I got an email from Malwarebytes (a malware protection company) recounting the story of a woman who bought a vibrator from the online offspring of Spencer's Gifts (link to story.) The batteries are charged via USB port, so when she received the vibrator, she plugged it into her laptop for the initial charge. She immediately got a warning from her malware protection software that the vibrator was infected with malware that "steals information from cryptocurrency wallets and browser extensions, as well as two-factor authentication details." The information is then sold to other cybercriminals. It is not known exactly how the virus got installed on the vibrator. I posted this for 2 reasons: #1-The obvious giggle-factor because it's a vibrator/virus/infection double entendre story, and #2-Even innocuous objects that are not supposed to contain data can still carry malicious software. In addition to making sure you have virus & malware software, the surest way to protect yourself against attacks from seemingly benign rechargeable objects is to charge them with a usb wall charger...do not plug them into your computer. I never gave this any thought. I have earbuds and a wireless headset for my cellphone that I recharge from my laptop all the time. They both contain software to manage their various features. I imagine it would be easy enough for someone to install malware on these (and other) devices and put it back on the shelf at Walmart (or return to Amazon) for an unsuspecting customer to buy, assuming the malware was not installed at the factory.
@John Brunner your story reminded me of reading a history of the vibrator. After its invention, it was the second most common electrical appliance in the American home after the electric iron. Sewing machines were #3 I think. Those vibrators plugged into a wall socket. Just imagine if it developed a short!
Yeah, it is sadly a less than zero change that Chinese products that charge using USB ports may contain the delivery logic and payload to detect and infect common operating systems. The only safe way to use them is to charge via "dumb" chargers and never a laptop or desktop computer's USB ports. Depressing, but that's the world we live in.
It's shocking the number of things that charge via USB cables. I bought an underhood work light similar to this one: The ends are spring-loaded so they grab the outside edge of any size the hood. It recharges using a USB cable. Fortunately, it's too bulky to tie to my laptop, so I've been using the wall charger.
Sheeeesh. A vibrator with malware. Sooo, a lady buys the “appliance” and reads of the possibility, whom does she go to in order to have it examined and if needed, disinfected? The Geek Squad or the CDC?
Husband: So is my wife gonna be alright? ER Doctor: We don't know, sir. We're gonna scan her for a virus and see if we can quarantine it. Do you have a backup? Husband: (Smiles to himself.)
So. now my brain has a visual of a pink rabbit beating a drum that keeps going and going and going. The name even suits the circumstance: Eveready.
LOL, I just put this on yesterday to workout. But my workout partner, Foxy prefers Happy' have you heard that song?, guess she likes a room without a roof too.