write protect USB pen-drive

[pp810]

Hi,

I have to use my USB pen-drive in many systems of our clients. As there is great chance of catching a virus to pen-drive, thereby infecting my system as well. I would like to know if there is a way to write protect the USB pen-drive (in similar way like a CD or DVD) thereby reducing if not eliminating the chance of virus infection.

please help.

regards n thanks.

[bj-kaiser]

i think if you dont have one with a write-protect switch, you are probably out of luck.

[[deXter]]

Most USB drives have a small write-protect switch/slider which you can use to make the drive read-only. If your drive doesn't have one and its essential for you, then consider buying one that does have the write-protect feature- USB drives are quite affordable these days.

There are, however a few things you can do, like Securing your thumdrive with TrueCrypt or using a Registry Hack to Disable Writing to USB Drives.

To protect your own system, you should plug-in the drive only when you're in a Limited User account - this would prevent malware from doing any damage to your system.

Keep your files and folders well organized. Enable the "Show hidden files and folders" option in explorer. Uncheck the option "Hide extensions for known file types". This will enable you to distinguish between your files and a possible malware if its been copied. It's also a good idea to change the default folder icons in your PC- quite a few malware are disguised to look like folders to trick the user into clicking them.

Finally, running a good, regularly updated AntiVirus software does help. I recommend Kaspersky or BitDefender, but if you want something that's light on resources, use NOD32.

[jcarle]

To protect your own system, you should plug-in the drive only when you're in a Limited User account - this would prevent malware from doing any damage to your system.

An alternative to that would be to simply turn off Autorun on your USB key.

[[deXter]]

To protect your own system, you should plug-in the drive only when you're in a Limited User account - this would prevent malware from doing any damage to your system.

An alternative to that would be to simply turn off Autorun on your USB key.

Yes, you could also press the Shift key while inserting the USB drive, but that's besides the point- There are malware that disguise themselves as files/folders that are already existing on the USB drive, which may trick the user into executing them accidentally. Turning off Autorun isn't an alternative solution, its added protection.

[MarcAnde]

This software can protect your USB drive (pen drive) from viruses.

http://penprotectorenglish.wordpress.com/

I had the same problem.

Regards

Marc