USB Condoms

1.   Ever heard of this term : USB CONDOM..first as I read about this though like some tech humour but it was not...it was for real.This device prevents accidental data exchange when device is plugged into someone else’s computer or a public charging station. This is achieved by blocking the data pins on any USB cable and allowing only power to flow through. This minimizes opportunities to steal your data or install malware on your mobile device.

2.  As I read this ,the term became ok :-) to discuss around in my blog here.So the basic Juicejacking attack becomes null and void by the use of a USB Condom.

"The simple board at its core carries only the current from the outside pins on a USB connector — which pass along the 5V needed to charge. The middle pins that would normally transmit data can’t, as there’s no circuitry to do so on the Condom. You’ll be able to confidently charge in public as long as you’ve got your USB Condom handy, safe in the knowledge that no juice jacker is going to mess with your precious device." from : http://www.geek.com

FaceDancer : Security Issue Buzzing USB !!!!

1.   The typical USB protocol requires that anything with USB  declares itself as either a "device" or "host". "Host" can be a PC and other bigger machines accessible whereas "Devices" can be iPod, iPads, USB thumb drives, and other "small" accessory-like things.  If you ever want a USB "host" to pretend to be a USB "device", you need special hardware. The FaceDancer is that key.

2.   The FaceDancer allows a computer (or "host") to masquerade as a USB "device" to communicate with other USB devices or USB Hosts. The FaceDancer allows a developer to access data on the USB bus from high level languages like C, Python, and Ruby.

Details and above info from : http://int3.cc/products/facedancer21

How to Format a USB drive with FAT32 file system: FEDORA 17/LINUX

1.   The ease of formatting that the regular windows user is used involves a simple right click on the drive and clicking format.But for a linux user the scene is a little different involving a set of commands.Shown here with screen shots.The commands used are :

- df -h
- fdisk -l
- umount /run/media/duqu/?????***(ur mount name)
- mkdosfs -F 32 -I /dev/sdc1

(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

Increasing Laptop Bty Life : Few ways

1. Hibernate: Hibernating the laptop is always a tidier option than putting it on standby, or shutting it down. This is because the laptop’s hibernate mode saves it in the state it was hibernated in, and does not require the laptop to reboot all applications, thereby using much less power.

2. Get some extra RAM: Whenever a laptop runs short of RAM memory it end up shifting to the virtual memory which results in hard disk use, which is a much less efficient option in terms of power consumption. Putting in extra RAM does use more power, so don’t get too much extra, but when compared to the use of virtual memory it’s a more efficient option.

3. Apply energy saving options on the OS

4. Bring down the brightness of the screen

5. Shut Down External devices: Most USB devices and other external devices like external hard drives or USB lights or even USB mice should be switched off and removed if not in use.

6. Shutdown background apps

7. Amend battery cycle: For a healthy Lithium-ion based battery, it is always suggested to keep the electrons that are present inside in motion occasionally. That means it’s never a good idea to keep you laptop plugged in or on charge all the time as the electrons lose their ability to store energy. One should let it discharge fully and charge it completely at least once a month to keep the battery as good as new.

8. Switch-off unused wireless radios

9. Try to reduce multitasking: When using the laptop on battery power, one should try as much as possible to use one application at a time, and should ideally shut one application completely before opening another, to reduce consumption of both processing and battery power.

10. Defrag on regular intervals