You’ve probably seen at least one movie that depicted a futuristic hacking scene where suddenly a computer user’s mouse stops working.
And then they watch in horror as their mouse moves on it and opens websites that start downloading malware.
So you’re probably wondering…can a computer mouse actually catch a virus?
Since the vast majority of computers have a mouse attached to them…you might get paranoid about whether or not your mouse allows a backdoor into your computer for hackers.
Let’s get to it.
Can your mouse really carry a virus?
Yes, in certain situations a mouse can be infected by a computer virus. The micro-controller inside your mouse contains a small amount of non-volatile computer memory that can be written to by other software.
But this can only happen to mice that are connected via a USB port to your computer – the older style PS/2 type mice cannot be infected with any type of malware or virus.
All hackers need is somewhere to upload the virus to and this includes any form of permanent storage, from a hard drive to the Flash ROM inside your mouse.
And what makes the problem potentially far worse is that the companies manufacturing mice probably don’t take this vulnerability into account.
What could an infected mouse do?
The most obvious thing is just to mess with your head by making your mouse do random things. Or taking control of your cursor and making it move around the screen on its own.
Next is the ability to send your mouse click data back to the hacker. But that doesn’t contain any information they could use against you or sell.
The bigger risk is that the hacker uploads malware to your mouse that then gives it the ability to record information typed on your keyboard. Or, even worse, to act as a backdoor into your entire computer.
Mouse Jacking
Researchers from threat detection company Bastille also managed to find a vulnerability in USB mouse devices that they called the MouseJack.
This hack involves using some basic electronic equipment that can basically do the same job as a keyboard logger, but remotely.
It does this by targeting the radio (WiFi) transmitter inside the little USB dongle that keeps your wireless mouse (and probably keyboard) connected to your computer.
So, somebody sitting within 100m of your home could potentially hack into that USB dongle and run malware scripts or even record what you’re typing on your keyboard.
And despite what you might see in the movies, hacks like the above can be done with as little as fifteen lines of code and the kind of electronic equipment that you can buy locally for a few dollars.
But do bear in mind that only a limited number of computer mice have this potential vulnerability, so it’s not something you need to panic about.
What are the chances of your mouse getting hacked?
While the mouse can present a vulnerability for your current computer, it getting hacked isn’t something you should lose sleep over.
The likelihood of your mouse being hacked is so low it is effectively zero. It’s one of these things that while possible, most hackers simply wouldn’t bother with.
That’s because running this hack would require a lot of very specific information such as:
- Make and model of mouse
- Current firmware version
- What Operating System you use
That presents them with tens of thousands of possible combinations, so unless you’re a secret crypto billionaire you probably don’t have anything to worry about.
If a hack doesn’t gather useful and valuable information it’s simply not worth it to the hacker.
What to do if your mouse gets hacked?
If you think that your mouse has a virus, then there are two things that you can do.
- Disconnect your computer from the Internet and don’t use it again until you perform the second step.
- Run a full anti-virus scan on your computer, but allow it to do a ‘Thorough’ scan that can take several hours. Don’t interrupt this process.
- When the anti-virus scan is complete you then need to run a malware scan with something like Malwarebytes just to be sure.
If the combination of your antivirus software and Malwarebytes doesn’t fit a virus then you can be 99.9% certain (because nothing is 100% certain) that your mouse – and your entire computer – is free of computer viruses and malware.
Another thing that you can do is to contact your manufacturer.
If you believe that your mouse had been hacked during production, you can ask if they’re aware of any cases where their products have been hacker. Or any potential vulnerabilities you should be aware of.
Wrapping things up
A computer mouse infection is possible but unlikely.
That’s because most of the “hackers” you hear about are just kids sitting in their bedrooms running scripts they downloaded.
The hackers actually capable of compromising your mouse tend are far too busy working for government security agencies or multinational tech companies to be concerned with what you get up to on your PC or Mac.
So when your mouse cursor wanders across the screen, or your mouse simply stops working, it’s probably because the driver needs to be reinstalled or your mouse is just broken.
It’s not exciting, but it’s the truth.
