MSDN Connection – RFID

I got my first piece of correspondence from Microsoft yesterdat from their ISV programme. It included my MSDN Connection ID Card… There are some interesting implications though. Right now I am a Recognised Developer

The first implication is that they provide a whole lot of stickers to place on the card stating which User Group you wish to be associated with. As far as I can tell all these groups are free, and are sponsored by microsoft and companies. The one at Wollongong looks like it is the best for my needs.

More importantly, when I got the card I was surprised. These days most cards have a magnetic strip, or bar code, or something. But all this one has is a number on the front – my MSDN Connection Number – and a small serial number on the back. Both are too small to be used for anything like access control or much else.

I have seen cards where the Magnetic Strip has been hidden under a very thin layer of plastic. Normally you could look closely and find the stip, but nothing. Then I noticed a small deformation in the card on the top right corner of the card. It was about 5mm x 5mm. It is more on the front than the back. I have seen marks like this made with normal heat printing processes. So all was fine.

All was fine until I visited the Wollongong NET User Group site, and found that Microsoft had provided an RFID reader. Ahh… So this is an RFID card. A Contactless card. Interesting privacy implications I would say…