MYKAD READER    

I want to test a smart card reader to read MyKad. My intent is to register new students using their MyKads. It made work faster to the teachers. While the teachers are collecting student's document the main data registration would already been over.

I look around for a card reader in the internet and found one. I e-mailed for the price. I have to buy the hardware and the software. Both cost me RM200. I posted the money and got the stuffs the next day. I was very exited.

Running the program was not easy. I have to install and register files. I need to read the instructions step by step and that can still made me confused. I rang up the programmer who described the steps and finally I told him that I would try to do by myself. When I finally got it run and saw the output it was not as good as I expected. I went searching the web for more information. I got several active X stuffs and a few programs. One free program was easy to run and produced quite a satisfactory output which I can modify to the output I want.. 

I added a database, making the sequence of registration run smoothly without much hasle. Whenever a card has been read and automatically registered, a new card is inserted and a button entitled Read is clicked.

Yet I am not happy with this free software. On searching for more information I found that to read smart card a string of hex code called APDU and data code should be sent to the card reader from a software. If the sequence of command are sent correctly the card would send back the reply in hex codes. The hex codes could be translated back to the normal character using the concept of ascii.

To send the hex APDU and data code we have to have a software. Some called it APDU readers and called it smart card SDK. But we also have to know information about the smart card we are reading; which pin contains what info and what hex numbers to send. It is not an easy stuffs.

But out of curiosity I have to have some basic idea about the smart card. Vendors only want to sell the programs which would not help much. A software can only be used in one computer. You have to register it. Some put spy ware in the software.

I finally found one free software but still I have to buy it for full use otherwise it won't accept too many commands sent to MyKad. However I tried to follow each step to send the UPDU command .I have to create buttons to send several sequences of commands to get several info and add textbox to display the return hex codes. I also wrote a short hex to ascii translation and imbedded in the   software.

I was very exited when my name and IC came out so well, not like the one shown above or the want I purchased. Very unfortunately the software told me to register it for complete use. But at least I got a new knowledge on MyKad. I would not recommend people just to buy them easily. Unlike some SDK the MyKad SDK could be limited in use and you are at the mercy of the software developer even though you pay for it. Your computer may end up of being spyed.

The software below operates when a finger is placed on the scanner. Once the finger image is put on the screen the MyKad data is read. Once the picture is displayed it is saved in the microsoft access or mysql database file.

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