The power receptacle on a smartphone is also a data transfer port, so there’s at least some risk of your bits being snatched while using an unfamiliar USB outlet. This is called juice-jacking, but now there’s a handy prophylactic defense — the USB condom.
The USB condom is a new device from Int3.cc that blocks a USB port’s data pins while leaving its charge pins open, denying any potentially harmful requests. The simple board at its core carries only the current from the outside pins on a USB connector — which pass along the 5V needed to charge. The middle pins that would normally transmit data can’t, as there’s no circuitry to do so on the Condom. You’ll be able to confidently charge in public as long as you’ve got your USB Condom handy, safe in the knowledge that no juice jacker is going to mess with your precious device.
The device is not yet available for purchase, but it will be at some point next week. All we have to go on is a simple board diagram. It will be a stripped down component — maybe even a naked board, but it should be complete and functional as delivered.
[Via]
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