Tuesday Tip: Be Careful Where You Re-Charge Your iPhone

By Richard Stokes

Public USB charging stationYou’re sitting at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and you notice that your iPhone battery is getting low.  Your AC adapter isn’t handy but you do have your USB cable so you locate a charging station (pictured across), plug in and get a quick 15 minute top up before you board your flight.

There is a chance that your iPhone just got compromised!  Think about it – when you connect your iPhone to your computer it synchronizes your iPhone to your iTunes account and has full access to your data, photos, music, etc.  This, therefore, holds true for any USB port to which you connect your iPhone.

I’ve heard and read that it’s not difficult to tamper with these public kiosks and connect them to a small hidden computer.  The moment you plug-in, malware is loaded onto your device in less than a minute.  Once installed, the malware can then allow someone else to take remote control of your phone and see everything you see, including passwords.  It can also go so far as to allowing the ‘bad guy’ to remotely make a call from the phone and eavesdrop on your telephone conversations.  This becomes an even bigger problem when working in industries such as healthcare, where accessibility to patient healthcare information comes into play.

The key here is to always be aware in public places – here’s an older, but related, post for tips when using Public Wi-FiUSB Adapter

So what can you do?

1)    Don’t plug directly into a USB jack at a public kiosk.

2)    Always bring a USB/AC Adapter with you when traveling – that way you can plug into any AC outlet and not have to worry about it.

But what if you’ve already used one of those public chargers before and are now wondering if you’ve been hacked?  If you have, it’s going to show up as another profile on your phone.  You can check as follows:

  • Go to Settings
  • Go to General
  • Search for Profiles*

If you see an unknown profile running then you might have been hacked.  If it’s a company- owned phone then check with your IT department first as they might have an administrative profile installed.

*If you’ve looked on your phone and you’re saying – wait a minute, I can’t find profiles in the General page. . .   Well, neither could I.  It turns out that the latest iOS7 update has removed this feature!  Apple is aware of this issue and is working on an update to fix it.  So, until they release the fix – don’t plug into any more public USB outlets!

Richard Stokes Headshot

Richard Stokes: As the Director of Sales for Network 1, Richard identifies “future” clients that can benefit from the support of an experienced, outsourced IT team. He helps clients and prospects find technology solutions they need to achieve better productivity and efficiency so they can focus on making money and growing their businesses.

Network 1 designs, builds and supports the IT you need to run your business more securely, productively and successfully. Whether you want to outsource all of your IT needs to a reliable, responsive, service-oriented company, or need to supplement the work of your internal IT staff, we will carefully evaluate where you are now, discuss where you want to go and implement and support a plan to get you there with as little interruption as possible.

6 Comments

  1. Tuesday Tip: Charge Your iPhone Faster on April 8, 2014 at 9:57 am

    […] Well, fortunately for you, in doing so this means that because your phone isn’t really running anything it can receive a faster charge because no other services are drawing from the battery.  To give you some perspective, I tried it and found it charged my phone about 50% faster – your results may vary.  Speaking of charging; here’s a previous tip about where to be careful when you are looking for a quick charge. […]

  2. […] two other great tips from our previous posts that will keep your trips running smoothly as well, Be Careful Where you Re-Charge Your iPhone and Let Uber Hail Your Next […]

  3. I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me on May 27, 2014 at 9:12 am

    […] Another step in protection is disabling file sharing before leaving your office.  For those lawyers trying to hammer out the last round of edits on a contract, make sure that – before you’ve left the office – you have downloaded documents to your computer and you have disabled any file sharing.  There are more tips for using public Wi-Fi in a tip we shared a few years back, as well as information about being careful where you charge your iPhone. […]

  4. Tuesday Tip: Protect Your iPhone and iPad on September 9, 2014 at 2:34 pm

    […] to also protect you phone by being careful where you charge it, as referenced in one of Richard’s previous Tuesday […]

  5. […] Tuesday Tip: Be Careful Where You Re-Charge Your iPhone […]

  6. Tuesday Tip – Is Your Hotel Wi-Fi Safe? on May 26, 2015 at 11:19 am

    […] Here are a couple of articles we wrote a few years ago about protecting yourself while using public Wi-Fi. Tips for Using Public Wi-Fi and Be Careful Where You Re-Charge Your iPhone […]

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