Public Charging Stations Know Where You Are!

It's growing more and more popular. The use of USB charging stations in malls, airports, and more! It supplies power to our devices running low on power. While Apple Stores don't count, malls are hotspots for charging stations. USB ports are found hidden on side tables. However, these helpful little ports are hiding a dark secret. Some USB ports are stealing MAC addresses. It's like when you plug in your iPhone into your computer. It begins to sync as it charges, exchanging data with the computer. Much like that, the MAC address is "synced" to the computer. This is perfectly normal and is no different than connecting to WiFi. However, when somebody accesses the MAC addresses and puts all of the pieces together, they can see where you go when it comes to public shopping and travel. This isn't exactly an evil scheme, but it does take a piece of privacy away from you. If you don't want people knowing this kind of stuff, turn off your device to save battery and not connect to any hotspots that may want to take data. You can also invest in the "LockedUSB Adapter" which doesn't allow any sync with something connected to it. However, this isn't available yet (funding available on Kickstarter). In addition, reports have been showing that wireless communications from "hi-tech trash cans" can steal your MAC address. Remember, that this isn't an evil scheme. It's advertisers and large companies analyzing trends of their customers. Go about it how you want. Personally, I think there's nothing to worry about. I'll charge in a public charging station if it means giving up my MAC address. I'm sure someone already has it.