USB Stick Backups for POS Systems

One of the often forgotten features QUORiON POS systems offer is the USB stick back-up capability – a true life and time saver!

Utilizing commonly available storage media such as USB memory sticks you can quickly perform backups of the most important POS files such as configuration data, images, and reports.  Here’s more…

• Quickly and securely exchange data with a USB-Memory-Stick.
• Easy to use, yet comprehensive backups to…
  • Store your cash registers configuration and data files such as PLUs, taxes, and many more.
  • Change the background images of your restaurant table map
  • Export and save your individual reports for external processing.

Furthermore, you have the option to store and manage up to 4 different program backups independently of one another on a single USB-Stick.  For example, you can store your default configuration after the initial set-up, and then 3 additional ones for any program changes you makes thereafter.

Once you have this critical data squared away, you secure your ability to restore program versions, if problems arise from programming modifications.  You thereby quickly undo any changes that may cause issues.

However, the most important aspect remains the ability to get a broken system back up and running with negligible down time.  To illustrate, simply replace an old or damaged POS system, insert the USB stick, and reload all programming parameters in a few minutes.  Done.  You don’t even need a PC to do this.  The new POS system will function like the old one as if nothing happened.  This applies to upgraded POS hardware as well, if you chose to go with a new touch screen POS system.

Time Scheduled USB Backup

Occasionally, one tends to forget to make backups on a regular basis, nullifying any advantage you could gain from it.  To anticipate this, the QUORiON POS system makes programmable Macros available.  Macros enhance the USB backup feature even further, because they provide you with the ability to create backups on a timed schedule you define.  Here’s more…

• The macro executes only, when the POS system is switched on during the programmed time
• When the POS system is in transaction at the execution time, the macro executes as soon as the clerk closes the transaction.
• You have the option to define execution by time plus day of week or day of month.

Images

• Save any BMP (bitmap) and MAP files of your POS system on the USB-Stick.
  • The POS system uses Bitmap images for the screensaver, slideshow, and any background images for restaurant table maps.
  • Table maps include the table arrangement, which the system stores under MAP files.

Reports

Do you have back office or accounting software?  No problem.  QUORiON POS systems offer the following features to satisfy any data export requirements.  You have the option to automate this process or manually initiate it.

• You can store an automatic USB report on an USB-Stick for external processing.
  • You set the type of report to use for automatic reports in the system parameters.
  • By default the POS system backs up the electric journal.You can manually store reports and files on an USB-Stick for external processing.
  • The POS system will create a file with a filename consisting of the report or file number and the date plus time of the transfer.
  • You can save a specific report type, store the PLU file, or the department file for external processing, for example.

New POS Software Feature: POS Systems Now Support CCTV Integration

Who Benefits from a Point of Sale System with CCTV Integration?

Any business that wants to utilize video supervision of transactions to increase security, improve POS work flows, and enhance quality of service/training supervision.

Detailed Benefits

If you install security cameras which electronically link to your POS systems, you can overlay actual images of customers and staff with transaction bookings as well as receipt data.  Here’s more…

• Provides proof of who sold what, to whom, the time of the transaction and at what price.  Time and date stamps evidence with quality images of any potentially fraudulent or inefficient situation.
• Quickly follow up on voids, refunds, and other detailed transaction data based on time of day, clerk, or other criteria.  CCTV systems make powerful POS search possible with the addition of exception and variance report functions.
• Eliminates fraud, as it represents a powerful visual deterrent.
• View how staff interact with customers – see live, detailed sales transactions to follow up on complaints and staff training.
• Take advantage of the ability to situate yourself in many places at the same time.  Most CCTV systems include full remote internet viewing and reporting.
• Fully utilize a bird’s eye view of your business.  CCTV cameras are small and unobtrusive.  You can link them to one or multiple POS terminals.
• Automated business processes assist you with reducing costs and trouble-shoot as well as speed up day to day operations.

What is Digital CCTV?

CCTV comprises a digital, multi-channel surveillance system, which uses advanced MPEG4 compression technology.  Feeds are superior evidence, since they provide you with quality images, which include time and date stamps.

You can connect a large number of CCTV cameras to your CCTV software system and view them on site or remotely via the internet.  CCTV systems record footage on a dedicated DVR located on or offsite.  Furthermore, if you install sensitive motion detectors, they will enhances efficiency, because they ensure that you only have footage of activity, not down time.

How it Works

• QUORiON POS systems supply you with all the raw data you need to run CCTV and DVR systems.
• Use the data to create an overlay of the transaction bookings, as they take place.  Data appears on video.  Deploy your  video hardware and software of choice to store plus analyze this information.
• All you have to do is define a journal printer port on the QUORiON POS system, where a PC or CCTV system will retrieve all the receipt data, as it comes in.
• To illustrate, you can use a utility like TuTTY to format the data stream into an actual receipt-like output.  See below.  You can expect this type of data to appear on the video recording.

 

Formatted raw data feed from POS system

 

The transaction logging function includes the terminal id as part of the protocol:

 

FIELD 1 -> Fixed to 250 (Transaction Journal ID).

FIELD 2 -> Sequential Record Number within Transaction

FIELD 3 -> Location + Register Number.

FIELD 4 -> Date formatted according to application setting.

FIELD 5 -> Time formatted according to application setting.

FIELD 6 -> Receipt Number.

FIELD 7 -> Salesperson Number when active in application.

FIELD 8 -> Balance Invoice Number. When Invoice without number fixed to 65534.

FIELD 9 -> Balance Type (table=249, room=250, account=251).

FIELD 10 -> Balance Number.

FIELD 11 -> Clerk Number.

FIELD 12 -> Function Type.

FIELD 13 -> Function Number.

FIELD 14 -> Function Text.

FIELD 15 -> Quantity.

FIELD 16 -> Amount.

 

Raw Data which the QUORiON POS System Makes Available to a CCTV System

250;1;1;27-11-2012;9:12:23;1;;;;;1;10000;139;”Cola 0,2l”;1;1,80

250;2;1;27-11-2012;9:12:23;1;;;;;1;10000;140;”Fanta 0,2l”;1;1,80

250;3;1;27-11-2012;9:12:23;1;;;;;1;10000;141;”Sprite 0,2l”;1;1,80

250;4;1;27-11-2012;9:12:23;1;;;;;1;0;99;”Gesamt”;3;5,40

250;5;1;27-11-2012;9:12:23;1;;;;;1;260;1;”19% MwSt 1″;;0,86

250;6;1;27-11-2012;9:12:23;1;;;;;1;700;1;”Barzahlung”;;5,40

 

Each POS system will broadcast its terminal id the instant a key is pressed.  Consequently, the CCTV system logs the data in real time.  This enables the correct processing from the DVR end and ensures that you capture the correct POS system at the right moment.

Ask our service team today on how to set-up this feature for your clients.

New Training Kit for QTouch10 Beginners Now Available in OneHub

We’re pleased to announce that we just completed a basic training kit for the QTouch10 all-in-one POS system.

The documentation addresses the needs of beginner users to get them started quickly with their new POS system.

Likewise, new QUORiON partners can use these to familiarize themselves with the POS system.  It allows you to practice and learn common functions.  The training kit includes a PDF document, demo QTouch10 configuration files for QProg, and a readme file.

Swing by Onehub today and check out the new files in the Training Documentation folder!

More on vSkimmer – McAfee Warns of Malware Targeting PC Point-of-Sale Systems

By Lucian Constantin, IDG News Service, Mar 24, 2013

A new piece of custom malware sold on the underground Internet market is being used to siphon payment card data from point-of-sale (POS) systems, according to security researchers from antivirus vendor McAfee.Dubbed vSkimmer, the Trojan-like malware is designed to infect Windows-based computers that have payment card readers attached to them, McAfee security researcher Chintan Shah said last week in a blog post.The malware was first detected by McAfee’s sensor network on February 13 and is currently being advertised on cybercriminal forums as being better than Dexter, a different POS malware program that was discovered back in December.

Once installed on a computer, vSkimmer gathers information about the OS, including its version, unique GUID identifier, default language, hostname, and active username. This information is sent back to the control and command server in encoded format as part of all HTTP requests and is used by the attackers to keep track of individually infected machines. The malware waits for the server to respond with a “dlx” (download and execute) or “upd” (update) command.

Hijacks Payment Card Data

VSkimmer searches the memory of all processes running on the infected computer, except for those hardcoded in a whitelist, for information that matches a specific pattern. This process is designed to find and extract card Track 2 data from the memory of the process associated with the credit card reader.

Track 2 data is information stored on the magnetic strip of a payment card and can be used to clone the card, unless the payment card uses the EMV (chip and pin) standard. That said, in an announcement posted earlier this month on a cybercriminal forum, the malware’s author said that work is being done to add support for EMV cards and that “2013 will be a hot year.”

The malware also provides an offline data extraction mechanism. When an Internet connection is not available, vSkimmer waits for a USB device with the volume name KARTOXA007 to be connected to the infected computer and then copies a log file with the captured data to it, Shah said.

This suggests that vSkimmer was designed to also support payment card fraud operations that benefit from insider help in addition to remote thefts.

VSkimmer is another example of how financial fraud is evolving and how banking Trojan programs are moving from targeting the computers of individual online banking users to targeting payment card terminals, Shah said.

The Advantages of Leasing a POS System

For business owners, who may not want to use their working capital, leasing is an option that offers a number of benefits:

• Easy payment terms
• 12-60 month payment options
• Fully transferrable (non-cancellable)
• Straight expense for tax purposes (ask your tax consultant about Section 179 tax deduction)
• No Hidden Fees
• End of term options, including ownership

The QMP POS Software supports leasing functionality.  Ask your regional QUORiON partner for more details on how to take advantage of this valuable option today!

VSkimmer Trojan Steals Card Data on Point-of-Sale Systems

By Danielle Walker, Reporter

March 22, 2013

Researchers have discovered a new trojan capable of stealing credit card data from point-of-sale (POS) systems, and it appears to be an updated version of Dexter, similar malware targeting card-swiping devices.

On Thursday, Chintan Shah, a security researcher for McAfee Labs, blogged about VSkimmer, which is capable of grabbing data – account numbers, expiration dates and service code numbers – stored on the magnetic strip of credit cards.

In the post, Shah also said the trojan targets Windows machines.

“The malware, vSkimmer, can detect the card readers, grab all the information from the Windows machines attached to these readers, and send that data to a control server,” Shah said.

McAfee researchers noticed participants on an online Russian forum discussing a potential sale, and began to analyze the trojan.

“The author of the thread also discusses other capabilities of this malware, which appears to be a successor of Dexter, but with additional functions,” Shah said.

Dexter was originally detected in December 2012 by researchers at Seculert, an Israel-based security firm. It too targeted PC POS terminals, devices swiped during purchases.

According to Shah, the fact that VSkimmer was targeting terminals running Windows showed how “financial fraud is actively evolving and how trojans are developed and passed around in the underground community,” he wrote.

In a Friday interview with SCMagazine.com, Adam Wosotowsky, messaging data architect at McAfee Labs, said that attackers likely started infecting machines with VSkimmer via USB devices.

“A USB [infection vector] would require an inside job or confidence scam – talking people into allowing you to [access] these machines,” Wosotowsky said.

McAfee has yet to confirm the number of infections. Its oldest sample of the malware dates back to February 13. Wosotowsky said, however, that efforts to leverage the trojan have been very “targeted,” so VSkimmer cases are likely not widespread.

“This is specialized malware, and it’s a trend we are seeing more of – [attackers] going directly after point-of-sale systems,” he said. “There’s a lot of activity moving in this direction.”

QR Code for Android App Installation Now Available in QOrder Manual

Starting now, we are pleased to announce that we will include a QR code within the QOrder manual for quick and easy installation of the QOrder App on Android devices.  You can read the QR code with your Android device and it will take you to the web link, where we store the file.  Once you arrive there, the Android device will automatically install the QOrder App.  Happy ordering!

Please note that you require a QUORiON POS system to activate the application.  You can purchase the required license at your local QUORiON dealer or distributor.