How to Protect Your PC From Autorun Infections

Autorun-based malware has always been on the top of the worldwide e-threat database as they don’t need any specific program to get operated and start spreading the infection across PCs and networks. Various dangerous infections such as the Conficker worm (Win32.Worm.Downadup), Trojan.AutorunInf, Worm.Autorun.VHD and many other popular threats fall under this category. The infection generally enters into your devices via an infected USB drive that has been plugged in and used on a targeted PC to damage its software as well as hardware components. As per ESET malware statistics of November 2012, the INF/Autorun was the top-most occurring malware worldwide with a global infection rate of 5.30%.

Autorun feature was initially introduced with Windows XP to facilitate software installations from CD-ROM media, but it has rapidly become the most preferred infection vector for variety of online threats. To combat with the same, several IT manufacturers have introduced USB immunizers that help in disabling Autorun-related threats before they access your PC. Bitdefender has topped the charts with its latest USB software that constantly watches for newly inserted USB storage devices and immunizes them, once installed. The program will keep your devices away from such threats even if you’ve accidentally plugged in an infected USB drive that has not been immunized.

How your machine can be infected?

USB flash drives are one of the amazing and widely used tools that help in transferring data from one device to another thus, it brings a tremendous change in data portability and efficient productivity. With an ever-growing technology and newly introduced designs, the flash drives are nowadays used by everyone and have become an easy target for hackers. Cyber criminals plant viruses and other harmful codes into such drives and when an ignorant user will plug it into a PC, it will get infected within a few seconds only.

The infections take advantage of Autorun feature, implemented by Windows developers, and run the media that has been inserted in our computers automatically. The specially programmed malware code are commanded in such a manner that the moment the device goes on Autorun, it begins operating through the same instructions, and in this way infects the whole machine. The flash drives are meant to be portable hence, it can infect as many computers on which it is actually inserted.

How to offer basic protection to your PCs?

No infection can harm your computers if the device that you’re running is completely guarded by an efficient antivirus program. Some basic tips while using the Internet connection and plugging-in external devices can actually prevent such threats. Users should always keep a check on what they actually do online, the sites they access and the files they download from unreliable sources. Additionally, always ensure that you’ve the latest protection system enabled on your device, with an updated version antivirus and an enabled firewall.

You can easily conduct a manual scan by sending that file to antivirus software, if you suspect whether the file is safe or not? Moreover, you can also periodically scan the entire flash drive to look for infections that might have entered silently and are sitting inside your drive in a hidden form.

How to protect your system using USB immunizer?

Some antivirus programs scan a USB stick as soon as you plug-in, but some others (usually the free versions) do not bother to do the same, unless they are commanded to do it. It has been observed that even if you scan the drive after plugging it inside your device, then it’s not good enough as the Autorun code will already be running by then, which is more than enough to infect your PC. USB Immunizer, a popular category of security software, silently sits on your taskbar and actively participates in PC protection by acting when needed i.e. when a USB stick is plugged in. The program is specially developed to stop and immunize the triggering of Autorun malicious codes that sits inside the USB flash drives.

Generally, the infectious Autorun information is stored inside a file named autorun.inf, which sits in the flash drive in the hidden form. This file may contain harmful piece of coding that facilitates the entry of various vectors of infections such as viruses, malware and others into a clean PC. USB Immunizers can also start the immunization process as soon as it discovers a threat by securely replacing the autorun.inf file with a clean one. The software has numerous technical tricks that can actually delete or overwrite the malicious codes to safeguard your systems from such threats.

Every user should install an USB Immunizer to ensure that the portable flash drives that are plugged into their machines should not spread any kind of infection inside it. Its automatic feature also relieves you from the stress of doing a manual check every time you plug-in a USB drive, as it will automatically immunize all the new USB flash drives in the initial stage. The program sets its language according to the operating system’s Region and Language settings, thus, allowing you to understand prompt messages without any language barrier. The software works on all Windows versions to improve your PC’s and USB drive’s security. So what are you waiting for? Getting your PC merely guarded by an efficient antivirus solution will not be enough in this high-end cyber era, where malicious codes are just a click away.

Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolve online computer support with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. With a strong track record of devising effective ways of internet security and system security, she has so far helped thousands of users across the globe. Her writings on tech issues are the reflection of her in-depth interest and command she carries as a  pc security support technician. Her blogs and articles have been rated high for their lucid style and easy to understand language.