Make Your Own USB Condom

Megalith

Megalith

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Because you really ought to use protection when putting your stick into an untrusted socket.

This guide will show you how to create a tiny USB condom to protect your electronics while they charge. It’s small enough to use as a keyring, and is perfect for when you need to charge a device on an untrusted computer or public charging station. It physically removes the data pins, so only power, and not malicious data can get through.
 
Sad we need to make these... the only issue i can see is some popular phones require the data pins to charge they use them as a method of telling the phone it is a approved charger...

Apple is the most notable offender but my galaxy s3 did it too.
 
Lunas said:
Sad we need to make these... the only issue i can see is some popular phones require the data pins to charge they use them as a method of telling the phone it is a approved charger...

Apple is the most notable offender but my galaxy s3 did it too.
Click to expand...

I like how my s3 doesn't like charging when i use an Apple transformer. Have to replug it a couple times before it "registers" that it is plugged in and starts to charge. It even gets finicky using non-samsung usb cables. When I use the samsung xformer and cord, zero issues and it charges faster as well. "Use samsung products for best results when using samsung phones!" Yeah im gonna have to call bullshit on that line... more like "Use our products because we purposely make our stuff work crappier on competing products!"

Then there is chinaman installing spyware on the cheap cables and stuff... but I guess thats better than the over-priced "american quality" crap thats been tinkered with by uncle sam just as much so big brother NSA can keep tabs on you. Either way, the little people lose.
 
Why not just buy a charge only cable? I have a couple for my kindle so I don't have to deal with it locking me out from reading till I eject it from computers.
 
cia1413 said:
Why not just buy a charge only cable? I have a couple for my kindle so I don't have to deal with it locking me out from reading till I eject it from computers.
Click to expand...

biggest issue i have with those is i have a bag full of usb cables all look identical for every 3 data capable cables there is 10 "charge" only and none were ever labeled as such so when i reach for a data cable i end up with a mystery cable...

I bought what i thought were good usb 3.0 cables for my note 3 what i got was cheap chinease charge only usb 2.0 with a 3.0 end on it... So double the uselessness...

Honestly i am almost in favor of going back to the old nokia style barrel connectors...

I would like to see usb c work out as the new hotness but i think it will end up like usb 3.0 on phones which was backwards compatible with 2.0 cables....
 
I'm not sure if it is foolproof my but Nexus 6P defaults to charge only when plugged into any USB source. You have to manually switch USB modes to transfer data.
 
Hot glued, for her pleasure. :D

I don't tend to plug in to random places too much though. I have a charger at home and a charger at work, and for when I go camping or travelling I have a 12v cig lighter USB charger plug and USB cable as part of my solar power pack.
 
Is this really that much of a problem? Does your electronic device get a case of electronic crabs or some other kind of electronic cooties from using some "strange" USB port to charge your device?
 
DustMite said:
Is this really that much of a problem? Does your electronic device get a case of electronic crabs or some other kind of electronic cooties from using some "strange" USB port to charge your device?
Click to expand...

this device is aimed more at koisk charging where you are provided a safe "charge only port" when it is really a powered otg with a payload on it that abuses various exploits or the intrinsic trust a lot of usb devices have...

It has apparently been an issue for some people...
 
Hmmm, that is actually very clever and would be useful for me as I travel a bit. Time to make a condom :p
 
Could see these selling well if it was made super compact and didn't look stupid
 
Lunas said:
Sad we need to make these... the only issue i can see is some popular phones require the data pins to charge they use them as a method of telling the phone it is a approved charger...

Apple is the most notable offender but my galaxy s3 did it too.
Click to expand...

This was exactly why I had to make one a couple of years ago. Friends would stay over and need to charge their iPhones but forgot the charger itself, etc... Nothing would charge through the USB chargers I had. Learned about the condom trick and now suddenly every charger worked with every device.

Quite bullshit if you really think about it.

Nowadays, not a bad idea to disconnect the data pins if you're going to be using public USB ports.
 
cia1413 said:
Why not just buy a charge only cable? I have a couple for my kindle so I don't have to deal with it locking me out from reading till I eject it from computers.
Click to expand...

exactly what i was thinking or just removing the two data pins in your ordinary cable and us it for a save charging cable
 
Lunas said:
biggest issue i have with those is i have a bag full of usb cables all look identical for every 3 data capable cables there is 10 "charge" only and none were ever labeled as such so when i reach for a data cable i end up with a mystery cable....
Click to expand...

Seems more like an organizing issues.
Use 2 bags for two different cables maybe ?
Put tape around one cable and not the others ?
get them in different colors ?

all which is way easier and faster than re-soldering two usb ports
 
SvenBent said:
Seems more like an organizing issues.
Use 2 bags for two different cables maybe ?
Put tape around one cable and not the others ?
get them in different colors ?

all which is way easier and faster than re-soldering two usb ports
Click to expand...

Really? I just mask and spraypaint a section of the head's covering of the charge only cables. Hard to miss and it doesn't come off.
 
Probably easier/safer to just get a USB coupling adapter and remove data wires. Would look better and also have less change that bad solder join or breakage will cause a short (and likely zap your device or USB port).
 
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