About this tag
The barcode scanners tag on WindowsForum.com collects discussion of PC-connected scanning hardware and the software, privacy, and security questions that come with it. Current coverage centers on the CueCat, the cat-shaped PS/2 barcode scanner from the dot-com era that plugged into a Windows desktop and promised to replace typing web addresses. That retrospective touches on early hardware experimentation, the device's privacy scandal, and how a free peripheral became a hacker tool. The tag suits readers interested in vintage PC peripherals, barcode scanning devices, and the lessons older hardware holds for modern Windows users weighing convenience against data collection.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    CueCat’s Windows Privacy Scandal: How a Free PS/2 Barcode Cat Became a Hacker Tool

    If you were tinkering with PC hardware at the turn of the millennium, you witnessed an era of unbridled, gloriously weird industrial experimentation. Before consumer electronics settled into an endless parade of uniform aluminum slabs and glass rectangles, manufacturers were willing to throw...