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I loved their post on the iButton. https://blog.flipperzero.one/taming-ibutton/ https://blog.flipperzero.one/taming-ibutton/ I've never actually come across th

by cstrat 5y ago

I loved their post on the iButton. https://blog.flipperzero.one/taming-ibutton/ https://blog.flipperzero.one/taming-ibutton/ I've never actually come across this interface. It's not common in Australia, I still really enjoyed the write up and seeing how they overcame the difficulties.

teclordphrack2 5y ago
I've seen the same or similar lock device on fast food safes.
exikyut 5y ago
I think I started noticing circa ~2003 (and possibly as far back as ~1999) how cleaners at larger shopping centers (like Westfields) in Sydney would prove they've visited a specific area by tapping a little box they carry with them against iButtons discretely squirreled away in random corners. You generally have to know where to look to find them; the easiest way would probably be to get into the habit of hawkeyeing every cleaner you see, particularly if they're walking somewhere - but I noticed (back when I was actively hunting for the things) they tended to pop up around entries/exits for some reason (including major entrances and carpark exits). The epoxy jobs I often see anchoring iButtons to walls visibly aren't at the level of detail/engineering required to run invisible wiring (eg through concrete) etc, so I theorize that the iButtons themselves are completely passive (eg, they contain a resistor, or maybe a microcontroller), and the box is a transponder (unlikely) or that it records to internal storage and then gets dropped onto a sync cradle (more likely). The gadgets the cleaners use are very literally about as featureful as a cigarette packet: a dark grey rectangle with an iButton connector on the back and a small LCD. I've not really ever had the impetus to go pin a cleaner down and politely ask for more details :D
- ThePowerOfFuet 5y ago
  They contain an EEPROM and/or a microcontroller. Some just play a serial number, others can run full-blown Java (or maybe it was JavaCard) applets. "Java Ring" was such an iButton on a ring to be worn.
  - exikyut 5y ago
    Oooooh. That means the score chart would go something like... If EEPROM: Level 0: Determine that it's an EEPROM and dump the full contents Level 1: Locate the undocumented vendor control string (which doesn't exist) and unlocks the EEPROM and makes it fully rewritable Level 2: Rewrite the EEPROM to change the area code or label or whatnot to something funny Level 3.14159265359: Rewrite the EEPROM such that its contents cause a buffer overflow in the handheld gadget and achieve remote code execution Level 42: Rewrite the EEPROM such that the RCE achieved in the handheld gadget then causes nested RCE in the synchronization software, then use the opportunity to, say, open a popular YouTube video If Java: Level 0: Send data through the iButton link that breaks the Java sandbox and allows for general execution on the CPU Level 1: Dump the full contents of the firmware Level 2: Alter the firmware such that every time you tap the iButton it sends area information from shopping centres in entirely different states (counties) :D Level 3.1e10: Alter the firmware to achieve RCE in the scanner gadget, then stream individual video frames through the iButton link onto the scanner LCD :D

by cstrat 5y ago

teclordphrack2 5y ago

I've seen the same or similar lock device on fast food safes.

exikyut 5y ago

I think I started noticing circa ~2003 (and possibly as far back as ~1999) how cleaners at larger shopping centers (like Westfields) in Sydney would prove they've visited a specific area by tapping a little box they carry with them against iButtons discretely squirreled away in random corners. You generally have to know where to look to find them; the easiest way would probably be to get into the habit of hawkeyeing every cleaner you see, particularly if they're walking somewhere - but I noticed (back when I was actively hunting for the things) they tended to pop up around entries/exits for some reason (including major entrances and carpark exits). The epoxy jobs I often see anchoring iButtons to walls visibly aren't at the level of detail/engineering required to run invisible wiring (eg through concrete) etc, so I theorize that the iButtons themselves are completely passive (eg, they contain a resistor, or maybe a microcontroller), and the box is a transponder (unlikely) or that it records to internal storage and then gets dropped onto a sync cradle (more likely). The gadgets the cleaners use are very literally about as featureful as a cigarette packet: a dark grey rectangle with an iButton connector on the back and a small LCD. I've not really ever had the impetus to go pin a cleaner down and politely ask for more details :D

ThePowerOfFuet 5y ago
They contain an EEPROM and/or a microcontroller. Some just play a serial number, others can run full-blown Java (or maybe it was JavaCard) applets. "Java Ring" was such an iButton on a ring to be worn.
- exikyut 5y ago
  Oooooh. That means the score chart would go something like... If EEPROM: Level 0: Determine that it's an EEPROM and dump the full contents Level 1: Locate the undocumented vendor control string (which doesn't exist) and unlocks the EEPROM and makes it fully rewritable Level 2: Rewrite the EEPROM to change the area code or label or whatnot to something funny Level 3.14159265359: Rewrite the EEPROM such that its contents cause a buffer overflow in the handheld gadget and achieve remote code execution Level 42: Rewrite the EEPROM such that the RCE achieved in the handheld gadget then causes nested RCE in the synchronization software, then use the opportunity to, say, open a popular YouTube video If Java: Level 0: Send data through the iButton link that breaks the Java sandbox and allows for general execution on the CPU Level 1: Dump the full contents of the firmware Level 2: Alter the firmware such that every time you tap the iButton it sends area information from shopping centres in entirely different states (counties) :D Level 3.1e10: Alter the firmware to achieve RCE in the scanner gadget, then stream individual video frames through the iButton link onto the scanner LCD :D