Question Can you get malware through a powerbank?

[pauly01]

Got a question. I bought a dell power bank companion about 6 months ago directly from dell. It was on sale so that is another reason why i got it.



https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/del...18000-mah-pw7015l/apd/451-bbkv/pc-accessories



I wanted to get a 2nd one and notice on dell site, price was pretty high. Then i saw on amazon, you could get it for around 90 dollars total including tax compared to like 135 on dell after tax... so 45 dollars less. When i checked the sellers on amazon, there were many 3rd party sellers and also amazon.com services. I was pretty certain amazon.com services means from amazon directly. But when i saw it dropped the price like 3 times from over 100 dollars to under 90 dollars, one specific seller also dropped the price same as amazon.com. Is that normal? That seller seems to sell both new and used as well.



Well anyways i ought the product and i noticed few issues. The other issue is the box that came along with it... i never seen this box ever. If you check ebay on ppl selling this product whether new or used or open box, they use the same box like this. I got this box when i got it new from dell.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Power-Companion-Portable-Battery-Charger-18000-mAh-PW7015L-R7CW8/153610955488?_trkparms=ispr=1&hash=item23c3ed2ae0:g:TLEAAOSwp~pdW9~t&enc=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&checksum=153610955488fdd5a9b9f14d4497baa640e5a24e2242



Instead, the box looked like this but said pw7015l


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Hybrid-Adapter-Power-Bank-PH45W17-BA-45W-AC-Adapter-New/264287934747?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20180816085401&meid=9366066ce17f49fa90dbca3b66116caa&pid=100970&rk=5&rkt=6&sd=153610955488&itm=264287934747&pmt=1&noa=1&pg=2481888&_trksid=p2481888.c100970.m5481&_trkparms=pageci:9afe0454-e3cd-11e9-b044-74dbd180aa13|parentrq:842fb44916d0aad6ed402c85fffe1cbf|iid:1


I thought i never seen something like this ever. Then when i checked in back of box it shows from dell.com and imported by canada. But then on bottom left it shows For Argentina Only. I thought... what? But when i check the back of the sticker of the actual powerbank, it look same as the one i got except it shows like 4/19 as date of manufacturer but mine was 1/19.


It came with the exact same cables. I examined the powerbank and it look same as the one i have. I then charged it with my laptop ac adapter... thats only way to charge it for a few minutes. Then i charged my original dell powerbank for a few seconds which was already full... then decided to just plug my ac adapter back to my laptop to charge.


My questions are



1. Is it possible this powerbank is counterfeit?



2. Is it possible to catch malware by doing what i just did? As in connecting my laptop charger to it to charge it... then connecting my same laptop ac charger laptop back to my laptop? No malware can be transferred this way right? However, this powerbank does have 2 usb ports though. So if you want to charge your iphone you can do that. But can someone put malware on this device? If so, could you get it from usb port charging? I assume yes? But what about just charging it through the cable they supplied me with? I already have this cable from dell but they of course send me 2 more of these cables.


3. Can i catch malware by connecting it directly like how i do normally with my dell powerbank to my laptop? When i have no power or outlet, i would connect my dell powerbank with the cable dell supplied me to where i charge my laptop.

 

[pauly01]

Would most of you keep this powerbank or not? Obviously i rather have gotten it directly from dell but because it was like 45 dollars left... i thought... okay amazon is fine since its from amazon.com directly. But then again how does amazon even get these devices? I mean if dell sells it at 135 total including tax... doesn't amazon lose money on this even if they bought a lot of it from dell a while back unless you they buy in bulk? Does amazon buy from dell? I always wondered how they sell dell computers as when you click on seller, it shows amazon.com services etc.


I like to add here that i bought the same product from dell and received it earlier as i planned to return the one from amazon.



Okay so i just bought this item from dell and received it earlier. It came in the same exact box as the one i received from amazon. It also has for argentina only as well.


I thought how is that even possible.


But when i look at that dell box and the one from amazon, it seems like the sticker with the serial number look more bold and darker than the one from amazon. Also they both came in like the same packaging, like it was put in a plastic open ziplock bag so to speak to fit the box in.


I was planning to return the amazon box back but now looking at it, should i return it back to dell? I paid like 40 dollars more for the one from dell as oppose to amazon.


I did notice the amazon box didn't look as new as the dell box though.


Would you guys say return amazon one or dell one? Obviously if the dell one came with the same box like last time, its a no brainer. But now it being the same damn box... now im wondering if i should just keep the amazon one. I mean i still have a bit of worry with the amazon one but when same box... i dont think of it as much anymore.


But 100% i cannot get malware when connected power cord right? But usb port is possible... so maybe i buy one of those usb data blockers that cost like 8 dollars if i ever want to connect my iphone to it?

 

[ironlionzion]

1. it's very possible a lot of electronics are counterfeited by Chinese companies

2. its impossible to get malware on a power bank regardless if its connected via USB or wall, all a power bank is is a diode/rectifier, regulator and rechargeable battery(s). the usb port may have four terminals inside the steel shell but only the two on the outside are working which are positive and negative.

 

[mdd1963]

One should certainly never assume 'it should be OK because it was bought on Amazon'...; there are so many sellers on Amazon, it is pretty much an E-Bay equivalent now....

 

[pauly01]

Okay so to confirm. You say this is actually possible right? For example let say you know someone specifically that has lot of financial information on their computer. You then sell them or lend them something like i showed you. So you are saying if someone wants to target someone specifically for financial gains, they could sell or lend something like this powerbank specifically but tampering with it... and the other person connecting it to their laptop... could get malware? Or is that not possible? Or if they were to get malware, something has to show up on the screen indicating something? But people mention malware can't be transferred through this.



Also related to this. What if you need a new laptop battery for your laptop? I know on ebay, they sell 3rd party replacements. So those are impossible to get malware right? Whether that battery is new or open box or used? I did remember reading about an article where malware was put in laptop batteries.



And before someone says why not just pay more for the genuine battery from the manufacturer like dell? Well dell doesn't make replacement batteries for old laptops anymore. So this is why i ask this. And thus that is why some ppl have to buy 3rd party laptop batteries. But of course most ppl do that to pay less for it.

 

[geofelt]

Certainly the unit could be counterfeit.

Why is there a usb connection? The dell unit photo did not seem to have one.
I imagine that might be how it gets charged. That is ok.

But if you are a conspiracy theorist you could speculate that such units coming from china also have a processor that can spy on anything that it is plugged into.

 

[Ralston18]

Does the power bank work as advertised?

It could be counterfeit, it could have been placed in the wrong box, they could have shipped the wrong item to you. The rule of thumb for many suppliers/sellers is to just get the sold item out the door to the buyer.

"It" likely to be almost anything if the floor workers are pressed for time and quota's..... Especially if some picking system says the item is in a certain location then you will get whatever (rightly or wrongly) may be in that location.

Not at all uncommon for boxes to be redesigned so the second box appears different than the original box received with the initial order. You might get older boxes if one supplier has a larger stock than another supplier with a smaller stock and/or higher turnover rate.

Perhaps you received a better product; e.g., Version 2.

If the powerbank works - use it and do not worry about malware.

Keep the purchase records. If the powerbank fails within warranty then you can RMA it.

The next one may even be different.