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Chrome OS To Block USB Access While the Screen is Locked (zdnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the good-thinking dept.

Google will add a new security feature to Chrome OS, the company's web-based operating system that powers its Chromebooks devices, it announced this week. From a report: The new feature, named USBGuard, will block access to the USB port access while the device's screen is locked. According to a Chrome OS source code commit spotted by Chrome Story earlier this week, the new feature is currently available in Chrome OS Canary builds and is expected to land in the stable branch of Chrome OS soon. Once this happens, users can enable it by modifying the following Chrome OS flag: chrome://flags/#enable-usbguard . The way this security feature is meant to work is by preventing the operating system from reading or executing any code when a USB-based device is plugged in, and the screen is locked.

2 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Why execute code on mount in the first place? by FullCircle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Isn't that the real issue?

    If I mount a filesystem, I don't expect it to start executing random files on it at all.

    --
    If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. - James Madison
  2. What by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    So you can't copy/backup files unless you leave the computer unlocked? You can't leave it unattended for all that? I guess grab some coffee and settle in so you can watch a progress bar for a couple hours.