so the future for these microchips is getting brighter by the day.

Most of the time people think of NFC chips, they are considering having a smartphone sharing information with a similar mobile device, or  synching up with a computer that is also NFC chip enabled. However, very simple devices can also have NFC chips, so a thumb drive, memory stick, or SD card may also have NFC technology available to transfer information. Because of the nature of NFC communications, only one device may need to be powered, so NFC communication could be done with chips embedded in ID cards, stickers, or keychains. When both devices have power, NFC chips can be used for P2P (Peer-to-Peer) communications. 

Mobile payments are one of the biggest potential uses for NFC chips, since you could essentially turn your phone into a credit card, and pay at retailers who have NFC technology enabled, similar to the way you can make payments with RFID enabled credit cards right now.  Beyond that, the smartphone or mobile device enabled with an NFC chip could also serve as a "ticket" to board a plane, attend a show, or get into a hotel room. Practically any activity that involves keys or identity documents could be enabled for NFC chip recognition, improving efficiency and security, so long as there is some way of proving that the person who holds the NFC enabled phone is the actual owner.

As of April 2012, the list of NFC Enabled devices includes the following. This list is courtesy of Wikipedia:

Android

 HTC One X

 HTC One XL

 Nexus S

 Google Nexus S 4G

 Samsung Galaxy S II (not all versions)

 Samsung Galaxy Note (not all versions)

 Galaxy Nexus

 HTC Amaze 4G

 Huawei Sonic T20

 Huawei Sonic (U8650NFC-1)

 Sony Xperia S

 Sony Xperia P

 Sony Xperia SOLA

 Turkcell T20

 Turkcell T11

 Ovi store/S40 & J2ME

 Nokia 6212 Classic

 Nokia 6131 NFC

 Nokia 6216 Classic

 Nokia 3220 + NFC Shell

 Nokia 5140(i) + NFC Shell

 Ovi store/S60 & J2ME

 Nokia 600 

 Nokia 603

 Nokia 700

 Nokia 701

 Nokia C7

 Nokia C7 and the Nokia Astound and Nokia Oro variants, with the NFC feature enabled starting with the Nokia BELLE release of the OS.

 J2ME

 Samsung S5230 Tocco Lite/Star/Player One/Avila

 Samsung SGH-X700 NFC

 Samsung D500E

 Bada

 Samsung Wave 578

 samsung wave Y

 MeeGo

 Nokia N9

 BlackBerry

 Blackberry Bold 9790 (Codename Bellagio)

 BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 (Codename Dakota/Montana)

 BlackBerry Torch 9810/9860

 Blackberry Curve 9350/9360/9370

 Windows Mobile 6.0

 Benq T80

 Other

 SAGEM my700X Contactless

 LG 600V contactless

 Motorola L7 (SLVR)

 Sagem Cosyphone

 Sonim XP1301 CORE NFC

 Wii U Controller

(Some of these devices may have already been discontinued.)

Notes and Special Information

Special note: NFC chips may not be the security nightmare that people envision, given that they are using an encrypted code that does not pass the credit card number itself in order to make payments. Some NFC chip payments may also utilize PIN numbers as an added form of security, so even if someone steals your phone or NFC credit card, they will still need to know a PIN number to drain your account.

Should you invest in NFC Chip manufacturers? How should I know? Many people are seeing dollar signs if Apple uses Near Field Communications in its devices for Apple Pay, and certainly there is something to be said for betting on technology, but as we all know a lot of big companies can lose billions of dollars at a sitting if some competitor starts dumping low-cost hardware on the market. Perhaps the answer is to invest in whoever holds the licensing, but this site is not qualified to offer investment advice, since after all any non-FDIC investment can lose value, and the author not only has no investments in NFC, he has no investments other than an underwater mortgage and a speculative media collection.

Resources @ http://www.nfcchip.org/