USB killer is a device that looks similar to a normal USB, when attached to a USB port of any device (PC, laptop, network device, smart TV), will fry up their components causing massive damage.
How does USB killer work?
To clearly understand how it works we need to define a couple of terms:
- Capacitor: it is an electrical component that stores electrical energy and can be charged/discharged. It can take direct current and increases its potential (voltage).
- USB pin configuration: a typical USB connection has four pins, two pin for power supply (red& black, 5 volts, 1 ampere approx) and other two pins (green & white) are for data transfer purpose.
USB killer device consists of high capacity capacitors which charge very quickly. So when it is inserted in a USB port of host devices, it draws power from the port and charges the capacitors to around 100~200 volts.
Once capacitors are fully charged it discharges (sends electric shock) this current directly to the data pins of the USB port—which in turn is connected to motherboard/main circuitry of PC/device.
Typical a USB port rating is 5 V, 1 A, and the Power transferred by the USB killer to port = 200 V and few mill ampere currents.
This process of charging and discharging (sending high voltage shock) keeps repeating until USB port(along with another part) gets damaged & stops supplying power to the USB killer.
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Protect yourself against USB Killer (Power Surge Attacks)
The USB Killer Shield is the way to safely use and test unknown USB devices. Protect your computer and hardware – always use a USB Killer Shield before trusting a new device.
Protecting your hardware is easy: The Shield allows power to travel through the device but will block any Power Surge attacks.
It also provides break-out cables to test if a power surge is present. Once verified, you can directly plug in the device, with 100% certainty.
Another way is to use LINDY USB Port Lock & Blocker, the following video describes its functionality.
