Thread: USB thunmdrive infection

I want to know this as well as I am afraid to stick my infected thumb drive into my new lap top. I stuck it in my kids and the virus alarm from Avast went nuts, sounded like an ambulance. We thought we cleaned it up well but a week later the virus we did not kill ate her wifi driver.

I use Nod 32 on the laptop, with it on full power dare I stick it in.

Thanks for the topic Nawty.

More information required:

(1) Do you have anti-virus software installed on your PC at home, and do you keep it updated?

(2) I assume we are talking Windows XP?

(3) If so, do you regularly install Windows Updates?

(4) When you say your computer "caught it", do you mean got infected or stopped it? In which case do you have a name for the virus?

aging one, if you are comfortable editing the registry, turn autorun OFF, or get someone to do it for you.

Then you can plug it in, it won't try and execute anything.

Then you can do a full virus scan on the thing.

It's this frigging Autorun that allows these USB-borne viruses to proliferate so readily.

Alternatively, you can download something like this:

Windows XP - Solution 2

• Obtain and install TweakUI (part of the PowerToys for Windows XP package), and then start TweakUI.
• Expand the My Computer branch, then the AutoPlay branch, and then select Drives.
• Turn off the checkbox next to each drive letter for which you want AutoPlay disabled.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

aging one, if you are comfortable editing the registry, turn autorun OFF, or get someone to do it for you. Then you can plug it in, it won't try and execute anything. Then you can do a full virus scan on the thing. It's this frigging Autorun that allows these USB-borne viruses to proliferate so readily.

I am not. But I have a techie who will do it for me. the problem is my PC at work is full of viruses. It infected my thumbdrive. I want to put the thumbdrive into the new laptop. The old PC I am gonna just get the stuff out. And then reinstall windows again.

At home I run Linux so no virus to worry about.

lots of info on google about scanning thumbdrives

Disable USB AutoRun to Prevent USB Virus Infection

try disabling autorun and then scan the thumbdrive

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

More information required:

(1) Do you have anti-virus software installed on your PC at home, and do you keep it updated?

Yes, on my laptop I am using now i have AVG and its fully updated.

(2) I assume we are talking Windows XP?

yes

(3) If so, do you regularly install Windows Updates?

No

(4) When you say your computer "caught it", do you mean got infected or stopped it? In which case do you have a name for the virus?

The thumbdrive got infected. When i put it in this laptop, the AVG stopped it and laptop seems unaffected. I wrote the name of the file that came up with the alarm in OP... \autorun.inf......is all that i can see.

Our son infects his computer every time he brings a thumbdrive back from school
I am talking about once a week here .

I have autorun disabled and I use AVG free edition.
When I scan the thumbdrive it finds nothing but when I try to access a file it deals with the virus before it hits the rest of the computer.
I then just reformat the thumbdrive and off we go for another week.
Not an ideal solution but it works.

Originally Posted by aging one

At home I run Linux so no virus to worry about.

Use a Linux box to copy off anything you need to keep and reformat the thumbdrive.

^ or just plug it into a Mac, and don't worry about.

It's quite lovely to see all the trouble these 'superior' Windows PC seem to be giving their owners, who are left to flail their arms and beg for help.

How's the virus situation on your Mac, Slack?

Maybe the OP should just go and get himself an iPad.

Funny....thought I was on ignore.....strange.

He must see only me Nawty. Helpful duck as well.

I think my technician who is Thai just did it a new way or at least new to me. He first just stuck the thing in his first computer. Avira came up and said to delete this and that. One was the same as Nawty's. He then cleaned each individual item on the drive. About 10 things totally 2g's. Then he stuck it in another computer and ran Nod 32 which found much much more. He repeated the whole thing. It took about 10 minutes and then walked back with me and stuck the damn thing in the Laptop usb port. Not a problem one. Never seen it done like that before.

just was your thumbdrive thoroughly in warm soapy water before you insert it into your laptop

Originally Posted by Agent_Smith

just was your thumbdrive thoroughly in warm soapy water before you insert it into your laptop

loses something because of the typo.

Daffy's right you know. They should give all computer n00bs a Mac to learn on before they progress to real computers.

Originally Posted by DaffyDuck

^ or just plug it into a Mac, and don't worry about.

It's quite lovely to see all the trouble these 'superior' Windows PC seem to be giving their owners, who are left to flail their arms and beg for help.

How's the virus situation on your Mac, Slack?

Maybe the OP should just go and get himself an iPad.

Funny you should say that.

Had this before.

Was a bit of a kunt of a thing. Google it, and it'll give you a good few different ways of getting rid of it. One of them did for me.

It's a common question, lots on google about curing it.

If the world moved on from the laughable Windows model of Registries and dynamically modifiable libraries by any user then we would all be better off.

Not me. If the bloody stuff worked perfectly, I'd be out of a job.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Not me. If the bloody stuff worked perfectly, I'd be out of a job.

The beauty of capitalism.

But my device is now clean. Done in 100% Thai style. Lets see how long it lasts. It should be okay now because every lecturer has their own lap top to program and use as they see fit.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Not me. If the bloody stuff worked perfectly, I'd be out of a job.

If you make a living from supporting Windows stuff then you should have said so when you started on your anti-Mac tirades imho.

People come into a forum looking for advice and suggestions, if you are going to blindly promote Windows over anything else because you personally make money out of it then you should have said so at the outset. Very poor form.

See...it can be done.

I hate these lazy cnuts that just want to wipe everything and lose all the stuff you have on it because they are to fucking lazy to do it properly.

Anyway, I shall see what i can find on google, seeing as nobody here is smart enough to tell this poor dumb windows user how to do it.