Plugging your phone into a public charger at an airport or coffee shop can be convenient. But the FBI really doesn't want you to.
When the nation’s premier intelligence agency issues a warning about the device sitting in your pocket and bags, you better pay attention. This time around, the FBI has warned smartphone and laptop users against juicing up their devices at public charging points — citing the risk of malware injection.
Related Videos Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead. pic.twitter.com/9T62SYen9T The technique is called “juice jacking.” In a nutshell, it’s possible that malware has been installed on the USB port or the USB cable connected to one of these public charging stations.
From extracting files stored on your phone or laptop stored to malware injection, there’s a ton of damage that can be done. The current generation of phones and laptops disable data transfer by default, and every time you connect a USB cable, an on-screen prompt appears that asks whether you want to use the USB connection for data transfer or just charging. Needless to say, specify that the USB connection is used solely for charging and no other activity.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why you shouldn't use public charging stations, per the FBIYou might want to think twice about plugging your devices into public charging stations, according to the FBI.
Read more »
Why Stephen King Doesn't Write Sequels (& Why He Still Has)Stephen King has avoided writing sequels to most of his works, and he has a good reason for that, though he has still written a couple of follow-ups.
Read more »
FBI warning: Don’t use free public phone charging stationsFederal Bureau of Investigation officials issued a warning Thursday advising travelers and shoppers to avoid public free phone charging portals, warning that “bad actors” use these to i…
Read more »
FBI warns against using public phone charging stationsThe law enforcement agency said that bad actors had figured out how to infect phones with malware using public charging cables.
Read more »
FBI warning: Don’t use free public phone charging stations“Bad actors” use these chargers to introduce malware and tracking software onto computers and phones, said the federal agency.
Read more »
FBI documents associate internet slang like 'based' and 'red pill' with 'extremism'The Heritage Foundation skewered the FBI for reportedly making a glossary of terms associated with extremist men, many of which are common internet slang.
Read more »