USB Security Suite Program

If you need something that will lock all of your USB ports and block those pesky auto-run malware programs off of your flash drive, USB Security Suite is worth a look. Every so often we find ourselves transferring, uploading or simply creating a file that’s private. It could be any type of sensitive information that you don’t want others to know about. The point is you need something good that will allow you to quickly and securely transfer over that information by way of the USB flash drive.

It’s a lot more convenient than the typical burnable discs and is also easily sharable with others, especially if sharing files over a local area network or though file locker services like Dropbox are unavailable. Keeping that in mind, any half decent hacker could probably get some malicious code on the flash drive, which can then automatically launch and take over system. So if you’re looking for a good alternative software program that will guard your computer against these types of attacks, look no further than a tool created by Dynamikode.

• Title: USB Security Suite
• Company: Dynamikode
• Product URL: http://www.dynamikode.com/products/usb-security-suite/
• Supported OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8

This handy little tool doesn’t exactly have the most creative name in the world. USB Security Suite is about as generic a product name as you can get. But if the product name is any indicator of what software has in store, it’s that it takes no time in getting right down to business. It’s the ultimate defense against auto-run malware and other dangerous payloads that could be stored in an unsuspecting flash drive. Not only will the tool wipe out any malicious code present on the flash drive itself, but there are also a nice set of other features included that separates itself from becoming just another run-of-the-mill portable anti-virus solution.

If you would like the host system to simply not accept any pass storage device hardware over any of your existing USB ports, the USB Security Suite can easily block access to the flash drives when inserted. From there, the USB ports can only be enabled again for use with flash drive with you type in a password you set beforehand. This is probably a little easier than turning off the USB port functionality at the BIOS level, which would also have the added repercussion of disabling input devices as well. A UAC prompt will pop up anytime the block is either enabled or disabled. Just as a fair warning, any password you do set blanks out after a system reboot, necessitating a password reset to resume the secure function.

From there, you’ve got quite the decent logging system that tracks any and all activity that occurs on flash drive mounted in Windows. In certain situations, this can prove advantageous if you need to figure out what kind of files were copied to and from the main hard drive, or if any of these files were opened and modified in any way. I think this feature works a lot like the Event Viewer in Windows, but with a more focused scope, so you don’t need to read through other information that isn’t relevant to external storage activity. If you need to keep more permanent records of your logs, you can export them onto a CSV and HTML formats.

Finally, the USB Security Suite can prevent portable flash drives being infected with any malware from the host computer through the immunizer. All you have to do is select the drive of your choice and options to prevent an autorun.inf file to be planted and to fill the remaining storage with zeros. Both of those options can deter possible malware, but filling a perfectly good volume with a massive DAT fill file can be wasteful as well as prevent you from adding any more data yourself without first deleting the filler.

The software is incredibly functional given its size and scope. Lately, most modern anti-virus software will typically scan for removable drives and proactively eliminate any threats before they activate. In Windows Security Essentials for instance, you can enable automatic removable drive scans without any need to initiate them yourself.

The only really interesting feature in my mind would have to be the USB locking mechanism. The auto-run remover at a basic level works well enough. But with new kinds of viruses out in the wild, I am unsure if the utility is really able to best the likes of Symantec or ESET. Then again, USB Security Suite is best seen as a tool that complements your existing security setup and not necessarily replaces a process.

At the price of $19.99 for a single license, plus small discounts included for volume ordering, it’s a decent price, but I would strongly recommend that you first download the trial version of the product and see if it works well for your needs. The trial lasts 14 days and has no limitations on use during that time.