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Showing posts from November, 2019

You are vulnerable if you use Public USB Ports To Charge Phones. Use a Power Bank Instead.

This week, the LA County District Attorney’s office put out a warning to remind everyone "you shouldn’t use a public USB port keep your device charged. Battery power is one of those things that is always at a premium, especially when you’re traveling and need to use one of the precious few power outlets at the airport to keep your device charged. The issue is that public USB ports can potentially be hacked so that they install data-stealing malware onto your phone while you charge up. Called “juice-jacking,” the hack could result in scammers getting access to your passwords, personal information and more. Not exactly worth it, right? If you do use one of the ports (don’t!), make sure you’re not agreeing to give the port access to data on your device. Depending on your device, you might see a pop up when you connect asking if you trust the device. You do not. A better option is always to simply plug your phone or tablet into an AC outlet instead. If power is not available