Will Kill Your Computer

Hey guys, this is Austin, and this is the USB Killer. Now, it might not look like much, however this will straight up kill your computer. So, this is a device that’s used to test hardware, so while it looks like an ordinary USB device, instead, there’s a series of capacitors inside. So, if you plug it into a computer, it will charge those capacitors up, and once they’re full it turns around and releases all of that power at 240 volts straight back into the computer, in theory killing it. It doesn’t take much to be able to pop this thing open.

Now, before we proceed: Do not try this at home. Seriously. Not only is it very possible for this thing to kill electronics, but it’s also. And by being careful, I mean don’t try this at home. We have an Asus Chrome book. 

Now, USB Killer claims that this is going to work on around 95 percent of computers, and the reason for that is that while some computers have properly capped USB ports, most have completely unprotected ports, which means that if this thing sends a ton of power through the computer, it’s gonna send it straight into the motherboard, fry a bunch of stuff, it’s going to be dead. So in theory, I plug this in, and it’s going to die. So, plugging it in in three, two, one. 

Okay hold on, hold on, hold on. That was so fast! I don’t even think that took half a second, like it plugged in, I heard a little tiny click, and it was done for. I see this light, which makes me think there’s maybe some life, but the screen is definitely dead. Maybe the battery is still intact, which is running that light, but Chrome book: Done for.

I don’t want to do the MacBook.

I don’t want to do the MacBook!

I think it’s gonna kill the MacBook man.

I think it’s gonna kill it.

I don’t want to do the MacBook.

I’m not even joking right now.

Yeah, but everyone’s not gonna have to buy me a new MacBook when this one dies.

Ken, why?

Alright, its MacBook time. This guy, it’s on him!

You’re gonna have MacBook blood on your hands. We’re going to try the USB Killer on the brand new 2016 MacBook Pro. under any circumstances, however, apparently Apple has actually fixed the USB ports so that they are not susceptible to an attack like this. So because this doesn’t have normal USB ports, we’re going to be using a USB-C to USB-A adapter. This shouldn’t affect anything, but well find out. Dude, I’m so nervous. I’m so nervous right now.

Alright, there’s nothing to it.

Let’s plug the adapter in, in three, two, one.

Oh, it clicked, it clicked!

Oh, its clicking, you hear that?

Oh, it survived.

Alright, that’s enough clicking, that’s enough clicking.

Okay, you’re good, you’re good.

So I plug in power.

Yeah so we can definitely still charge with the port,

so I think everything should be fine.

I also have a USB drive here,

so we should be able to see it pop up. Or not.

Wow, did we actually kill the data on this port? Hang on a second. So the power part of this port still works,  but as far as data goes, we completely killed that Thunderbolt port, wow. Now, it’s time to raise the stakes. This is a 32 inch TV.

Now this happens to be a smart TV, however even normal flat screen TVs will typically have a USB port. So usually you plug in a flash drive to load pictures, video, or even firmware. So were gonna find out: Will the USB Killer be able to kill an entire TV?

Plugging it in in three, two, one. Oh, I heard it. The TVs still on. It’s not ticking. I heard one loud click, and that was it. I wonder, does the USB port still work? 

Cause the TVs still fine. So, to find out if this actually works or not, we’re gonna plug a keyboard in, which might sound like a weird thing to do, however, since this is a smart TV, it actually does support a keyboard. Nothing, no.

You see, I don’t even think this is getting power. While the USB Killer didn’t kill the TV, it did at least fry the USB port. Next, we have a phone. Now this might seem like a little bit of a weird choice, however, the 6P does have a USB-C port.

So, plugging into the Nexus 6P in three, two, one. Wait, the phones rebooting, hold on a second. Pull out, pull out, pull out. So it reset the phone. That was a really loud crack too. Now let’s see if we can actually plug it in. Okay, so we are charging, so at least we have that working. Can we get data?

Yeah, this is acting just like a charger, it doesn’t see any kind of data coming through on either side. So, it might not have killed the phone, and to be fair you can still charge, which honestly is by far the most important part of being able to use a port, however, the fact that we’ve killed data on two different USB-C devices does not bode well. 

This USB Killer is no joke. As long as you’re careful with your electronics, and don’t let random people plug things in, you should be fine, however all it takes is a single second, and you can do some serious damage.

Now, if you’re really worried about this, there are USB protectors that will actually physically lock out the ports on your computer, and I’ll have one of those linked in the description, however, as long as you’re careful, you should be okay.

Because we did do some damage today, I wanted to give back, so we made a donation to the EFF They do some absolutely amazing work to make sure that the internet stays open and free for everyone.

Windows1 (1985)