The $56 USB Killer is an electrified USB stick that will fry a laptop

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Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/09/15/the-56-usb-killer-is-an-elect.html
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Looks like fun, as long as it’s not my laptop.

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Wow! I know what my enemies are getting for Christmas this year. :smile:

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I won’t use a USB stick from anyone who I don’t completely trust to not destroy my stuff now.

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So pretty much the same as always then?

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I wonder what happens if you plug it into one of these things:

Electricity Fight! :electric_plug: :cloud_lightning:

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The RCD steps in and declares it a draw?

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I see what you did there.

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But will they make a “USB KILLER TESTER KILLER” to further the arms race?

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I clearly need to stock up on optoisolators and X-ray inspection gear.

The circuitry involved here looks small enough to hide in the ‘just an RF ferrite’ lump in a USB cable, in addition to the stick implementation.

Given how tiny you can get USB flash drives and similar these days, you could probably even build a version that behaves as a normal USB device until a specific condition triggers the kill…

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China could make this for $5 if there was a demand.

Is there a demand? It just seems mean.

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Relatively low-risk, high-deniability, petty cruelty and pointless destruction in an inexpensive package that even a complete idiot could use?

You have to ask if there is demand?

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I pray these never make their way into libraries.

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Epoxy in USB ports: it’s not just for data security any more.

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Really, the library’s going to have blue smoke where there is not usually blue smoke and have a hard time keeping fees under $0.30 a day? And have to find someone to tell the hulking USB memory device from the others? No Earth Fruits or Vegetables to declare…

Even the little (birdhousy) lending libraries would be covered for this stuff?

Then again if they have a Maker …thing, would you not want people plugging it into volunteers’ USB name badges, then? Not without a 10 kg box of baking soda plus safety glass in place? That might be a beyond-the-protester-area X not-in-the-firehouse-please thing.

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If you’re really lucky that $1 Chinese USB cable might find a way to do it.

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Note to anyone who gets the bright idea to visit an Apple store with this thing: According to the folks who make this little bundle of joy, Apple machines have sufficient protection on their USB ports. It won’t work, and if the store employees figure out what you have they will call the police.

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I’m actually genuinely curious about this – not for blowing up USB devices, but rather as a tiny 5V to 200V boost converter. If it puts out a clean signal and doesn’t eventually blow itself up it could make an awesome miniature power supply for high voltage applications.

Looking at the picture there’s clearly some caps, an inductor, a diode, and a few resistors. On the bottom right it looks like a FET of some kind, but I wonder about the two ICs above that and what they do. I’d assume at least one of them handles the pulsing to the inductor but I’d love to see a schematic or at least a zoomed in view showing the IC’s part numbers.

Here’s a pic:

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Needs to be combined with a little robot that can recognise and home in on usb ports…

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I find a $10 hammer works pretty well too.

edit: I mean I’ve HEARD a $10 hammer works well.

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