How to protect the flash drive from viruses (4 very important tips)
As you all know, digital data can be damaged or lost for various reasons without notice. Whether the storage disk crashes, power outages, operating system crashes, or is due to virus infection.
That's why it's always recommended to back up important data at regular intervals to protect it in case of any damage. But when it comes to viruses specifically, the flash drive is the most miserable victim, not only because it is vulnerable to attracting viruses – but also to their spread.
You may have encountered this situation before where you connect the flash drive to a computer and later discover that the flash drive has become infected with a virus that affected all the files stored on it - and of course the extent of the damage depends on the nature of the virus, but in general it will lead to data corruption.
So, how do you keep the flash drive from infection from viruses throughout your time using it? The answer is very simple: follow the tips in this article and try to apply them as much as you can.
You may like: 5 useful and important tips to extend the life of the USB flash drive and prevent its damage early!
1- Avoid visiting malicious websites and downloading files randomly
Computers and flashes don't come loaded with viruses, they actually come as a result of our wrong and reckless behaviors while using the Internet.
For example, clicking on any link while browsing without knowing whether the destination is safe or not, or downloading programs from unofficial sites, or at least from unreliable sites and therefore - to a large extent - include malicious viruses that spread on the device once installed.
The same applies to opening malicious email attachments, and other disastrous practices carried out by the majority of Internet users. Once you've done any of these behaviors, viruses are likely to be transmitted to your computer, at which point viruses will not only damage the files stored on the hard drive – but also the flash memory currently connected to the computer.
So, consider what you're doing online, avoid visiting unknown sites, clicking on questionable links, or hitting the Download button inside a suspicious site. You can read our previous topic on "How to protect your computer from hacking and hackers" if you are really interested in the issue of protection.
2- Scan all files before transferring them
In the process of transferring files from computer to flash drive, USB flash drive becomes more vulnerable. What if this device is infected with viruses and they become hidden inside the folders you want to transfer? Of course, you will open another port for this virus on your flash memory.
For this reason, you should always check the security of all files that will be transferred manually. Never scan files all at once, but individually – it can take a long time, but you will ensure that your stored data will not be damaged.
Do not copy and paste a batch of files in bulk directly. Otherwise, the infected files hidden in a zip file, or others will be able to sneak in. Check the identity of all the files you want to transfer and use the VirusTotal tool to scan the files and make sure they are safe via popular antivirus engines.
Read also: The best free antivirus programs
3- Activate the write protection feature
One of the most important steps that must also be taken into account when you want to protect the flash memory from viruses that may be transmitted after connecting to the computer is to activate the feature of anti-write protection on the flash.
Most portable flash drives today come with such a feature - Write Protection and can be activated either by a physical key located on any side of the flash, or by a software tool that is pre-installed on the drive.
In any case, if you don't find the tool and there is no key to activate this feature, you can rely on third-party programs like "Thumbscrew" to activate it compulsorily. You can take advantage of it to fully control how and when flash content can be accessed.
As long as the write protection feature is on, data cannot be written to it. In other words, you will be able to open the flash drive, browse the files, and copy them to the computer, but you cannot do the opposite (adding files from the computer to the flash drive), including viruses for sure.
This means that even if the device is infected with viruses and you know it, you can connect the write-protected flash drive without any worry about the data stored on it.
4- Use portable antivirus tools
You can also take advantage of portable Anti-Virus programs that you can put directly on the USB flash drive without the need for installation and the ability to store your files normally.
This way, when you connect your flash memory to any computer that you think contains viruses or malware that can damage important stored files, you can simply run this program to scan the data on the current computer and your personal data on the flash drive and make sure that it is free of any viruses.
These programs also help you fix most of the problems you may have when using the flash drive that may put data at risk. There are many such programs available. And if I had to recommend you some options, it would be: Norton Power Eraser, Comodo Cleaning Essential, and McAfee Stinger the good news is that all of these programs are free and have high levels of protection so that they can find and deal with the latest viruses detected without your intervention.