These are hardware switches on the USB device, iirc, and thus anything on the USB stick should be readable/executable but if there was a virus on the say the PC it should not be able to copy itself onto the USB stick (or do anything bad(tm) to the contents of it). Even a virus on the USB stick should not be able to cause any addition infections to the files on the USB device. #
From: James Rankin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 13 September 2011 16:31 To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Anti-virus boot-up disks? Well, I guess if it's read-only, a virus would have a hell of a job copying itself to it. But if the virus is already present when you set the switch to read-only, then it will still execute, I should think. On 13 September 2011 16:28, John Aldrich <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I have never used a flash drive with a write-protect switch. Does anyone on the list have any experience with those and know whether or not a virus would be able to bypass that? Just curious how effective it would be in keeping viruses at bay. That being said, if you're booting off it, I don't really see a huge issue as you're not going to be running anything off the hard drive, so at least in theory, you shouldn't need to worry about viruses that may be on the hard drive. From: Ken Schaefer [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 11:25 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Anti-virus boot-up disks? Quick check of Amazon.com seems to show: 2GB drive for $10 http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Drive-write-protect-switch/dp/B005KL31E6 8GB drive for $20.99 http://www.amazon.com/RiDATA-Flash-Drive-Slider-Drives/dp/B000RGDA5E/ref=pd_ cp_e_4<http://www.amazon.com/RiDATA-Flash-Drive-Slider-Drives/dp/B000RGDA5E/ref=pd_%0Acp_e_4> 32GB drive for $57.99 http://www.amazon.com/Ritek-Ridata-Twister-Protection-RDEZ32G-TW-LIG0/dp/B00 2G9TWUM<http://www.amazon.com/Ritek-Ridata-Twister-Protection-RDEZ32G-TW-LIG0/dp/B00%0A2G9TWUM> Sure, you can get a DVD for less than a dollar, but for the prices above, I'd just get the flash drive and the ease of use that comes with that. Cheers Ken From: Andrew S. Baker [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Tuesday, 13 September 2011 9:57 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Anti-virus boot-up disks? They are lots more expensive than CD/DVDs, however. Not that this is automatically a non-starter, but it speaks to Mr. Cook's earlier point. I'd sooner get a USB DVD drive, even though they are slightly less portable. ASB http://XeeMe.com/AndrewBaker Harnessing the Advantages of Technology for the SMB market... On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 9:12 AM, John Aldrich <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: There are USB sticks with a switch that is supposed to make them read-only until you flip the switch again. I don't know how that works or how well, but I know that there are flash drives with a write-protect switch on 'em. You can find 'em on NewEgg and probably elsewhere. I just checked on NewEgg to make sure I wasn't misremembering. From: John Cook [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 8:59 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Anti-virus boot-up disks? Did not and here's why - I have yet to hear about any guaranteed way to make a USB drive unwriteable on any machine you plug it into short of having a manufacturer burn the data to one and ship it to you in which case you're paying 25x more for the same effect a non rewritable CD/DVD gives you. If anyone knows of a way to do it (and I'm not talking about a reg hack on a machine or a program that disables the functionality on a computer) please share. John W. Cook System Administrator Partnership For Strong Families 5950 NW 1st Place Gainesville, Fl 32607 Office (352) 244-1610<tel:%28352%29%20244-1610> Cell (352) 215-6944<tel:%28352%29%20215-6944> MCSE, MCP+I, MCTS, CompTIA A+, N+, VSP4, VTSP4 From: Ziots, Edward [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 8:27 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Anti-virus boot-up disks? Thanks, anyone tried this on a USB stick? Z Edward E. Ziots CISSP, Network +, Security + Security Engineer Lifespan Organization Email:[email protected]<mailto:email%[email protected]> Cell:401-639-3505<tel:401-639-3505> From: G.Waleed Kavalec [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 3:18 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Anti-virus boot-up disks? Excellent! Thank you. On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 1:31 PM, John Cook <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: The Microsoft system sweeper standalone seemed to work well when I tested it. http://connect.microsoft.com/systemsweeper John W. Cook System Administrator Partnership For Strong Families 5950 NW 1st Place Gainesville, Fl 32607 Office (352) 244-1610<tel:%28352%29%20244-1610> Cell (352) 215-6944<tel:%28352%29%20215-6944> MCSE, MCP+I, MCTS, CompTIA A+, N+, VSP4, VTSP4 From: G.Waleed Kavalec [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 2:13 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Anti-virus boot-up disks? Best boot-to virus clean-up options. Friends like to bring me their contaminated laptops, and I mostly clean-install over them. I know AV exists that let you boot to a clean-up disk, who has favorites? Thanks -- G. 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