New
#11
VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM: Can a new charger install a virus on my laptop?
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New #12
I agree there is more 'tech' inside todays gadgets. Aslong as we all understand it
For me I will always stick to the manufacturers hardware and dont go skimping on cheap universal chargers. Not worth it over the long run. Not with the price of a genuine laptop battery pack, no way.
I race RC model cars modern and vintage charging Lipo cells alot, with digitally displayed very expensive modern cell charging equipment, learning thats it fundamentally crucial that a lappys digital cell pack needs to be kept constantly within storage voltages whilst charging or dischargin, so for me and thats just me, id always go for the quality product. Manufacturer has first hand knowledge of the batteries data sheet, because they built them
These modern digital battery packs gotta be charged at their rated capacity, otherwise rubbish performance. It needs to be kept constantly at the correct amps supplied by its power source, and a genuine charger.
Over volt or under volt a Lithium Ion or Polymer with a cheap charger and the first way to go in killing your genuine very expensive battery pack.
It'll give the cells a short life span. You'll be none the wiser and some people will just blame the battery going bad.
So i dont think its a good idea to buy the Targus no
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New #13
according to Kevin Mitnick, just about anything is possible.
granted a laptop charger isn't a USB device,but who knows really ?
very very unlikely though you'd get infected with laptop charger ...
New USB Attack Vector With Kevin Mitnick | Malware-Infected USB Cables - YouTube
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Posts : 5,048 Windows 10/11 Pro x64, Various Linux Builds, Networking, Storage, Cybersecurity Specialty.
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New #15
VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM: Can a new charger install a virus on my laptop?
This has been answered unanimously as a NO.
Consider replacing the charger based on the laptops manufacturer's make/model/applicable charger.
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New #16
The universal cheap charger also gives the lappy its main power source even without a battery, which is a really scary thought.
Go genuine.
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New #18
It absolutely is always possible to include the necessary components in any casing for resident firmware. Miniaturisation is never more developed than it is now. The addition of firmware would simply augment functionality. It's actually quite an interesting idea to think of what form that might possibly take. Some kind of extra safety measures springs firstly to mind. Is that viable? Who knows. Saying that it isn't possible is like all those folk who said we would never fly.
Read the top line in my signature.
This is 2022 people! Of course it is possible. However, it is not legal to infect anyone's devices with nasties.
Any device, however innocuous looking, can be used to compromise a computer or phone without even any need to use physical ports, at least in theory. If you plug anything into your USB port you must be certain that it is nothing dodgy.
That said, I have never heard of a charger being used for nefarious purposes. Could it be? Absolutely. Is it likely in this case? Certainly not. So relax. Other advice above suggests using the appropriate charger for the machine and not cheap alternatives. This is extremely advisable. There are instances of cheap chargers even causing fires. So just don't use them.
Christophe
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New #19
Please explain how an analogue DC power connection provides an attack vector to infect a PCIt absolutely is always possible to include the necessary components in any casing for resident firmware. Miniaturisation is never more developed than it is now. The addition of firmware would simply augment functionality. It's actually quite an interesting idea to think of what form that might possibly take. Some kind of extra safety measures springs firstly to mind. Is that viable? Who knows. Saying that it isn't possible is like all those folk who said we would never fly.
Read the top line in my signature.
This is 2022 people! Of course it is possible. However, it is not legal to infect anyone's devices with nasties.
Any device, however innocuous looking, can be used to compromise a computer or phone without even any need to use physical ports, at least in theory. If you plug anything into your USB port you must be certain that it is nothing dodgy.
That said, I have never heard of a charger being used for nefarious purposes. Could it be? Absolutely. Is it likely in this case? Certainly not. So relax. Other advice above suggests using the appropriate charger for the machine and not cheap alternatives. This is extremely advisable. There are instances of cheap chargers even causing fires. So just don't use them.
Christophe
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New #20
I did not say that any of them do. I did say the casing of any device, in addition to containing analogue components, can just as easily contain miniaturised digital components if sufficient physical internal space is available. If that 'analogue' device is then connected via USB to a computer, it can theoretically do whatever it likes.
Putting that into practice is pretty basic nowadays and such miniature devices are manufactured every day for general use. I use Yubico Security Keys, for example, with tiny casings. One need not be plugged in at all. However, they need not be that large at all. So very little space is needed to house digital components. It's not exactly rocket science!
How is an ordinary domestic electrical circuit used to pipe broadband? So using the power input of a computer is just as doable.
Think outside the box! (Enter Elon Musk) Keep an open mind!
Never say never. Virtually anything is possible, and I haven't yet mentioned nanotechnology, already in use for flying military surveillance insects and surgery, etc.
One idea that springs to mind is that a simple, innocent looking mouse mat could be used to infect machines. Just like placing your phone on a power surface, Near Field technology, for example, can be theoretically used to do some very nasty things indeed, subject only to the limits one places upon one's own imagination. In theory, your phone could easily be infected in this way which then infects your PC. Even your kitchen counter can already be used in this way, and is (albeit expensively) long since already on the market.
What people think can't be done probably already is.
ChristopheLast edited by CMArbres; 23 Feb 2022 at 05:52.
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