Let’s say I’m traveling with a Windows laptop, and I may need to print something at a hotel. Hotels often have a public PC hooked up to a printer.
I don’t trust public PCs to be virus-free.
So obviously I don’t want to use a USB flash drive to transfer my file to a public PC - or if I do, I don’t want to ever plug it on my PC again. Using a new flash drive each time can get expensive.
The only viable option I can think of is the best option to open a throwaway e-mail account, e-mail my file to it, and access the account from the public PC. Are there other/better ways?
Is the file itself confidential? Do you care if anyone else sees the file?
There are a number of free, no-registration file hosting/transfer sites where you can upload a file and share a download link with whoever. Some of the sites offer options like allowing only one download or expiring after some period of time. Here’s a list of some: http://merabheja.com/anonymous-file-sharing/
The only caveat is that your file will be available to God-knows-who at the hosting site, as well as the owners and (possibly) users of the hotel PC. But if what you’re printing is non-confidential, it may be a solution for you.
I would think that as long as you have “autorun” turned off, re-plugging in the flash drive should be safe. Then if you are paranoid - reformat the device before re-use. Certainly don’t open any of the files on it again.
There I a risk that a USB device could compromise a PC by embedding the program in the firmware that executes when the device is inserted, which is how the device drivers etc. are loaded, but I have not heard of (a) any such problem (yet) and (b) I don’t think some random PC can re-write what should be read-only firmware. This would need to be a virus that was factory-installed.
At one time most USB drives came with a physical write protect switch. That would prevent the other PC from writing on it. You can still purchase ones that have the switch online and maybe at some office stores.
But I think that md2000’s suggestion should work fine.
i’d be more worried about keeping your personal computer safe while using in public places, scr4 … always keep your sentry’s reference-files up to date.
aside from that … email seems to be logical/easiest choice. other options might include:
[ul]
[li]sendi the file to the hardware’s ip address[/li][li]use file-hosting protocol (dropbox, 4shared, etc)[/li][li]office-depot offers a service called “my files”[/li][li]print from the cloud or from iphone/android[/li][/ul]
each of the above methods has it’s share of drawbacks. as for email … easy to hack. also, disposable email usually needs confirmation email address.
using google, i input couple different filters separately such as “print online” or “print remotely”.
Software to print a file need not actually modify the flashdrive. Yes, I know that programs may “have done those things which they ought not to have done; And there is no health in them.”
In the olden days, mag tapes had removable write rings; and IIRC there was a simple physical way to write-protect floppy disks.
So the old ways are not completely forgotten! Given Microsoft philosophy, however, I’d not be astounded if the Write-Disable switch were just an advisory; that Windows would still write on such a flashdrive when it suited its agenda … or on Tuesdays.
Printing from your device on a public printer may be getting easier. My HP printer which is a middle-of-the-road business model has an email address to which I can email a document for print, no central computer needed. As in, anyone with any device can email my printer without having to put their document on a computer hooked up to said printer first.
With the ubiquity of mobile devices as main devices, this might become a more sought-after feature for hotel business centers. It’s not brand new tech…I’ve had this printer for 3-4 years now.
And run the risk someone else has installed skimmer software on the public PC to capture online email account and password details? No way.
Use a USB thumb drive as previously stated, then reformat it while still attached to the public PC. Or carry blank CDs with you, burn the document to the CD and use the CD in the public PC to print your file(s). Then destroy the CD.
Or connect your laptop to their printer and print direct.
Or just carry a simple, portable printer with you.
True. My priorities may be misplaced, and the risk from connecting my laptop to a public network may be much bigger than using flash drives (with autorun off, etc).
Email does seem to be the safest. I’d never log on to my work e-mail or my primary personal e-mail account from a public computer, but accessing a secondary e-mail account should be pretty safe, right? As long as I don’t also use it as a recovery e-mail address for my more important accounts?
If the PC is infected, you can’t be sure of what happens when you tell the OS to reformat it. It may just install more malware on it and say “done”. Reformatting on your own PC (with autorun off) should be safe but if I were in a very paranoid mood I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with that either. I’d go with some file sharing solution if the document is not confidential. Disposable media would be even better. You can get CD-RW discs for less than 50 cents apiece (although this assumes that the hotel PC has a CD drive and you can reach it).
If you have a Google Drive or Dropbox account, just share that file with a view-only link from the computer you trust. Then use a URL shortener like http://goo.gl/ or bitly to make that longass URL shorter. Write down the 6-character code on a piece of paper, access it from the public computer, bam. Like this: SDMB Print Test - Google Docs