What would you do if you came across a random USB stick? A viral video reveals one of the worst things that could possibly happen.
Technician goes rogue
In a viral video with more than 260,000 views, a person who appears to work for Iowa-based Krusen Motors (@krusenmotors) shared the weird journey he went on. (It’s not 100% clear the account is associated with the car lot because it isn’t listed on the company’s website.)
In the clip, the technician explained that he was working on a car and needed to make a key fob. But before he could complete the task, he got distracted. The set of keys for the Jeep Wrangler had a red USB stick on it.
“So, of course, I plugged it in,” he said as the audience looked on in horror.
The USB included a Microsoft Word file called, “DO NOT OPEN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.”
So, what did he do do? Open it, of course.
The document was empty except for three hyperlinked words: “DO NOT PRESS.”
Clearly determined to go against the advice of IT workers everywhere, he opened the link to a YouTube video.
The video was a clip of Rick Astley’s video for “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
That’s right, he was Rickrolled.
What is Rickrolling?
Rickrolling is when you troll or prank someone by getting them to click a link to the music video for Astley’s 1987 hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
“It is, by far, the most popular example of bait-and-switch linking,” Dictionary.com explains. The prank has reportedly been around since 2007.
Even Astley got in on the fun, doing a live Rickroll during the 2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Another famous example was the White House’s official Twitter Rickrolling a commenter who complained that the day’s briefing wasn’t entertaining enough.
Why you shouldn’t plug in random USBs
No matter how intriguing it might be, it’s not a good idea to plug a random USB into your computer.
In a worst-case scenario, the USB could contain malware that allows a hacker to access your personal and confidential information. It could also contain a computer virus.
Hackers use a variety of techniques to get you to plug in a USB, such as:
- Putting an official company or school logo on it,
- Claiming there’s a digital gift card inside, and
- Giving them out at conferences.
To be safe, only plug in a USB that comes from a person or entity you know and trust.
Commenters react
“as a guy that works in IT… this is what job security is. wait until it’s not that lol,” a top comment read.
“The way I audibly gasped when you plugged it in,” another said.
“Coworkers like this are why I have to watch training videos on opening suspicious links,” a third wrote.
“This is exactly what my prof would do. They intentionally ran an experiment of dropping usbs across campus to see who would actually plug them in more people than not did,” a commenter shared.
@krusenmotors Lesson learned. Don’t open random usb sticks
♬ original sound – Krusen Motors
The Daily Dot reached out to Krusen Motors via email and Instagram direct message.
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