# WARNING: Vaping may be hazardous to your computer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 25, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604 "2014-11-25T16:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/1 "2014-11-25T16:33:26Z")
[e-Cigarette from China Infected Man’s Computer with Malware](https://www.yahoo.com/tech/e-cigarette-from-china-infected-mans-computer-with-103466334849.html) > [@](#): > > The e-cigarette was found to have malware hard-coded into the charger, which “phoned home” and infected the system when plugged into the computer’s USB port. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/2 "2014-11-25T16:37:14Z")
Warning: The Director of IT Services has determined that vaping is dangerous to your privacy. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/3 "2014-11-25T17:18:35Z")
I wager that the executive has been reminded of the security training he signed off on which indicates he’s aware he’s not allowed to plug any non-company equipment into his computer’s USB ports. This would be why. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/4 "2014-11-25T17:38:43Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I wager that the executive has been reminded of the security training he signed off on which indicates he’s aware he’s not allowed to plug any non-company equipment into his computer’s USB ports. This would be why. True, but at pretty much every company I’ve been at, the IT policy documents are pretty much a huge joke. No personal use of the internet, at all? Maybe 1% of employees obey that. Everyone else understands that it’s something that the lawyers say has to be signed but that _really_ means “don’t surf the net for personal reasons during work hours to the extent that you don’t get your work done. Get your work done. Thanks!” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/5 "2014-11-25T17:50:11Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > he’s not allowed to plug any non-company equipment into his computer’s USB ports. There’s a _Playboy_ joke or cartoon in there somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/6 "2014-11-25T18:10:59Z")
Is there a link, Johnny? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/7 "2014-11-25T18:14:13Z")
Yes, in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/8 "2014-11-25T18:23:44Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > True, but at pretty much every company I’ve been at, the IT policy documents are pretty much a huge joke. Until now, that is. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/9 "2014-11-25T18:24:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Yes, in the OP. Sorry, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/10 "2014-11-25T18:36:25Z")
I wonder if this was using [the “BadUSB” exploit that was revealed at the recent Blackhat conference?](http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/07/this-thumbdrive-hacks-computers-badusb-exploit-makes-devices-turn-evil/). My wife vapes, but I’m fairly sure she only uses various 5 volt USB chargers rather than plugging anything into her desktop USB port. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/11 "2014-11-25T20:22:45Z")
Interesting. I had never extended the trend of using USB ports as power sockets to potential malware access. It’s really obvious in hindsight, and even users aware of IT policy restrictions wouldn’t necessarily think twice about plugging in a coffee warmer, fan, reading light, etc. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/12 "2014-11-25T22:18:46Z")
I’m somewhat skeptical. The sole source of this article is a poster on Reddit. When asked for details, the poster said, “it was just a story” ([cite](http://www.csoonline.com/article/2851415/security-awareness/fud-e-cig-chargers-said-to-be-delivering-malware.html)). I didn’t read the whole Reddit thread, because trying to follow conversations on Reddit makes my eyes bleed, but I don’t see that the poster ever explained how they determined that the malware came from the device. And IT asking an exec at a big company if “anything changed in your life recently” as part of a malware response seems unlikely to me. _The Guardian_ quoted a guy from TrendMicro who said malware infecting a machine from any USB device is possible. Well, sure it is. But there’s no proof that actually happened here. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/13 "2014-11-26T18:25:55Z")
For the sake of science, I shoved a lit cigarette in the USB port of my company laptop. It, too, must have installed malware, as the USB port no longer works. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/14 "2014-11-26T18:42:19Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard;17928390_The Guardian_ quoted a guy from TrendMicro who said malware infecting a machine from any USB device is possible. Well, sure it is. But there’s no proof that actually happened here.[/QUOTE] Do you concede that a USB memory device could load malware onto a system? Using, say, a valid-looking popup menu to provide user authorization if needed? Since the core of an active USB device can be the size of a lentil, embedding such in a nominally passive device and coding it to use surreptitious techniques to infect the system is hardly the stuff of fantasy. The perfect such device for such guerrilla infection would be a USB cable. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/15 "2014-11-26T19:20:33Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The perfect such device for such guerrilla infection would be a USB cable. I should think a flash drive, although one would have some caution plugging in a flash drive and little or none with a charging cable. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/16 "2014-11-26T19:35:28Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > For the sake of science, I shoved a lit cigarette in the USB port of my company laptop. It, too, must have installed malware, as the USB port no longer works. Do you think it could be cancer? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/17 "2014-11-26T19:46:56Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Do you concede that a USB memory device could load malware onto a system? Using, say, a valid-looking popup menu to provide user authorization if needed? > > Since the core of an active USB device can be the size of a lentil, embedding such in a nominally passive device and coding it to use surreptitious techniques to infect the system is hardly the stuff of fantasy. > > The perfect such device for such guerrilla infection would be a USB cable. Like I said, sure it’s possible. I’m a computer forensic investigator. I’ve investigated lots of malware infections. Malware can spread by USB. But the sole source of this story is some guy on Reddit who admitted it was just a story. So I doubt that malware spreading via e-cig chargers is something we need to lose a lot of sleep over. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/18 "2014-11-26T20:38:39Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I should think a flash drive, although one would have some caution plugging in a flash drive and little or none with a charging cable. That’s the point here, I think - embedding an active and possibly malicious component in devices that present themselves as being passive (chargers, or cables). Most users plugging in a flash drive will be more alert to strange things happening, will probably run a scan on the drive, etc. > [@Bayard](#): > > But the sole source of this story is some guy on Reddit who admitted it was just a story. So I doubt that malware spreading via e-cig chargers is something we need to lose a lot of sleep over. No question. I am disturbed by the concept, though. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-vaping-may-be-hazardous-to-your-computer/705604/19 "2014-11-26T21:02:01Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > That’s the point here, I think - embedding an active and possibly malicious component in devices that present themselves as being passive (chargers, or cables). Most users plugging in a flash drive will be more alert to strange things happening, will probably run a scan on the drive, etc. Yes, but when the hot chick from Mossad gives the Iranian guy who works at the uranium enrichment site a flash drive with pictures of her on it, that sucker will be plugged in at work. 🙂 One can’t be sure that he will charge his e-cig on a work PC. Now, put it in a[USB condom](http://www.zdnet.com/protect-your-devices-with-a-10-usb-condom-7000033038/), and we might have a guarantee.