To say that we are increasingly dependent on mobile phones is obvious. That we constantly control the state of the battery (of the mobile, the tablet, the helmets…) more of the same. For this reason, it is not surprising that before a long trip, we take advantage of the charging stations distributed in airports, bus or train stations to give a little more life to the mobile. The problem is that this is not safe at all according to the FBI.
The recharging stations in these places are very common (between the Barcelona airport and Madrid alone there are more than 100 with numerous plugs in each one). These are structures with USB ports in which we can charge any device (mobile phones, tablets, iPads, memory cards, watches or helmets)… but what differentiates them from the usual plugs is that they also allow downloading and sending stored files via the Internet. And here is the danger.
Federal Bureau of Investigation officials are warning travelers to avoid free phone charging sites, warning that they can be used to install malware and tracking software on computers and phones.
“The “bad actors” have discovered fWays to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software on the devices – FBI officials note in a tweet – .Bring your own charger and USB cable and use an electrical outlet instead,” FBI officials said.
This warning is not only valid for airports, train or bus stations. Also in shopping centers and even in public areas of hotels. Everything is based on the fact that the same cable that It is used to charge the battery and is also used to send information. And that’s what the friends of others take advantage of. And it works on any mobile from any manufacturer.
To avoid scares there are several measures that we can take. The first is to buy a charging-only cable, which does not transmit information. Another is to use only normal plugs, only electrical charging. We can also use an external battery at the charging stations and with it we can recharge our mobile or device. These may be extreme measures, but the strategies of malware experts are becoming more sophisticated and you have to play it safe.
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