It is very easy to infect a computer with a virus, and an external storage device is even easier. How to protect a USB flash drive from viruses, they know special programs and trivial precautions: this article will tell you in detail about each option. The effectiveness of the method depends on many factors, but even if the operation of the flash card is carried out in full and regularly, it is possible and necessary to ensure its safety.
Fundamental rules
Before you can protect your flash drive from viruses, you must make sure that the this moment she and your device are not native malware... It's worth starting with a device that regularly interacts with the carrier. After checking it with the program, disable the autoloading of files on all hard drives: this can be done through the usual settings, or using programs.
Since it is more difficult to protect data on a flash drive from virus infection, at this stage you need to be especially careful, and you need to devote as much personal time to the process as the protection method requires. Many people advise to close access to the card for all outsiders, and this helps in 99 percent of cases. However, it will still be faster to use special programs, which are described below in the article.
Additional protection
If the above methods could not tell you how to make a USB flash drive protected from viruses, for example, because there is no access to a stationary computer to carry out the necessary manipulations, contact the specialists. In the process, they install protective programs, or deny access to the media for all programs not approved by device administrators. Although this procedure does not cost a lot of money, you can do the same thing yourself.
Protection with autorun inf
Viruses mainly spread their influence on a given file in an external drive, so the most common way to deal with them is to work with an autorun.
Instructions:
- Open notepad;
- Copy and paste the following commands into it:
"Attrib -S -H -R -A autorun. *
del autorun. *
attrib -S -H -R -A recycler
rd "\\? \% ~ d0 \ recycler \" / s / q
attrib -S -H -R -A recycled
rd "\\? \% ~ d0 \ recycled \" / s / q
mkdir "\\? \% ~ d0 \ AUTORUN.INF \ LPT3"
attrib + S + H + R + A% ~ d0 \ AUTORUN.INF / s / d
mkdir "\\? \% ~ d0 \ RECYCLED \ LPT3"
attrib + S + H + R + A% ~ d0 \ RECYCLED / s / d
mkdir "\\? \% ~ d0 \ RECYCLER \ LPT3"
attrib + S + H + R + A% ~ d0 \ RECYCLER / s / dattrib -s -h -r autorun. *
del autorun. *
mkdir% ~ d0AUTORUN.INF
mkdir "?% ~ d0AUTORUN.INF .."
attrib + s + h% ~ d0AUTORUN.INF "
- Save the file to a flash card in “.bat” format;
- Run this file.
Popular programs
After protection usb flash drive from viruses autorun inf was produced, additional defenders can be used as a prophylaxis. For example, the free Bitdefender USB Immunizer, Panda USB Vaccine, Ninja Pendisk and others. Since programs for protecting a flash drive from viruses have different functionality, it is impossible to say for sure which one is better.
Checking for viruses
It is important to be interested not only in the presence of a problem in the media itself, but also in how to protect your computer from viruses from a USB flash drive. This will make the process more efficient, so both options for searching for malicious files are discussed below.
Flash card check:
- We insert the drive into the computer;
- Go to "Explorer" and open the "View" tab;
- Open "Parameters";
- Go to the View tab;
- We open the map and remove all suspicious components.
Computer check
The most the best way installation of an antivirus program is considered. This is due to the fact that it is more difficult to track new files here, which means that it will be much more convenient and faster if a robot does this work for you. Any known antivirus will do.
Viruses cause significant harm to the system, so you should timely protect your equipment and flash drive, in particular from viruses. One of the vulnerabilities in the system is USB drives that carry malware between devices.
Is the flash drive infected
Any flash drive that was used on the infected device will also be affected. Most often in this way are transmitted trojans and worms... There are several characteristic characteristics of infection by them:
How gets infectedUSB stick? It connects to the system and, along with the files transferred to it, receives malicious software, since it is contained in the files and the system code that is involved at the time of copying. As soon as the media is connected to the device and the system launches the infected files, the virus starts working with them and infects the system. this device... Any flash drive connected to the infected computer contains the body of the virus, which also affects the autorun.inf file, making it work immediately on a new PC.
How to protect a USB flash drive
You can protect a USB flash drive from possible malware infection using system tools... The most important thing is to disable automatic start media to prevent the virus from loading onto the device.
Disable autoplay
This can be done in 2 ways. The first includes group policies:
In addition, when connecting a flash drive hold down a keyShift- this will also prevent autostart.
The second method uses the Registry Editor:
After the performed procedures, the media will stop starting on its own.
Using autorun inf file
The virus usually gets on the media with the autorun.inf startup file, but if it is already created on the media, this will not happen:
Closed access
Sometimes it is enough just to close the device's access to the drive:
These are all system tools that help block malware from accessing the media.
Applications and antiviruses
In addition to system tools, there are programs that protect USB drives from infection.
Bitdefender USB Immunizer
Download free version utilities are available from the official site, it does not require installation and is extremely simple. After its launch, in the window that opens, all connected removable disks... Having selected the required one, the user will indicate to the utility the object to be protected. She immediately disconnectsautorun viruses and blocks their automatic start.
Panda USB Vaccine
After downloading the program from the official site, you need to install it on your PC. It is more complex than the previous utility and has a wider range of actions:
It is quite simple to use it:
The procedure must be repeated with each USB stick.
Ninja pendisk
After downloading the program, you do not need to install it. It works automatically and is capable of:
After downloading, it works independently, checking each disk.
xUSB Defense
You can download the program from the official website, it's free. Installation is quick and easy, the program itself "weighs" only 1 MB and immediately after installation appears on the notification panel. 
The program can:
- automatically delete or send viruses to quarantine;
- do hidden files visible;
- restore data hidden by a virus.
At the same time, the utility does not distinguish between malware and regular programs, so you should rename all their files beforehand. In addition, it can automatically delete documents from the media, so in the settings it is better to disable the item “ Work with documents».
When working with the utility, just left-click on the icon for the settings window and right-click to open the program menu. Clicking the left mouse button opens the settings window, and the right button opens the menu.
Good day, dear habra-reader. I work at a university, in a computer laboratory. We administer about a hundred computers. We were faced with the problem of protection against Autorun-viruses on flash drives. Naturally, we disabled autorun in Windows, but we needed to protect the flash drives themselves so that the worker at home, inserting a working flash drive, would not infect his computer. Under the cut is a solution to the problem.
Before you start ...
Dear users, the actions described below were performed in the OS Microsoft Windows Xp, in others operating systems the process may differ from the above. I would also like to say that the author of the text is not responsible for equipment damaged as a result of performing the actions described below.Preparation.
To implement our plan, we need to format the flash drive in NTFS, for this there are several methods that I know of. For me, the easiest is to use Acronis Disk Director.After starting Disk Director, you will see a list of disks connected to your system. In this list we find our flash drive, right-click and select "Delete partition", in the new window we leave everything as it is (There is not much difference there). Then again right click on our disk and select “Create Partition.” In the “Create Partition” window, select:
- File system: NTFS.
- Create as: Main section.
Now click on the "Flag" icon and in the window that appears, click "Proceed". After making the changes, restart your computer.
The flash drive can also be formatted and more in a simple way, indicated by uv. maxshopen:
Start -> Run -> cmd ->Convert f: / FS: NTFS< - это если данные на флэшке нужны и их некуда сбэкапить
Format f: / FS: NTFS< - если данные нафик
Customization.
So, the card is ready for configuration, go to the flash drive and in the root directory create a directory in which the data will be stored, I named it "DATA". Right click on the new directory and go to the security tab, then click on the "Advanced" button. Here we uncheck the box "Allow inheritance of permissions from the parent object to this ...", in the dialog that appears, click "Copy", then click "OK" in both windows. Now let's go to the "Security" section of the root directory of our media and configure the permissions as follows:In the "Allow" column, leave the following items checked:
- Reading and Executing
- List of folder contents
- Reading
In the "Deny" column, put a tick in front of the "Record" item, in the dialog that appears, click "Yes".
That's all, in the end we get a flash drive that Autorun cannot sign up to. For this we sacrifice a small share of performance, the ability to write to the root directory of the media and, of course, the inability to use the "Send" menu to copy data to the media.
Possible problems and solutions.
After formatting the drive to NTFS, it is not visible in the system.
Right click on "My Computer", select "Management", in the window that appears, go to "Disk Management", right click on our flash drive and select "Change drive letter or path to disk". Select the letter, click "Ok".
Unfortunately or fortunately, I did not find any more problems, if you suddenly find it - write, we will try to solve it.
Disable autorun.
Except XP Home Edition:start - run - gpedit.msc - computer configuration - administrative templates - System - disable autorun (choose where to disable). Next, apply the new policy using the gpupdate command in the console.
In Home There is no Group Policy Management snap-in, but the same effect can be achieved by manually editing the registry:
1) Start -> run -> regedit
2) open the branch HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies
3) Create a new section
4) Rename the created section in Explorer
5) In this section, create the NoDriveTypeAutoRun key
Valid key values:
0x1 - disable autorun on drives of unknown types
0x4 - disable autostart of removable devices
0x8 - disable autostart of non-removable devices
0x10 - disable autorun network drives
0x20 - disable autorun CD drives
0x40 - disable autorun RAM disks
0x80 - disable autorun on drives of unknown types
0xFF - disable autostart for all disks in general.
The values can be combined by summing their numeric values.
Default values:
0x95 - Windows 2000 and 2003 (disabled autorun of removable, network and unknown drives)
0x91 - Windows XP (disabled autorun of network and unknown drives)
USB Disk Security Is a free application designed to provide complete protection against all kinds of malware spread via removable USB drives. The application works with external hard drives, memory cards, digital cameras, flash drives, as well as with other devices that can be connected via USB. At the heart of Disk work Security is a special technology for searching for threats; As an anti-virus program, the utility is able to work in stealth mode, only letting it know about its existence only in case of detection of malware.
Basically, the infection of a personal computer with viruses occurs at the time of using the global Internet, a little less often it happens during the installation of a dubious or untested program. An infected file can also enter the PC through the most ordinary flash drive.
When an infected flash drive is connected to a personal computer, the malicious software penetrates into HDD, and most importantly, it happens so quickly that the installed anti-virus programs do not always have time to react in time. Especially for such cases, it is necessary to use programs that can easily cope with this type of threat. Today Disk Security is one of the best programs to protect against infected files spread via USB drives.
If viruses are detected, the application, depending on the settings, will remove or block them, thereby preventing them from starting automatically. In addition, the utility is able to restore the system after it has been infected with malware, clean the hard drive of temporary files, prohibit copying files from the computer's hard drive, check URLs, completely block USB ports, manage startup, and force scan hard drives.
The program is equipped with a convenient and simple user interface in Russian. The control panel is located on the left side of the working window and consists of seven main items. The following sections deserve special attention: data protection, scanning and USB shield.
The last section is responsible for displaying a complete report on all detected threats. You also need to take into account that the utility performs by default automatic deletion any malicious application. So in order to avoid deleting important documents, it is better to disable this option, for example, after deleting the boot file, your USB drive will not be able to start. After disabling, Disk Security will act as follows - it will automatically move the infected file to quarantine or simply mark it.
In addition to the tools for automatically checking flash media, the "Scanning" section is equipped with a vaccination function. Vaccination can be carried out both on a removable media and on the very personal computer... At the same time, a special file is created on the USB flash drive or hard drive, which prohibits the launch of some malicious applications. Vaccination can be turned off if desired.
The "Data Protection" section is able to provide devices with higher protection, for example, you can prohibit the movement of data from a computer to a memory card or even block access to a PC via a USB port. To close access, you will need to restart the computer, only after that the settings will take effect.
Key features of USB Disk Security:
- Performs a more thorough scan of external drives. If malware is detected, they are either deleted or quarantined.
- The presence of a resident antivirus scanner that is triggered when a new USB drive is connected. Without making changes to the settings, the infected files will be automatically deleted.
- If necessary, you can completely disable automatic start on the PC.
- When using the utility, it is possible to view the contents without the risk of infecting a personal computer.
- Sites are checked for infected applications. The following services are used during the scan: Trend Micro, McAfee, VirusTotal, Symantec, and Google.
- The linkzb.com search engine provides an opportunity to safely use the Internet.
- The application is able to prevent unauthorized USB connection media to the PC.
- Blocking the copying of unauthorized data to USB is performed using the Access Control tool.
- Using the system for cleaning temporary files, if the virus is located in temporary directories, it will be removed immediately.
- You can set a password in the program settings.
- Full control over applications included in autostart.
- The presence of a built-in system for restoring important directories in the registry that have been affected by malware.
- Downloading Disk Security is completely free.
- Works on Windows XP, 7 and 8.
- Performed automatic check updates.
- The application does not need to update its virus databases, as it does not work like a standard anti-virus program.
- Due to its small size, the utility can install even a weak personal computer.
- Full compatibility with many modern antivirus programs is seen.
- Using a multilingual interface, 12 languages are available in total.
USB Disk Security is a simple and effective program for providing complete protection against malware spread via removable media.
Flash drives are primarily valued for their portability - necessary information always with you, you can view it on any computer. But there is no guarantee that one of these computers will not turn out to be a "hotbed" of malware. The presence of viruses on a removable storage device is always unpleasant and inconvenient. How to protect your storage medium, we will consider further.
There can be several approaches to protective measures: some are more complicated, others are simpler. In this case, third party programs or Windows tools... The following measures may be helpful:
- setting up antivirus for automatic scanning of a USB flash drive;
- disable autorun;
- using special utilities;
- using the command line;
- autorun.inf protection.
Remember that sometimes it is better to spend a little time on preventive actions than to face infection not only of the flash drive, but of the entire system.
Method 1: Configuring antivirus
It is precisely because of the neglect of anti-virus protection that malware is actively spreading across various devices... However, it is important not just to have installed antivirus but also to produce correct settings for automatic scanning and cleaning of the connected flash drive. This will prevent the virus from replicating to your PC.
Method 2: Disable autorun
Many viruses are copied to the PC thanks to the file "Autorun.inf", where the launch of the malicious executable file is registered. To prevent this from happening, you can deactivate the automatic launch of the media.
This procedure is best done after the flash drive has been checked for viruses. This is done as follows:
This method is not always convenient, especially if you are using CDs with branched menus.
Method 3: Panda USB Vaccine Program
In order to protect the flash drive from viruses, special utilities were created. One of the best is the Panda USB Vaccine. This program also disables AutoRun so that malware cannot use it for its work.
To use this program, do the following:
Method 4: using the command line
Create a "Autorun.inf" it is possible to protect against changes and overwriting by applying several commands. It is about this:
Please note that disabling AutoRun is not suitable for all media types. This applies, for example, bootable flash drives, Live USB, etc. Read about the creation of such media in our instructions.
Method 5: Protecting "autorun.inf"
You can also create a fully protected startup file manually. Previously, it was enough just to create an empty file on a USB flash drive "Autorun.inf" with rights "only for reading", but according to the assurances of many users, this method is no longer effective - viruses have learned to bypass it. Therefore, we use a more advanced version. Within this framework, the following actions are assumed:
These commands delete files and folders "Autorun", "Recycler" and "Recycled" who may have already "Capitalized" virus. Then created hidden folder "Autorun.inf" with all protective attributes. Now the virus will not be able to modify the file "Autorun.inf" since there will be a whole folder instead.
This file can be copied and run on other flash drives, thus holding a kind of "Vaccination"... But remember that it is highly discouraged to perform such manipulations on drives using AutoRun capabilities.
The main principle of protective measures is to prevent viruses from using autostart. This can be done both manually and using special programs... But you shouldn't forget about periodically checking the drive for viruses. After all, malware is not always launched through AutoRun - some of them are stored in files and wait in the wings.