
Don’t Charge Your Phone This Way - mhb
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/technology/personaltech/usb-warning-juice-jacking.html
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cmcd
Non-clickbait title: Don't Charge Your Phone With Public Cables or Ports.

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sukilot
Title violates HN clickbait guidelines? ("this way")

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ashleyn
Always distrusted public chargers and USB ports from the day they started
becoming common. One way you can address this is by buying a power-only USB
cable, with the data lines cut. Unless there's any form of communication
possible on the power lines in a USB cable (some diagnostic thing, etc) that
can help protect you.

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rtkwe
The downside to that is you lose a lot of the newer fast charge features.
USB-C power delivery specifically requires communication between the charger
and the device to determine what voltage the charger will provide.

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toomuchtodo
There are "USB Condoms" (I'm fond of the PortaPow, no association just a happy
user, I give them away like candy to anyone who will take one) where one end
negotiates with the USB source and the other end is for your device; you still
can get max power but there is no data connection.

[https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/home/portapow-data-
block...](https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/home/portapow-data-blocker-usb-
adaptor)

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rtkwe
That's just USB-A which only does one voltage at different current limits.
USB-C has a whole negotiation back and forth about available (charger) and
desired (device) voltages. You could possibly have a device pass just those
messages back and forth I guess but that's definitely not the device you
linked.

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toomuchtodo
Sorry, I don't have any USB-C devices, and the OP at top of thread only said
USB (not USB-C).

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mindslight
When USB power jacks started appearing everywhere, I figured it was just a
gimmicky branding thing. Why wouldn't I just use my known AC adapter in a
standard receptacle, and be sure that my phone was getting the same power it
always charged with. It's very unlikely that building power would be miswired
to put say 277V or 460V on a common receptacle, whereas low voltage DC being
crappy seemed quite likely. I certainly wouldn't want to screw up my several
hundred dollar device, from a basically unaccountable charger, for the savings
was taking one thing out of my bag instead of two.

But this is just not the way most people see the world, which is apparently
"if it fits, I sticks". I just don't get it - for all of the general
conservatism to resist actual change, why is everyone so quick to engage in
new behavior that offers _no_ gain?

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EliRivers
_why is everyone so quick to engage in new behavior that offers no gain?_

Phone charges up. Sure seems like a gain.

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mindslight
The phone also charges with your AC charger though, and likely faster. Your
gain is merely having to get just a cable out, instead of cable + AC adapter.

And if you're worried about a shortage of outlets, the savvy traveler thing to
do is carry a multi-outlet tap and facilitate sharing, which also works at
120/240 and not 5V.

~~~
EliRivers
Some places don't provide a power socket I can plug an adapter into. Just the
USB socket. Sometimes I'm carrying a phone and a slim cable I don't mind
putting in my pocket, but I really don't want to put an AC adapter in my
pocket and carry that around with me. Sometimes the AC adapter is in my
checked luggage rather than in my pocket. Sometimes my AC adapter is made for
a different kind of socket and I don't have a travel adapter for it. Sometimes
I don't have a cable or an adapter, but someone lets me use their cable for
five minutes. There are a lot more combinations in life than carrying a bag
with an AC adapter inside that fits the local plug shape.

 _And if you 're worried about a shortage of outlets the savvy traveler thing
to do is carry a multi-outlet tap and facilitate sharing_

Carry MORE things? I'm not worried about a shortage of outlets; I just use the
USB slot.

~~~
mindslight
I guess you've never experienced a watering hole of people at the only power
outlet around? And aren't foreseeing being somewhere without USB jacks but
with regular receptacles?

There is a whole bunch of path-dependence in what you've said. I formed my
approach a decade ago, primarily in the context of traveling, and haven't seen
a benefit to revisiting it.

But surely by the time one is talking about buying special cables with no data
lines, but still needing to do power negotiation somehow, maybe it's time to
question some recent assumptions!

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Animats
Time to start selling power-only USB cables with a transparent sheath and two
visible copper wires. They don't need to be shielded, of course.

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pzumk
TL;DR - don’t connect your phone to public USB ports because it could install
malware to your phone.

The way this article is written and not having any serious information about
“juice jacking” makes it really bad.

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notadoc
How about a TLDR since it's nytimes?

Also, what a trash headline. But it is the nytimes, and they've taken a huge
fall.

"don't do this specific thing" (click to find out!)

"this one weird trick you must do" (click to find out!)

"you won't believe how annoying this headline type is!" (click me)

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slowm5
I always found it helpful to bring a portable charger wherever I go. Very
affordable these days. The RavPower one I have is good for like 5-8 full
iphone charges.

