7 ms·

Somewhat more specific info on Wikipedia[1]. Easy prevention is a "USB Condom", a USB cable with the data lines blocked[2][3]. Edit: those devices seem to be o

by fernly 7y ago

Somewhat more specific info on Wikipedia[1]. Easy prevention is a "USB Condom", a USB cable with the data lines blocked[2][3]. Edit: those devices seem to be only for USB 2 type A connections. Anyone know of other format "condoms" eg mini-A or type 3? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juice_jacking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juice_jacking [2] https://www.usbcondom.org/ https://www.usbcondom.org/ [3] http://syncstop.com/ http://syncstop.com/

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
You can stack on a cable-less adapter or perform surgery on one to make its data lines unusable.
- waste_monk 7y ago
  That will limit the amount of power you can draw to 500ma. The data lines are needed to negotiate power supply above that e.g. quickcharge standard. A proper usb condom has some smarts which acts as a middleman, that only passes traffic relating to power negotiation.
  - Arnt 7y ago
    The "manual" for my portapow cable claimed to not even pass on that, but instead negotiate with the upstream and downstream, speaking several protocols.
  - honestoHeminway 7y ago
    You can make a smart cable that can only negotiate power- and has no line going back to the phone. Problem then- cable is typed to phone again.
  - theodric 7y ago
    Back in the days of the iPad 3, there were active adapters that intermediated, lying to both charger and device and permitting the iPad to charge at full current rather than 500mA, and completely blocking access to the data lines as a side effect. I still have a couple, and use them to great effect to charge my Android device more quickly on the thin clients at work as well as protect myself from juicejacking.
klyrs 7y ago
My solution is a usb- chargable backup battery.
- fernly 7y ago
  That's good. Plug in the battery at the station, "here, jack this." Plug your phone into the output jack of the battery.
  - ncmncm 7y ago
    They usually say not to charge the battery and draw from it at the same time. They never say why.
    - dragonwriter 7y ago
      So, get two batteries, and charge one while using the other to charge. Plus, you then have a charged backup battery...
    - Piskvorrr 7y ago
      Follow the money: a system which only works in one mode or the other at a time is an order of magnitude easier to design/debug/manufacture than a system that needs to work in one mode, other mode, both at the same time, and seamlessly switch between these (=> also cheaper).
    - eythian 7y ago
      Passthrough creates a lot more heat, and that heat hangs around longer, which is not good for the battery. I think Anker said that.
    - NullPrefix 7y ago
      To dissuade you from charging the battery from the battery itself.
  - mabcat 7y ago
    The charge controller doesn't allow simultaneous charge and discharge. It might allow simultaneous charge and power. The concern is, if your power pack does let you power devices while charging the battery, it's passing the power straight through from the wall, not via the battery. Is it also passing the data lines straight through? Not sure, you'd have to check the schematics. Here's an example... a great board, I own one, but I have no idea if the data lines are isolated: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465 https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465
fuzzy2 7y ago
IIRC the data lines are required for the phone to charge quickly. Without them you're limited to just 500 mA instead of up to 3 A.
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  Shorting the data lines together lets the phone know it can draw up to 2A.
Thorrez 7y ago
PortaPow offers a variety of cables including A to micro-B, A to lightning, and A to C[1]. Adafruit's website sells a lot of cables[2], including * An A extender blocking data with a switch to turn power on and off * An A to micro-B blocking data with a switch to turn power on and off * An A that splits to mini-B blocking data and micro-B allowing data * A micro-B extender splitter where one side has only power and the other side has power and data * An A extender that always allows power and has a switch to turn data on and off * An A to micro-B that always allows power and has a switch to turn data on and off * An A to triple splitter of lightning with data and power, 30pin iPhone/iPod with only power, and micro-B with only power There are other similar cables[3]. Note that naively disabling data will sometimes disable fast charging. Some data-blocking cables themselves re-implement or allow fast charging. I thought essentially no one uses mini-A or micro-A, so I don't know why you would want that. I thought USB 3 was just about faster data. If a cable always blocks data, then I don't see any use for USB 3. [1] https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/home/micro-usb-data-blocker-usb-cable https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/home/micro-usb-data-bloc... [2] https://www.adafruit.com/category/142 https://www.adafruit.com/category/142 [3] https://www.newegg.com/multi-color-monoprice-4-50-ft-usb-cables/p/0J2-00A0-00001 https://www.newegg.com/multi-color-monoprice-4-50-ft-usb-cab...
- Qwertystop 7y ago
  > I thought essentially no one uses mini-A or micro-A, so I don't know why you would want that. I thought USB 3 was just about faster data. If a cable always blocks data, then I don't see any use for USB 3. Presumably, if fernly wants a mini-A, it's because they do use it and that's why they want it. USB 3, I would assume USB-C was meant, and that becomes an issue of plug shape.
  - Thorrez 7y ago
    I'm interested in what devices fernly has that use mini-A.
vkaku 7y ago
Love these names. Juice jacking, USB condoms and what not. Sometimes I feel we need more funny sounding names across the tech industry.

by fernly 7y ago

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago

You can stack on a cable-less adapter or perform surgery on one to make its data lines unusable.

waste_monk 7y ago
That will limit the amount of power you can draw to 500ma. The data lines are needed to negotiate power supply above that e.g. quickcharge standard. A proper usb condom has some smarts which acts as a middleman, that only passes traffic relating to power negotiation.
- Arnt 7y ago
  The "manual" for my portapow cable claimed to not even pass on that, but instead negotiate with the upstream and downstream, speaking several protocols.
- honestoHeminway 7y ago
  You can make a smart cable that can only negotiate power- and has no line going back to the phone. Problem then- cable is typed to phone again.
- theodric 7y ago
  Back in the days of the iPad 3, there were active adapters that intermediated, lying to both charger and device and permitting the iPad to charge at full current rather than 500mA, and completely blocking access to the data lines as a side effect. I still have a couple, and use them to great effect to charge my Android device more quickly on the thin clients at work as well as protect myself from juicejacking.

klyrs 7y ago

My solution is a usb- chargable backup battery.

fernly 7y ago
That's good. Plug in the battery at the station, "here, jack this." Plug your phone into the output jack of the battery.
- ncmncm 7y ago
  They usually say not to charge the battery and draw from it at the same time. They never say why.
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    So, get two batteries, and charge one while using the other to charge. Plus, you then have a charged backup battery...
  - Piskvorrr 7y ago
    Follow the money: a system which only works in one mode or the other at a time is an order of magnitude easier to design/debug/manufacture than a system that needs to work in one mode, other mode, both at the same time, and seamlessly switch between these (=> also cheaper).
  - eythian 7y ago
    Passthrough creates a lot more heat, and that heat hangs around longer, which is not good for the battery. I think Anker said that.
  - NullPrefix 7y ago
    To dissuade you from charging the battery from the battery itself.
- mabcat 7y ago
  The charge controller doesn't allow simultaneous charge and discharge. It might allow simultaneous charge and power. The concern is, if your power pack does let you power devices while charging the battery, it's passing the power straight through from the wall, not via the battery. Is it also passing the data lines straight through? Not sure, you'd have to check the schematics. Here's an example... a great board, I own one, but I have no idea if the data lines are isolated: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465 https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465

fuzzy2 7y ago

IIRC the data lines are required for the phone to charge quickly. Without them you're limited to just 500 mA instead of up to 3 A.

Nextgrid 7y ago
Shorting the data lines together lets the phone know it can draw up to 2A.

Thorrez 7y ago

PortaPow offers a variety of cables including A to micro-B, A to lightning, and A to C[1]. Adafruit's website sells a lot of cables[2], including * An A extender blocking data with a switch to turn power on and off * An A to micro-B blocking data with a switch to turn power on and off * An A that splits to mini-B blocking data and micro-B allowing data * A micro-B extender splitter where one side has only power and the other side has power and data * An A extender that always allows power and has a switch to turn data on and off * An A to micro-B that always allows power and has a switch to turn data on and off * An A to triple splitter of lightning with data and power, 30pin iPhone/iPod with only power, and micro-B with only power There are other similar cables[3]. Note that naively disabling data will sometimes disable fast charging. Some data-blocking cables themselves re-implement or allow fast charging. I thought essentially no one uses mini-A or micro-A, so I don't know why you would want that. I thought USB 3 was just about faster data. If a cable always blocks data, then I don't see any use for USB 3. [1] https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/home/micro-usb-data-blocker-usb-cable https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/home/micro-usb-data-bloc... [2] https://www.adafruit.com/category/142 https://www.adafruit.com/category/142 [3] https://www.newegg.com/multi-color-monoprice-4-50-ft-usb-cables/p/0J2-00A0-00001 https://www.newegg.com/multi-color-monoprice-4-50-ft-usb-cab...

Qwertystop 7y ago
> I thought essentially no one uses mini-A or micro-A, so I don't know why you would want that. I thought USB 3 was just about faster data. If a cable always blocks data, then I don't see any use for USB 3. Presumably, if fernly wants a mini-A, it's because they do use it and that's why they want it. USB 3, I would assume USB-C was meant, and that becomes an issue of plug shape.
- Thorrez 7y ago
  I'm interested in what devices fernly has that use mini-A.

vkaku 7y ago

Love these names. Juice jacking, USB condoms and what not. Sometimes I feel we need more funny sounding names across the tech industry.