antlersmasklayer
Apr 21, 2026, 2:19 PMPractical information security
Replies
BARKING WOO WOOalbinanigans@blackqueer.lifeApr 21, 2026, 2:27 PMThere's a dongle for that, I'm sure.
- antlersmasklayerApr 21, 2026, 2:40 PM
@albinanigans Ah the Macbook to Threat adapter......
Ryan Steele :toque:rgsteele@toque.townApr 21, 2026, 3:38 PM
Apr 22, 2026, 4:19 AM@rgsteele @masklayer choosing to interpret this as a combined USB-A/USB-C/120V AC cable and not an artifact of the edit
- Ryan Steele :toque:rgsteele@toque.townApr 22, 2026, 4:22 AM
@ben @masklayer Ah yes, that is exactly what I intended and not because I was too lazy to adjust the image
Gavin Lux EnjoyerLeeisme@mastodon.xyzApr 21, 2026, 3:52 PM@masklayer I was saying the other day. These SSD drive prices got me considering, what's the worst that can happen if I use that random USB stick I just found?
Apr 21, 2026, 4:08 PM@masklayer@slime.global I genuinely wonder, why are USB C flash drives so uncommon? Now that I think about it I have never seen a USB C flash drive. Ever.
Michael Cookfoobarsoft@mastodon.socialApr 21, 2026, 4:20 PM@burger @masklayer I have one that has A on one side and B on the other.
It was hard to find.
Apr 21, 2026, 4:47 PM@foobarsoft @burger @masklayer it either has micro-B or it has a C. If you found a B even a mini-B I’m astonished ;)- Michael Cookfoobarsoft@mastodon.socialApr 21, 2026, 4:48 PM
@mi @burger @masklayer Good catch. C. ant kind of B is an affront to my dignity.
(Now I want full sized B on one)
- Apr 21, 2026, 4:50 PM@foobarsoft @burger @masklayer at least it’s an easier one to solder yourself then :) but then it would be perhaps neat to make a printing stick implementing some most common printer driver common denominators x3
Cassandrichdalias@hachyderm.ioApr 21, 2026, 4:35 PM@burger @masklayer The only good flash drives fit 80% inside the USB A slot so they're not a giant lever sticking out the side of your laptop about to pry the port off the motherboard if you make the slightest wrong move.
If they were USB C, they'd have to be outside, and while USB C is designed not to ruin the host's port when it breaks, you'd ruin the drive and have to pay thousands to recover your data.
USB C should only be used with detachable cables (because they're designed to break first so the device doesn't). Never with a builtin connector.
khmkhm@hj.9fs.netApr 21, 2026, 4:44 PMI have a bunch of these USB-C and USB-A flash drives I use from time to time, and they've never broken a computer. That could be because I don't use them often.
But I also have an LG monitor I loved fail because the USB-C connector broke off the mainboard inside the housing, and more than one Dell Precision laptop that has fallen to broken-usb-c-port problems over the years.
I don't think the form factor matters much; usb just sucks.
CC: @burger@social.burgeronthe.net @masklayer@slime.global
LisPilispi314@udongein.xyzApr 21, 2026, 4:47 PM@khm @dalias @burger @masklayer If you don't use them in public or on haphazard surfaces where they're likely to protrude in inconvenient ways, that greatly reduces the risk of breaking things with them.
Proper locking connectors and the ports being made to handle an adequate amount of torque would also work just fine to prevent the issue.- khmkhm@hj.9fs.netApr 21, 2026, 4:59 PMI get what you're saying but "building the computer stuff to not break makes the computer stuff less likely to break" is both true and not really relevant to the fact that most of this stuff is manufactured of "metal" four atoms thick and anchored to the case with peanut butter
what really annoys me is the LG, where it was on a monitor stand, with the factory cable retention, using the mfg-provided cable, and simply using the monitor (including rotating it a couple times a week) eventually destroyed the connector
CC: @dalias@hachyderm.io @masklayer@slime.global @burger@social.burgeronthe.net - Cassandrichdalias@hachyderm.ioApr 21, 2026, 4:56 PM
@khm @burger @masklayer I'm talking about if you actually move your laptop, operate it on your lap around pets or children or careless adults, etc.
I'm sure there are some badly manufactured devices where the USB C port breaks off the board, but the intended design is that the cord, not the device, break under stress. And it worked fine with my laptop falling directly on the power cord and taking no damage. Unfortunately the power cord was built into the brick, not detachable, so the whole brick is now trash unless I feel like soldering or splicing USB C...
- LisPilispi314@udongein.xyzApr 21, 2026, 4:44 PM@dalias @burger @masklayer Generally one should always use such cables if it's an option, for exactly that reason.
- Cassandrichdalias@hachyderm.ioApr 21, 2026, 4:58 PM
@lispi314 @masklayer @burger For USB A, I highly prefer 90° cables that badely stick out of the port and have the strain relief to the side parallel to the wall of the device they're plugged into.
- LisPilispi314@udongein.xyzApr 21, 2026, 5:00 PM@dalias @masklayer @burger The main issue with those is that if one is using them from a laptop it can be a bit awkward in bending the cable up from the resting surface.
Khleedrilkhleedril@cyberplace.socialApr 22, 2026, 9:14 AM@dalias @burger @masklayer I don't disagree with you, but then I don't care about this non-issue. If I could get USB-C memory sticks I would.
I would also note that all the cables I have have 'sticks' at each end which protrude rigidly from the laptop.
- Cassandrichdalias@hachyderm.ioApr 22, 2026, 11:30 AM
@khleedril @burger @masklayer What I was trying to get at is that I think flash drives that break when you bump them would be a customer-angering, high-returns, low-review-score product because of this. And this is probably why they're not more common.
QuadRadicalQuadRadical@wetdry.worldApr 21, 2026, 5:02 PM@burger @masklayer woag its burger out in the wild, hi
Apr 21, 2026, 5:33 PM@burger @masklayer I've seen ones that support both. I don't recall seeing a dedicated -C one.
- Khleedrilkhleedril@cyberplace.socialApr 22, 2026, 12:29 PM
@burger @masklayer There are modules for the #framework laptops which are USB-C and give 256MB or 1TB storage.
Vaporeon :vaporeon: ☭vaporeon_@glaceon.socialApr 22, 2026, 5:10 AM@masklayer So that's why Apple makes laptops without USB-A ports! Security! 😆
Martamartaczc@mastodon.com.plApr 22, 2026, 9:31 AM@masklayer the next step: hardwere disabled internet connection
