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posted by
martyb
on Wednesday November 26 2014, @04:56AM
from the need-to-put-a-filter-on-that-e-cigarette dept.
from the need-to-put-a-filter-on-that-e-cigarette dept.
The Guardian features a story about e-cigarettes carrying some malware, infecting computers used to charge them. Though not entirely surprising when you actually think about it, personally I'd not have expected non-computerized devices which just happen to have micro-usb charger socket to pose a threat to IT security.
From the article:
“The made in China e-cigarette had malware hardcoded into the charger, and when plugged into a computer’s USB port the malware phoned home and infected the system.”
Later the article references some low-level attacks might be used to reprogram USB chips on devices, letting them act as USB keyboards issuing commands on the behalf of the logged in user, etc.
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E-Cigarettes are Bad for the Health — Of Your Computer
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(Score: 2) by hankwang on Wednesday November 26 2014, @05:54PM
"My Google Wireless charger will refuse to charge unless you plug it into its own AC adapter from it's own cable."
Don't be too quick to blame Google. Most USB chargers will delicver at most 1 A current, sometimes 1.3 A. All Qi wireless chargers that I've seen require a 1.5 or 2 A supply. I have a dongle to measure the charging current and I can see how it's tryng to pull more current; the voltage drops; the Qi charger stops charging; voltage rises again, and so on.
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