Lesson 6: Advanced Payloads with T-Dongle (USB Army Knife)
Now that you’ve mastered the basics of USB HID injection, this lesson dives deeper into advanced payloads using the T-Dongle S3 and USB Army Knife firmware. You’ll learn how attackers use these techniques to execute system-level commands—and why it's so important to understand them from a defensive and ethical perspective.
🎯 What You’ll Learn:
By the end of this session, you will:
- Write advanced HID payloads that trigger command-line and PowerShell actions
- Simulate automated phishing-like payloads (for educational use only)
- Safely test and clean up payloads on your own offline system
- Understand the real-world risks of HID tools and your responsibilities as an ethical hacker
⚙️ Step 1 – Advanced HID Payload Capabilities
Here are examples of actions HID injection tools can perform within seconds:
- Create a new local user with net user
- Launch PowerShell and execute simple scripts
- Open a web browser to a targeted URL to simulate phishing behavior
🧠 Reminder: All payloads must be used only on machines you own or have permission to test on.
These examples are often used in real-world attacks, from ransomware delivery to data exfiltration. Understanding these techniques gives you insight into how to defend against them.
🧪 Hands-On Activity: Educational Payload
Let’s build and test a real example on your machine:
GUI r
DELAY 500
STRING cmd
ENTER
DELAY 500
STRING net user testuser password123 /add
ENTER
Upload this script using the USB Army Knife web interface, then run it on your device.
✅ To clean up afterward, run:
net user testuser /delete
💡 Bonus Activity:
Try building a PowerShell script that displays a simple message:
GUI r
DELAY 500
STRING powershell
ENTER
DELAY 500
STRING Write-Host 'Hello from T-Dongle!'
ENTER
Use this to explore scripting safely and learn how different command shells respond to HID automation.
⚖️ Legal Note (Part 2):
This lesson demonstrates tools that could be used maliciously—but you are learning to use them responsibly.
❌ Never deploy these payloads in school, work, or public environments.
❌ Never test on systems you don’t fully control.
✅ Always clean up after testing and keep your activities ethical and legal.
🔒 The video includes real-world headlines about misused HID attacks with an on-screen warning:
“This is why we learn responsibly. DO NOT misuse this knowledge.”
📚 Homework Assignment:
- Create your own safe, advanced payload. Example ideas:
- Open Notepad, Calculator, and a website in sequence
- Launch a shell and print system info
- Document what it does and why it works
- Share your best creation in the #advanced-payloads thread on Discord
✅ By the End of This Lesson, You’ll Have:
- Understood how attackers use HID automation to manipulate systems
- Written, deployed, and cleaned up an advanced payload
- Strengthened your understanding of how to test and defend responsibly
In Lesson 7, we’ll move into wireless hacking territory with the T-Embed (Flipper clone)—opening up exciting learning opportunities around RFID, Bluetooth, and more.