The National Police have issued a warning about the dangers of using public USB ports to charge mobile 'phones.
The warning, published via the Policía Nacional's official Twitter feed, alerts the public to the danger of having their information hacked when using a public charging point.
In the same way that connecting a mobile 'phone to a PC allows you to access its memory, plugging a mobile 'phone into a public USB port allows others to access the information stored in it or pass on malware, for example.
In order to avoid problems of this type, the police recommend carrying an external battery pack with you as this can be re-charged at a public USB without any risk to your 'phone data.
Another option is to turn off the 'phone completely before charging it at a public USB port, making it much harder for potential hackers to access your private information.
The third option is to carry a USB cable that only allows the device to be charged and does not allow any data transfer, as is the case with almost all USB cables sold with mobile 'phones these days.
