LinuxCon: Vampire mice and zombie hard drives — USB dangers lurk in Linux

Linux kernel developer Sarah Sharp is searching for a solution to the problem posed by vampire mice, she said in a presentation at LinuxCon North America Wednesday afternoon. It’s a long-standing problem with USB power management in Linux environments. A lack of device driver support for Linux means that the power-saving features used in many USB devices – your mouse’s ability to essentially turn itself off if you haven’t moved it lately, for instance – are rendered ineffective or even made potentially damaging in some cases.