USB Type-C is fast, but its widespread use has come across a few speed bumps due to issues of faulty cables burning gadgets.
Thankfully, however, new software will help us determine if a certain USB-C cable is safe to use on our USB-C capable devices.
Thanks in large part to the research of Googler Benson Leung, who tested all kinds of USB-C cables, it became apparent that many of them drew an amount a power that exceeded the capabilities of a device such as a laptop, destroying both the cable and the connected device. In fact, Leung offered his own Chromebook Pixel 2 as a test device, and the laptop was ultimately destroyed by one of those faulty USB-C cables.
The software protection comes in the form of a new Type-C Authentication specification. Created by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group, the spec is meant to protect devices against USB-C cables that don't fit the standards set by the group.
The USB 3.0 Promoter Group is comprised of several heavyweight players such as Intel, HP, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, and others.
"Using this protocol, host systems can confirm the authenticity of a USB device or USB charger, including such product aspects as the descriptors/capabilities and certification status. All of this happens right at the moment a wired connection is made - before inappropriate power or data can be transferred," explains the group.
For the rest of us, what that actually means is that the group overseeing the USB industry, the USB Implementers Forum, will certify legit USB Type-C cables. Those certified cables will be able to communicate with our laptops, tablets, and smartphones via a 128-bit encrypted communication method. That communication will happen almost instantaneously and will let a device know if a cable in question is safe to use.
Besides protecting against non-compliant USB chargers made with subpar materials and construction, the new Type-C Authentication specification will also protect against maliciously embedded hardware and software.
Since this is a new specification, USB-C devices that came out before the spec was released will be able to receive software updates to make use of the new spec. Unfortunately, however, cables can't be updated since they were made even before the overseeing organization came up with the fix.
Photo: Maurizio Pesce | Flickr
