USBKill is anti-forensic software distributed via GitHub, written in Python for the BSD, Linux, and OS X operating systems. It is designed to serve as a kill switch if the computer on which it is installed should fall under the control of individuals or entities against the desires of the owner. It is free software, available under the GNU General Public License.
[!] Important : Make sure to use disk encryption for all folders that contain information you want to be private. Otherwise they will get it anyway. Full disk encryption is the easiest and surest option if available Tip : Additionally, you may use a cord to attach a USB key to your wrist. Then insert the key into your computer and start usbkill. If they steal your computer, the USB will be removed and the computer shuts down immediately. Feature List (version 1.0-rc.4) Compatible with Linux, BSD and OS X. Shutdown the computer when there is USB activity. Customizable. Define which commands should be executed just before shut down. Ability to whitelist a USB device. Ability to change the check interval (default: 250ms). Ability to melt the program on shut down. RAM and swap wiping. Works with sleep mode (OS X). No dependency except secure-delete iff you want usbkill to delete files/folders for you or if you want to wipe RAM or swap. Sensible defaults Supported command line arguments (partially for devs): -h or --help: show help message, exit. --version: show version of the program, exit. --no-shut-down: if a malicious change on the USB ports is detected, execute all the (destructive) commands you defined in settings.ini, but don’t turn off the computer. --cs: Copy program folder settings.ini to /etc/usbkill/settings.ini
Excerpt from the source-code README · 2,543 chars · not written by Vinony
~8 min read
USBKill is anti-forensic software distributed via GitHub, written in Python for the BSD, Linux, and OS X operating systems. It is designed to serve as a kill switch if the computer on which it is installed should fall under the control of individuals or entities against the desires of the owner. It is free software, available under the GNU General Public License.
The program's developer, who goes by the online name Hephaest0s, created it in response to the circumstances of the arrest of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, during which U.S. federal agents were able to get access to incriminating evidence on his laptop without needing his cooperation by copying data from its flash drive after distracting him. It maintains a whitelist of devices allowed to connect to the computer's USB ports; if a device not on that whitelist connects, it can take actions ranging from merely returning to the lock screen to encrypting the hard drive, or wiping all data on the computer. However, it can also be used as part of a computer security regimen to prevent the surreptitious installation of malware or spyware or the clandestine duplication of files, according to its creator.
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Discovered by embedding cosine similarity (sentence-transformers MiniLM, 384-dim).