USB Killer Drive Is A Trap Waiting To Electrocute Your Laptop

Everyone is about to get a little bit more careful about what they stick inside their computer after reading this. Hopefully, you already know not to insert a random USB that you find on the ground into your laptop. Random USB drives could be used for phishing or viruses, and now they could be used as a bomb. Meet the USB Killer. It is designed to look like an innocuous flash drive, but inside it packs quite a punch. This little guy is designed to completely fry your laptop from the inside out.

Basically, this handmade device is designed to pulse high-voltage electricity through the USB slot into your laptop or computer, essentially frying your hard drive. News of the laptop-torching USB Killer first hit the Internet from the Russian website Habrahahbr. It was later translated by Kukuruku Hub.

According to Kukuruku Hub,

"The basic idea of the USB drive is quite simple. When we connect it up to the USB port, an inverting DC/DC converter runs and charges capacitors to -110V. When the voltage is reached, the DC/DC is switched off. At the same time, the filed transistor opens. It is used to apply the -110V to signal lines of the USB interface. When the voltage on capacitors increases to -7V, the transistor closes and the DC/DC starts. The loop runs till everything possible is broken down."

This idea isn't new. Pranksters and hackers alike have been making electronic tampering devices as long as people have been using electronics. Back in the hey day of floppy disk drives, there was even a floppy disc bomb that was capable of destroying a computer back.

The USB Killer drive could be a hoax, but the specs certainly look real. It's not a prank should be used lightly, as the damage done may be irreversible. As long as you keep an eye on your USB drives and don't plug anything randomly into your computer, you'll be fine. Otherwise, if you see smoke coming from your USB stick, as least now you'll know why.

Source: Gizmodo