7/6/2026 at 3:05:30 AM
Cool and reminds me of a project from like 15 years ago. Forgot what it was called but basically it was just people hiding thumb drives and finding them like a geocache. Fun idea but then I remember Stuxnet and I'm like nah.Edit: found it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_dead_drop
Pirate box is mentioned on that page. I forgot about that. I used to carry around an old android phone running pirate box. Sometimes people would connect at a coffee shop and that's how I found out about the band Death Grips
by NDlurker
7/6/2026 at 4:03:19 AM
>Edit: found it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_dead_dropI wanted these to exist so badly, it was a fun and quirky concept, but people kept bashing it online as the stupidest idea ever, and the few dead drops that existed in my city routinely got destroyed.
I also built my own PirateBox too, but the only thing that was ever uploaded to it was a creepshot of me and my PirateBox. Turns out when Public Wi-Fi exists, they're actively ignored.
by greyb
7/6/2026 at 4:26:10 AM
Oh that is creepy. I went to coffee shops with mine because I figured those were the only places anyone would notice it and possibly connect. I had a few random pictures, chats, and a Death Grips video uploaded to mine.The dead drop website had a map but I was never anywhere near any. That sucks that people destroyed them. It's a dangerous idea, but a cheap used laptop specifically for it could be fun, but yeah, not enough people would ever do that to make it worthwhile.
by NDlurker
7/6/2026 at 12:00:39 PM
For dead drops, beyond worry about viruses there is also the concern about physical security so you don't fry your device/port. Randomly plugging in unknown USB devices just has way too many downsides.USBkill, etc.
by Pyrodogg
7/6/2026 at 12:11:16 PM
Micro SD may be safer, it’s hard to fit any large capacitors in there. Bulk cards are still not that expensive in smaller sizes.Wifi captive portals with simple file sharing are probably the safest way to go. You could also locate it in a hard-to-reach place, or completely out of sight, to make it hard to destroy. My favorite idea is to fit a tiny ESP board inside an outlet box.
by iamnothere