Viruses, trojans and other malware love to travel via USB drives these days. It’s up to you to stop them in your business.
Inc. Magazine featured some of the USB malware problems and solutions recently. Here are my top 5 suggestions for small businesses from that article:
- Use a newer operating system. Windows Vista and Windows 7 are less susceptible to USB-carried malware.
- Still on Windows XP? Press the Shift key when you insert a USB stick. That keeps malware from using AutoRun to infect you.
- Buy and use newer USB sticks with security features.
- Update your anti-virus software. Don’t have any? Use Avast Anti-Virus for free.
- Keep critical data on only one computer. Keep USB devices away from it, and keep it offline.
Read more about USB security at Inc. Magazine: Malware takes aim at USB devices.
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These are some great tips. For #2, another way to prevent AutoRun from running is to disable it entirely in Windows. Here’s the official Microsoft how-to: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715.
Alex @ Jackrabbit.com
Thanks, Alex. That isn’t as simple, but once it’s done, you don’t have to worry about remembering.