Killer USB? ?

Question

I ordered a custom electronics kit from a company I trust, and it works great as per usual. However, I also received an envelope marked with “killer usb, do not use.” I plugged it into an old WinXP e-machine and sure enough, it died immediately. Should I report this? 

Answer 1

Favourite answer

Those are a well-known gimmick.

The safest thing to do with it is to smash it to ensure no one connects it out of curiosity.

[They have a capacitor bank and voltage inverter, that charges the caps to a high voltage using the 5V from the USB socket - and another circuit then connects the high voltage back to the USB pins once it's built high enough, overloading the motherboard protection and causing damage.]

Answer 2

@bone alone you say that like the WinXP wasn’t a disposable computer

Answer 3

r/thathappened

it definitely happened

Answer 4

Why did you use it when it said not to use it. 

I guess you can complain about sending you the killer usb but ultimately, you’re the one who used it.