I wrote the following mini-overview of the badUSB problem to send to
friends and family and thought others here might benefit as well
Chuck Norcutt
A very good overview of the "badUSB" problem in the link below.
In a nutshell, any USB device can be infected with malware which in turn
can infect your computer. But the malware resides within the *hidden*
control memory of the device. It is *NOT detectable* by any anti-virus
software and may never be because it is hidden within the hardware of
the device. Any USB device means not only USB memory sticks and digital
camera flash cards but also: printers, mice, keyboards, scanners, cell
phones with USB ports, tablet computers with USB ports, some network
adapters... truly, any USB device of any kind.
The bottom line is: never loan or borrow a USB device of any kind. Never
buy a used USB device. Never allow someone to charge their cellphone
using the USB port on your computer. Never charge your own cellphone
using the USB port on someone else's computer. Never borrow or loan USB
drives, memory sticks or camera flash cards. If you do you could be
catching the malware or inadvertently spreading it.
<http://www.wired.com/2014/07/usb-security/>
ps: Almost all external computer devices today are USB devices. Even
your monitor may be equipped with USB ports and can become infected. If
your device uses a cable with plugs that look like this or has ports
that accept these plugs is it USB.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Usb_connectors.JPG>
USB devices or cables also typically (but not always) have this USB icon
on them: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USB_Icon.svg>
Be especially careful with portable devices like USB memory sticks. Do
not share them with anybody... ever. I know, that defeats their utility
but it has to be that way. If your device or someone you share with has
the malware infection you will very, very likely never know it.
Defeating the problem will only occur when manufacturers produce new
versions of USB devices that are "locked down" at the hardware (not
software) level such that they can't be infected. Then we'll all have
to buy these new devices if we are ever to be safe. Right now there is
no other solution and new, safe USB devices may take years to appear.
Chuck Norcutt
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