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Are VGA cables too "dumb" to spread malware from one device to another device?
Background: I'm giving a talk tomorrow, and the laptop I'm presenting on will be connected via VGA cable to another computer that'll be recording the presentation as well as passing the signal to a projector. Not that I have any reason to believe my computer or the other computer are likely to have viruses...
Andrew Grimm
Posted 2009-12-07T10:51:02.673
Reputation: 2 230
16
No, they cannot be spread via VGA.
Toby
Posted 2009-12-07T10:51:02.673
Reputation: 679
Expanding on that, I'd like to say that the recording device is only receiving the video signal from your laptop. No actual harddrive data is being transmitted. – Travis – 2009-12-07T16:53:54.047
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In theory, yes, it might be possible for a display to exploit a weakness in the computer's display drivers via the DDC backlink. In parctice, I have never heard about such an exploit being used.
Michael Borgwardt
Posted 2009-12-07T10:51:02.673
Reputation: 3 047
If this was a typically use case I'm sure we would see it, but since almost nobody does this I doubt we ever will. – heavyd – 2010-04-10T04:03:09.020
Data is being transmitted by the monitor to the PC, letting the PC know what type of monitor it is. – Keltari – 2012-08-21T17:16:56.383
1I know this is an old post, but this has now been done, but with HDMI rather than VGA. Someone found a bunch of HDMI CEC and HEC handling bugs in a few mobile devices and demonstrated how it was possible to gain remote root on them just by plugging in a malicious device. – Polynomial – 2013-09-04T12:12:38.997
6Seems farfetched, but at one time viruses spreading via e-mail was a big joke amongst IT professionals since it was "impossible". Look at us now... – Brian Knoblauch – 2009-12-07T14:37:32.217
+1 Cool idea. Somebody should exploit it, seriously. – Tadeusz A. Kadłubowski – 2010-01-03T18:52:24.107
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The answer given by Toby is correct, under normal circumstances you would not be able to get a virus from a vga connection..... but this does given me an idea for a funny office prank.
Open up a dvi-vga adapter and incorporate a device that flashes the word virus on the screen for 2-5 frames every 5 minutes.
Instant Classic
Kythos
Posted 2009-12-07T10:51:02.673
Reputation: 341
0
Another idea, similar to @Kythos' prank, would be to place a hardware keylogger together with this display spoofer, and make it display something on the screen like a windows logon.
Luc
Posted 2009-12-07T10:51:02.673
Reputation: 2 013
1A good reason to not put VGA cables in your mouth! – Daniel R Hicks – 2012-08-21T17:14:50.653
6How do you connect 2 pc's with a vga cable?? A pc usually doesn't have a vga-in. – fretje – 2009-12-07T10:59:17.867
9@Andrew, your profile says you analyse biological data. Sounds fascinating, but remember, the 'computer virus' metaphor can only be stretched so far. – pavium – 2009-12-07T11:54:08.317
@pavium when I talk about mutation testing to rails developers, they assume I'm talking about genetic diseases rather than unit testing because I'm a bioinformatician. – Andrew Grimm – 2009-12-07T22:27:43.687
2bwahahahahahaha. i guess if you can network 2 PCs with a VGA cable, you can certainly transfer viruses.... – quack quixote – 2010-01-03T18:01:28.123