Posted September 13, 2016 Hi guys So I read a Tom's Hardware article recently about the USB Killer 2.0 and was wondering if the Transient Voltage Suppression diodes that Asus includes on its Sabertooth motherboards (such as the Sabertooth Z170 S) are sufficient protection against this attack. Basically, the device looks like a USB flash drive but when plugged in, it charges its capacitors from normal USB power then blasts 200 volts of DC power back into the system on the data transfer pins of the USB port, effectively frying the device. The attack: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/usb-killer-2.0-power-surge-attack,32669.html Asus Sabertooth Z170 S features: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH-Z170-S/ Also, it's obvious that the rear ports of the Sabertooth have some form of protection, but there's no specific mention of protection for the on-board USB headers. If those are vulnerable, protection is as simple as not connecting case-mounted ports but if the rear port connection is vulnerable to the 200 volts sent by the USB Killer 2.0 then it's game over. Does anyone have more info on this board or others that may be protected from this type of overvoltage attack? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 13, 2016 on board headers are not protected, the io with protection are. surge protection protects against lightning strikes so this usb killer wouldnt get trough it. but this is all theoretical since there are absolutely zero specifications and ratings to crossreference this towards. it could be that the protection is not on the data lines and only on the power lines. only way to find out is to order the test tool with protector. although i would love to see a youtuber try this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 13, 2016 why are concerned? do you find random USB sticks on the street often? GPU drivers giving you a hard time? Try this! (DDU) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 13, 2016 4 minutes ago, LukaH said: why are concerned? do you find random USB sticks on the street often? How long before these start showing up on eBay disguised as new USB drives? Admittedly this would be cost prohibitive right now but it would be cake to hide this in a portable SSD drive and sell it as legit. They already sell counterfeit drives that show up as *GB sized drives but actually only have a few MB and have been flashed to show up incorrectly. I don't think this is a huge leap. Malo Periculosam Libertatem Quam Quietum Servitium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 13, 2016 4 minutes ago, Corrupt_Liberty said: How long before these start showing up on eBay disguised as new USB drives? Admittedly this would be cost prohibitive right now but it would be cake to hide this in a portable SSD drive and sell it as legit. They already sell counterfeit drives that show up as *GB sized drives but actually only have a few MB and have been flashed to show up incorrectly. I don't think this is a huge leap. A while, the usb drives weren't cheap they were $56 without the casing. If you are really going to be paranoid about these build another computer to test the drives first, like someone drinking the wine first to check if it is poisoned. Or just buy legit USB drives. •E5-2670 @2.7GHz • Intel DX79SI • EVGA 970 SSC• GSkill Sniper 8Gb ddr3 • Corsair Spec 02 • Corsair RM750 • HyperX 120Gb SSD • Hitachi 2Tb HDD • Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 13, 2016 4 minutes ago, Corrupt_Liberty said: How long before these start showing up on eBay disguised as new USB drives? Admittedly this would be cost prohibitive right now but it would be cake to hide this in a portable SSD drive and sell it as legit. They already sell counterfeit drives that show up as *GB sized drives but actually only have a few MB and have been flashed to show up incorrectly. I don't think this is a huge leap. well ok i didnt really think of it like that... but if you have the money to buy a high end board with that protection chances are you are not buying stuff from ebay, especially from shifty sellers. GPU drivers giving you a hard time? Try this! (DDU) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 13, 2016 3 minutes ago, LukaH said: well ok i didnt really think of it like that... but if you have the money to buy a high end board with that protection chances are you are not buying stuff from ebay, especially from shifty sellers. My point is that this protection should probably start making it into all motherboards, not just the high end stuff. You and I are smart enough not to pick up USB drives and check them out on our own computers. You don't necessarily have to buy from a shifty seller on eBay to get counterfeit stuff. Plenty of legit sellers in the US have had their inventory compromised. Hell, I've bought counterfeit goods unknowingly from eBay before and I'm sure it wasn't the sellers fault. Right now it's damn near impossible to even find legit laptop power adapters without paying the OEM's exorbitant prices. Malo Periculosam Libertatem Quam Quietum Servitium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 14, 2016 Author I only asked out of curiosity. And maybe with the hope that someone with the means to absorb failure might want to try it on camera. I did notice the claim of lightning protection, and they also mention their protection exceeds industry standards but they don't say what standards in particular. Was hoping someone knew more specifics. For science! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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