3 ms·
How do we know if these are doing something else?
by moneywoes 2y ago
How do we know if these are doing something else?
- ryanmcbride 2y agoThe same way you know whether or not anything is doing something else
- imoverclocked 2y agoie: you probably don’t.
- whycome 2y agoHow do you know for the cables without displays?
- metaphor 2y agoThe USB-IF publishes a list of member companies[1]; purchase products from these qualified manufacturers, and perhaps more importantly, from authorized distributors. This is a good enough "policy control" for the average consumer. [1] https://www.usb.org/members https://www.usb.org/members
- pbronez 2y agoSurprised that Anker isn’t obviously on there.
- mceachen 2y agoUnsurprising considering Anker doesn’t pay for basic UL listing for many of their AC power taps.
- user_7832 2y agoAlso at least some of their products are just ODM rebrands. A bit disappointing but probably shouldn't have been surprised.
- metaphor 2y agoIt appears Anker Innovations Ltd was last listed[1] circa 2020 under VID 10522 (0x291A). Tread with caution...the prospects of zombie grift tend to be real when brand recognition is established. [1] https://usb.org/sites/default/files/vendor_ids051920_0.pdf https://usb.org/sites/default/files/vendor_ids051920_0.pdf
- k8svet 2y agoErm. I fail to see how this moves the needle unless usb-if is doing extreme firmware level source analysis and deterministic compiles and checking them against shipped firmware. Which I doubt is happening, with every atom in my body.
- metaphor 2y agoIt's a policy control suggestion that's both low effort and immediately actionable by the typical tech-literate types sleuthing these channels. When baseline consumer behavior is sort-by-price-low-to-high and select the cheapest item from random pop-up white label chinesium third-party vendor on Amazon, exercising an ounce of supply chain due diligence where none previously existed can go a long way. To be sure, if you think you can economically defend against a coordinated supply chain attack by a speculative adversary willing to pony up real capital operating an otherwise legitimate facade for years building market goodwill only to burn it all down in one shot against a single worthwhile target...well, I've got a bridge to sell you.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- makeitdouble 2y agoUSB testers are cheaper now, I'd advise anyone to buy one preemptively. It's nice to one-off check a new cable to know what it can be used for, with the additional benefit of seeing the power curves for the higher models (e.g. see a charger's power output drastically drop down as it overheats)
- EnergyAmy 2y agoDo you have any recommendations?
- makeitdouble 2y agoI'm using a super cheap Ali-express one I checked against well know and stable brands of cable/chargers (e.g. Apple and Anker's power bricks and cables). Otherwise AVHzY is I think the recommended brand, with two levels or pricing depending if you want external output.
- milesvp 2y agoFun fact. Any USB-C cable that needs to handle higher wattage than 5V@3A has circuitry that talks on the CC line to let the source know it’s not going to melt.
- infectoid 2y agoIf power is all you are looking for you can always play it safe with a USB Condom. e.g https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=PortaPow https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=PortaPow
- stavros 2y agoKeep in mind that this will limit you to 5V at 0.5A, if I'm not mistaken.
- ffsm8 2y agoAnd realize that if you're distrustful of the cable, you should be even more distrustful of that gadget which has even more space to add malicious parts and you're still unable to check it.
- Dylan16807 2y agohttps://mg.lol/blog/data-blocker-teardown/ https://mg.lol/blog/data-blocker-teardown/ The normal PortaPow tells the device that it's a charger. The extra paranoid version with no components on the board will often limit charging, it depends on how the device treats a complete lack of data pins.
- stavros 2y agoYes, but if you use a data blocker with a microcontroller on it, you've just exchanged one company you need to trust for another.
- Dylan16807 2y agoNot exactly. You now have to trust one entity instead of many, and it's an extremely small chip that can't do much, and the hack would have to be built in at purchase time, and the hack would have to take over your phone to exfiltrate. But if you're worried then get one that has a resistor and only a resistor.
- 2y ago