Use a “USB Condom” to Protect Your Devices From Public Chargers
Yes, that’s a terrible phrase, but the USB condom is a great little gadget you can buy to stop an unknown attacker from doing what they shouldn’t do when you charge your device. In other words, USB data blocker, if you prefer that phrase, lets you safely use public USB ports to charge your phone .
The USB data blocker looks something like the first one brought to our attention by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes from ZDNet:
This small device, the PortaPow third-generation USB data blocker, will set you back only $ 7. What it offers in return is priceless: it kills any data transfer by physically removing the connection for the connected wires . Your device won’t be able to transfer a single bit of data to anything it’s plugged in unless it finds a way to regenerate a borg-style USB data blocker.
If you’re even more skeptical and want to make sure that the device you’re using to secure the connection between your laptop and the charging port isn’t stealing your data by itself, you can also opt for the Pure USB Data Blocker from PortaPow. Its transparent design should reassure you that there is nothing inside the gadget that spies on you (or does not infect you with malware).
Is this all overkill? Not really. If you want a little more peace of mind when charging your device, $ 7 is a small price to pay for confidence. And while you can find a number of similar devices that do the same thing, Kingsley-Hughes likes the PortaPow device because he tested it to confirm that it actually does what it claims. (It is also recommended by Wirecutter if that helps.)
You can even make your own USB condom, but it will probably be easier (and possibly cheaper) to buy one. It will cost you a cup of coffee, but you can use it forever – or at least until we all finally switch to USB-C. And then you just need to buy another one .