Thank you for your purchase!

Thank you for buying a BusKill cable! Your purchase goes to funding continued development of our open-source hardware and software project.

Getting Started

Please follow the below steps to get started using your BusKill cable.

Step 1: Insert the BusKill Cable

To begin using your BusKill cable, first insert the assembled BusKill cable into your machine’s USB port

The assembled BusKill cable is plugged-into the USB-A port of a laptop — First: Assemble and connect your BusKill cable to your computer

Step 2: Install & Open the BusKill App

Install the BusKill software. Click below to see the installation instructions for your platform.

Windows

Open the BusKill Drive

After inserting the BusKill cable, open Windows File Explorer. Under “This PC” -> “Devices and drives“, you should see the “BUSKILL” drive. Double-click it.

Screenshot shows the File Explorer at "This PC" with the "BUSKILL" USB drive registered as "F:" drive — Double-click on the BUSKILL drive

Install

Click and drag the folder named “buskill-Windows” from the drive to your Desktop.

Screenshots show the user clicking & dragging the "buskill-Windows" folder from the BUSKILL drive to the Desktop — Click and drag “buskill-Windows” to your desktop

Open Folder

When the copy completes, double-click the new “buskill-Windows” folder on your desktop

Screenshot shows thet hat "buskill-Windows" directory was copied to the Desktop. — Double-click the new “buskill-Windows” folder on your Desktop

Open App

Double-click the “buskill” shortcut to launch the BusKill App

Screenshot shows the contents of the "buskill-Windows" folder on the user's Desktop. The executable for the App (named "buskll") is selected. — Double-click the “buskill” shortcut to open the BusKill App.

Screenshot shows the BusKill App open with the text "BusKill is currently disarmed."

MacOS

Open the BusKill Drive

After inserting the BusKill cable, double-click on the “BUSKILL” drive on your Desktop.

Screenshot shows the Desktop with a "BUSKILL" USB drive — Double-click on the “BUSKILL” drive

Open Folder

Double-click the “buskill-MacOS” folder.

Screenshot shows the contents of the "BUSKILL" drive with directories for each platform. The "buskill-MacOS" directory is selected. — Double-click the “buskill-MacOS” folder.

Open Image

Double-click the “.dmg” file.

Screenshot shows the contents of the "buskill-MacOS" folder. There is one .dmg file and it's selected. — Double-click the .dmg file.

Install

Click and drag the buskill app to your Desktop.

Screenshots show the user clicking & dragging the buskill app from the Finder window to the Desktop — Click and drag the buskill app to your Desktop

Open App

Double-click the “buskill” icon on your Desktop to launch the BusKill App

Screenshot shows the that the buskill app is now on the user's Desktop. — Double-click the buskill app on the Desktop to open the BusKill App.

Linux

Open the BusKill Drive

After inserting the BusKill cable, open the File Manager. Under “Devices” click on the “BusKill” drive.

Screenshot shows the File Manager with the "BusKill" USB drive listed under "Devices" — Click on the “BusKill” drive

Install

Click and drag the folder named “buskill-Linux” from the drive to your Desktop.

Screenshots show the user clicking & dragging the "buskill-Linux" folder from the "BusKill" drive to the Desktop — Click and drag “buskill-Linux” to your Desktop

Open Folder

When the copy completes, double-click the new “buskill-Linux” folder on your desktop

Screenshot shows the contents of the "BusKill" drive with directories for each platform. The "buskill-Linux" directory is selected. — Double-click the new “buskill-Linux” folder on your Desktop

Set Execute Permissions

In the new File Manager window, right-click on the BusKill .AppImage file and click “Properties...“.

Screenshot shows a menu under the .AppImage with "Properites..." selected — Right-click on the BusKill .AppImage and choose “Properties…”

Click the “Permissions” tab, and check the box “Allow this file to run as a program“, and click “Close”

Screenshot shows the Properties window with the "Permissions" tab highlighted — Click on the “Permissions” tab

Screenshot shows that "Allow this file to run as a program" is checked — Check the box “Allow this file to run as a program”

Screenshot shows the Properties window with the "Close" button highlighted — Click “Close”

Open App

Now, double-click the BusKill .AppImage to launch the BusKill App.

Screenshot shows the contents of the "buskill-Linux" folder with the .AppImage selected — Double-click the BusKill .AppImage to open the BusKill App.

Step 3: Click the “Arm” button

Click the “Arm” Button in the app to arm BusKill.

For more information on how to “Arm” and “Disarm” the BusKill app (and what this means), please see BusKill App: Graphical User Interface

Step 4: Disconnect the cable

If BusKill’s connection is severed when the app is in the “Armed” state, then your screen locks.

For a video demo of how this should look, see our BusKill Demos video

That’s it! You can now connect the carabiner to your belt, plug the cable into your computer, and Arm the app. If your laptop is physically separated from you, then the cable’s connection will be severed, and your laptop screen will lock.

Documentation

For further information on how to use your BusKill cable, please see our documentation:

https://docs.buskill.in

Useful Links

Specifically, you may be interested in the following articles in our documentation:

Currently the BusKill GUI app supports locking your screen and shutting down your device. Linux users can setup their BusKill cable to execute any command using a udev rule.

If you’d like to setup destructive “self-destruct” triggers in Linux and QubesOS, see the following guides:

GitHub

If you’d like to review our code, see what we’re working on, file bug reports, or send feature requests, please see our GitHub repo:

Interdiction?

We ship the BusKill cable with the software for our user’s convenience. Of course, this introduces the risk of interdiction.

Included on the BusKill USB Storage drive is a “sigs” directory that includes all of the BusKill software’s platform-specific releases (compressed archives), the BusKill team’s PGP Keys, a “SHA256SUMS” manifest file, and its cryptographic signature “SHA256SUMS.asc“.

If you’re a high-risk individual, we do recommend downloading our PGP Keys out-of-band and cryptographically verifying the authenticity & integrity of the BusKill App.