IT Security Stack Exchange
IT Security Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [usb-drive]

Storage drives connected by USB devices known otherwise as flash drive, USB stick, USB key and thumb drive. Also includes larger storage devices such as portable hard drives.

USB drives are storage drives connected by USB (Universal Serial Bus) to the computer. A USB drive -- also known as a flash drive or keychain drive -- is a plug-and-play portable storage device that uses flash memory and is lightweight enough to attach to a key chain.

Above the OS level, work with these drives does not differ much from the work with the fixed drives: they can be partitioned and partitions can be formatted OS-supported filesystems.

Such drives can also be bootable. Developers may use this capability to test new operating system without installing it, or to gain access to non-encrypted fixed hard drive if the main operating system does not boot any longer.

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How can USB sticks be dangerous?

We all know the story of the USB drive left outside a power plant which was found by a worker and inserted into a computer to see the contents which then allowed a hack to ensue. Here is my question, how? I get that code is executed but how? I would…
TheHidden
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Is there any way to safely examine the contents of a USB memory stick?

Suppose I found a USB memory stick lying around, and wanted to examine its contents in an attempt to locate its rightful owner. Considering that USB sticks might actually be something altogether more malicious than a mass storage device, is there…
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What is the benefit of having FIPS hardware-level encryption on a drive when you can use Veracrypt instead?

The expensive one: https://www.dustinhome.se/product/5010873750/ironkey-basic-s1000 The cheap one: https://www.dustinhome.se/product/5010887912/datatraveler-100-g3 Over 14,000 SEK difference in price. Same company (Kingston). Same USB standard (3).…
Taeyang
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Is it enough to only wipe a flash drive once?

According to the documentation for the "diskscrb" command for wiping conventional hard drives: http://www.forensics-intl.com/diskscrb.html "Conforms to and exceeds the Government Standard set forth in DoD 5220.22-M. Can overwrite ambient data areas…
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How can empty USB sticks contain malware?

I read a BBC article about empty USB sticks containing malware: Berlin-based researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell said a device that appeared to be completely empty could still contain a virus. How can "empty" USB sticks contain malware? Is…
Gruber
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How reliable is a write protection switch on a USB flash drive?

I'm currently using a USB flash drive with a live distribution. At times I would plug it into terminals I cannot trust. My threat model here is solely the risk of unauthorized modifications to the live distribution image on the flash drive.…
Karol J. Piczak
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Allow only specific devices to be connected to USB

Suppose I have a Windows PC in a safe room, disconnected from the internet, with only 3 cables connecting to another room, to a mouse, monitor and keyboard. The computer contains highly sensitive data. The HDMI monitor cable is no problem, but the…
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Can USB drive infect my PC with malware if I don't allow any autorun.inf to run?

Assuming that I'm using a trusted USB flash drive (meaning that it's not some device that looks like a USB drive and whose purpose is to damage my PC), is it possible for my PC to get infected from some malware picked up by the USB if I'm running an…
Jorge Luque
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How to detect when files from my USB were copied to another PC?

I accidentally gave my USB to my friend and then I realized it had some important files of mine. Is there any way I can know if he got something from the USB?
Harry Sattar
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Is Bitlocker secure enough for portable storage devices?

I have recently lost a USB flash drive that contained some important information. Fortunately, it was protected by Bitlocker. I felt the impulse to ask exactly how secure it is. Most answers on this site related to Bitlocker seem to be about…
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How to safely wipe a USB flash drive

I want to wipe all residual data left behind even after a format on a regular 64GB fash drive, the ones someone can scan and recover data. What's the most efficient but quickest way to do this? Any test software I can scan for those residual files…
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How do I securely erase USB flash drives?

I would like to know if there is a way to securely erase USB flash drives without a chance to recover data from it once it has been erased. I know, that programms like DBAN can be used to securely erase HDDs, but as they work different from flash…
user295031
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How can I reprogram a usb as a keyboard

One of my recent posts has lead me to find that you can reprogram a usb drive to appear as a keyboard to a computer. I would like to know how to do this I am currently on a power google trying to find the answer I need (I know you can buy usb drives…
TheHidden
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Detecting malware-infected USB drives

I'm about to distribute some relatively cheap promotional usb drives to some of my company's clients. I'm fairly confident the company I purchased them from wouldn't intentionally implant malware on the drives - but they were pretty cheap - how can…
Myer
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BitLocker Drive Encryption NOT secure from drive mapping on network

I have a USB drive encrypted with BitLocker Drive Encryption. Each time I insert the drive in my USB port it works as expected, requires me to enter the password. Maybe I have the BitLocker Drive Encryption configured wrong or something not sure…
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