Mastodawn

Someone gave me a helium balloon the other day and I'm amazed at how I forgot what I learned as a kid: Which is that playing with a helium balloon can be loads of fun and a great distraction. I liked giving it a nudge every time it inched close to my desk, only to watch it meander its way back in a minute or two.

Note to self: Tethering a helium balloon to your desk is not a great idea if you also have touch screens. I was AFK for like 10 minutes and come back and the thing had gotten my browser into quite a mess, and there were like 10 tabs open for various sketchy sites. Thankfully this was all in a VM, but just FYI: Balloons may look harmless, but they definitely have a mind of their own.

Newk May 11, 2025

See!! My wife didn't want to believe me when I told her the balloon opened these filthy tabs!

Arthur May 11, 2025

@briankrebs I get you don't have cats? Always lock your screen...

Quinn Norton May 11, 2025

@briankrebs new fuzzer just dropped! 😂

Allan Chow May 11, 2025

@briankrebs next time I want to disrupt a corporation I will just leave a ton of balloons in the lobby

Allan Chow May 11, 2025

@briankrebs malicious balloon

https://youtu.be/7jksRQcI9NA?si=ux0eetaNobbOcSUj

BILLY'S BALLOON - student film by DON HERTZFELDT

YouTube

recursive 🏳️‍🌈May 11, 2025

@briankrebs oh, does it cause confusing input on capacitive touchscreens at a distance? Nice

BrianKrebs May 11, 2025

@recursive IDK why the touch screen is reacting to it, but it could be because the balloon is made of some type of shiny, metallic looking material? I'm pretty sure it's just plastic though.

recursive 🏳️‍🌈May 11, 2025

@briankrebs I forget how modern touchscreens are constructed, but in fairly dry conditions, an aluminized mylar balloon could be at pretty ridiculous voltage potential from previously rubbing against things... Which could create pretty significantly electric fields (volts/meter) relative to the fields that the touchscreen operates with... I think

There's a whole history of static control in industries that handle plastic films, tape, etc

jaseg May 11, 2025

@recursive @briankrebs touchscreens are difficult! I remember reading an announcement a while ago in which a touchscreen chipset company celebrated it as a major achievement that they figured out how to make their chipsets work with touchscreens that are near nfc readers.

F4GRX SÃ©bastien May 11, 2025

@jaseg @recursive @briankrebs then how do all nfc phones even work?

Ko Simon toku ingoa

@f4grx @jaseg @recursive @briankrebs touchscreens work by detecting the tiny electric current in your finger. Anyone who has tried rubbing balloons on their hair or clothes knows they also carry a static charge from their environment; this is why they can impact touchscreens too!

F4GRX SÃ©bastien May 12, 2025

@SimonCHulse @jaseg @recursive @briankrebs i know

@briankrebs @recursive, well… my phone's screen reacts to headphone cabling, USB cables, shiny metallic-looking sweet wrappers…

`Da Elf Sep 24, 2025

@lp0_on_fire
@briankrebs @recursive

This. Very this.

BrianKrebs May 11, 2025

@recursive I'm wondering also if there isn't some kind of static buildup in the balloon that discharges when it connects with the screen. There are quite a few electronic devices around my desk. It's tethered to this little puck that keeps getting dragged across the carpet.

Ko Simon toku ingoa

@briankrebs @recursive came here to say this.

Simon Zerafa May 11, 2025

Great excuse for looking at NSW sites though.

My helium balloon did it! Honest! 😁🤷‍♂️

noplasticshower May 11, 2025

@briankrebs the old helium attack

BrianKrebs May 11, 2025

@noplasticshower I knew it! You've been sitting on this 0day for years, haven't you?

Darth Sandwich 🏳️‍🌈May 11, 2025

Who knew helium balloons could be an attack vector

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)May 11, 2025

@briankrebs You need monkeys to protect you.

Bloons Tower Defense - Wikipedia

Wulfy—Speaker to the machines May 11, 2025

Also, helium is a non-renewable resource. It's being squandered because it's available from the strategic store (from when US had blimps).

It's used in research and MRI machines.
AFAIK, we can't synthesise it

jjesse May 11, 2025

@briankrebs balloons are great. Keep Uppy is family favorite for us.

https://www.bluey.tv/play/game-keepy-uppy/

Yora May 11, 2025

@briankrebs Computers produce heat. That heat rises to the surface and sucks up cooler air from the room towards the heat source.

If the balloon were to float free against the ceiling, I think it would probably drift away from the desk.

limit--May 11, 2025

@briankrebs
They spied us from afar floating in the sky before...now they have made their way into our homes

𝕕𝔼cⒶ𝕪 May 11, 2025

@briankrebs the air gap needs a breeze to prevent balloon command execution attacks

VinylTiger May 11, 2025

@briankrebs I like to tie one to a empty coke can and then adjust the weight (with drops of water) so it hovers and drifts around the house

Lasse Beyer May 11, 2025

@briankrebs and I thought you had inhaled the helium prior to recording a message for your answering machine...

Ehay2k May 11, 2025

Looks like a possible Latex Typhon attack?

truelai ╪ͥͥͥͥͥͥͥͥͥͥͥ May 12, 2025

@briankrebs no one is buying "the balloon opened those porn sites on my machine"

❄️SnowyIn🇨🇦❄️Sep 27, 2025

@truelai came here to say this. lol @briankrebs

Arniepix May 15, 2025

@briankrebs
It gets worse, watch the 1956 French film "The Red Balloon". That kid never stood a chance.

cs May 24, 2025

@briankrebs THIS is why I follow Brian.

Kevin R Jones Sep 25, 2025

@briankrebs @simonzerafa Helium balloons are fun to blow around with multiple fans. :)

Simon Zerafa Sep 25, 2025

@kevinrj @briankrebs

I'm going to have to remember the issues with touchscreens though. It could come in very handy one day 🙂👍