Besides the internet, one of the most common methods of propagation of malware are USB Devices (removable storage). Almost all such malwares work in a similar way. They copy themselves onto the USB device and automatically execute themselves when inserted in another computer. In order to achieve this they make use of the autorun.inf file.
USB Vaccine from Panda Security reduces your chances of getting infected via a two pronged approach :
It allows you to immunize your USB Device so that it can’t be infected. Panda places its own autorun.inf file that can’t be opened/edited/deleted (by means other than formatting), thus ensuring that even if some virus is able to copy itself onto the USB drive it can’t execute itself automatically.
It vaccinates your computer by disabling the autorun feature entirely, thus ensuring that even you don’t get infected automatically even if the USB device is infected.
These two simple steps can go a long way towards preventing infection via removable devices. USB Vaccine is an extremely handy tool and is highly reccomended. The only downside is that USB Drive Vaccination currently works only with removable drives using FAT32 file fomat. However, support for NTFS is on its way.
Download USB Vaccine (380 KB)
Official Website
Version Reviewed : v1.0.0.19 Beta
Platforms Supported : Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
License : Freeware
Its one of the best softwares around
Great App. THanks for sharing. You can also use Tweak UI to disable the autorun, or simply press SHIFT while inserting the drive.
Shaunak De’s last blog post..Building a new AMD Phenom based system
I don’t mean when you click the Stop button. I actually want to close a program when I just unplug the drive. The program is not running from the USB drive. More or less, I just need to be able to run a script once the drive disappears.
This is a great tool that I discovered after writing my own roundup of USB tools, too late to make the list unfortunately. It has a very user friendly interface compared to some usb tools around… Panda are a good security name though :).
.-= Jonny´s last blog ..Immunization with Spybot Search and Destroy =-.