Chad's News

Did you know that the simple act of plugging a USB thumb drive into your computer will often run (AutoRun) a program that’s on the drive? So an easy way to compromise computers is to put malicious software on some USB drives and scatter them around on the ground. Quite a few people will pick up such a drive and plug it into their computer to see what’s on it.

The recent Stuxnet worm used USB drives to get inside Iranian power plants and infect their control systems. It was designed to work even if AutoRun had been disabled. Just browsing the drive and opening a folder was sufficient to infect the computer.

This type of attack can be prevented by education. Simply put, be very careful about using a USB drive from an unknown or untrusted source. And if you find it laying on the ground in your company’s parking lot, throw it away (or report it to your computer security personnel if such exist).

Link: http://www.slate.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

The linked article explains what’s different in USB 3.0 (also known as SuperSpeed USB). The theoretical maximum speed has increased by about a factor of 10, to 5 Gbits/sec, and some power-saving protocols have been implemented to prevent devices from unnecessarily draining a laptop’s battery. Probably the most important item, however, is that USB 3.0 requires a different cable—the connectors are the same size and shape but have a different number of pins. You won’t be able to use older USB devices with the newer cables, and you must use 3.0 cables for 3.0 devices. Fortunately the 3.0 devices themselves are backwards compatible. They can be plugged into 2.0 ports and will run at the lower speeds. The plastic inside the tips of USB 3.0 connectors is colored blue to help differentiate between the new and old.

Link: http://itexpertvoice.com/…
(via Slashdot)

With so many devices using USB connectors as power/charging sources, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone created the USB power strip. A bit on the expensive side, however, and I prefer the USB-enabled power outlet for sheer geek cred.

Link: http://cubiclebot.com/…

For the geek in your life, Victorinox is releasing a Swiss Army Knife that includes a secure USB drive.

Link #1: http://www.realwire.com/…
(via engadget)

Link #2: http://www.swissarmy.com/…

The linked article explains the differences between the various USB standards and naming conventions, and also gives some general tips about USB. After reading it, you can amaze your friends with your new knowledge!

Link: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/…

Here’s a nice power outlet that includes two USB charging plugs in addition to the standard three-prong electrical outlets. It costs $9.95, fits in any existing wall outlet, and doesn’t drain any “vampire” power. The downside is that it’s only available for pre-order (but should be shipping fairly soon).

Link: http://store.fastmac.com/…
(via Engadget)

Looks like the first round of products for the new USB 3.0 standard won’t come close to the interface’s maximum speed. According to the linked article, first-generation devices will run at about 150MB/s versus the 625MB/s allowed by the standard. Note, however, that this is still twice as fast as USB 2.0.

Link: http://www.tgdaily.com/…
(via digg)

At 4.8Gbps, it’s 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Expect to see it for sale in the second half of 2009. The official name is “Super-Speed USB 3.0”.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/…

Want to make people look twice? Then just use this USB drive in a public place—although it’s probably not something you’d want to show off in an airport.

Link: http://gizmodo.com/…
(via digg)

The recent Transformers movie rated about a 5.5 (out of 10) on the Chad’s News movie review list, but this USB hub modeled after the All Spark Cube is just way too cool to pass up. Unfortunately it won’t be available until late August.

Link: http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/…
(via Engadget)

PhotoRec is a free utility that recovers files from corrupted flash drives, memory cards, and CD-ROMs. It can be downloaded here.

Link: http://www.cgsecurity.org/…
(via Lifehacker)

No word on when we can expect to see it “in the wild,” but USB 3.0 is being developed. It will be 10 times faster than USB 2.0, and will also be backwards compatible with previous versions.

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/…
(via digg)