Panda USB Vaccine 1.0.0.50

Panda USB Vaccine 1.0.0.50 is a really superior tool which is designed to block malware which spreads through removable drives such as pen drives, CD/DVDs, MP3 players, etc.

There is an increasing amount of malware which, like the dangerous Conficker worm, spread via removable devices and drives such as memory sticks, MP3 players, digital cameras, etc.

The basic technique used is as follows: Windows uses the Autorun.inf file on these drives or devices to know which action to take when they are connected to the computer. This file, which is on the root directory of the device, offers the option to define a program to automatically run part of the content stored on the device when it connects to the computer. This feature is being used by cyber-crooks to spread viruses, through the modification of Autorun.inf with commands so that malware stored on the USB drive, for example, is run automatically when the device connects to a computer. This will immediately infect the computer in question.

To prevent this, Panda Security, through its Panda Research division, has developed Panda USB Vaccine, a free product which offers a double layer of preventive protection, allowing users to disable the AutoRun feature on computers as well as on USB drives and other devices.

Major Features:

1. Vaccine for computers: This is a ‘vaccine' for computers to prevent any AutoRun file from running, regardless of whether the device (memory stick, CD, etc.) is infected or not.
2. Vaccine for USB devices: This is a ‘vaccine' for removable USB devices, preventing the AutoRun file from becoming a source of infection. The tool disables this file so it cannot be read, modified or replaced by malicious code.
3. This is a very useful tool as there is no simple way of disabling the AutoRun feature in Windows. This provides users with a simple way of disabling this feature, offering a high degree of protection against infections from removable drives and devices.