Beware! E-cigarettes can give your PC malware

A report on social news site Reddit suggests that at least one "vaper" has suffered the downside of trusting their cigarette manufacturer and a user said that one particular executive had a malware infection on his computer from which the source could not be determined, and it was later found that a made in China e-cigarette had malware hardcoded into the charger, and when plugged into a computer's USB port the malware phoned home and infected the system, the Guardian reported.

Dave Goss, of London's Vape Emporium, says that vapers can remain safe by buying from respected manufacturers such as Aspire, KangerTech and Innokin, and by checking for "scratch checkers" on the box, which mark out authentic goods from counterfeits.

Many e-cigarettes can be charged over USB, either with a special cable, or by plugging the cigarette itself directly into a USB port. That might be a USB port plugged into a wall socket or the port on a computer - but, if so, that means that a cheap e-cigarette from an untrustworthy supplier gains physical access to a device.