Protect USB Drive from Viruses on Windows Systems

Immense convenience, simplicity and data storage facilities make USB drives a preferred option. Any frequent computer user will have USB drives to carry important files and documents. Moreover, when we use USB stick on other computers, there is a high possibility of the device getting infected with viruses.
Though there are several freeware to protect USB drive but the condition remains that the other computer should have the freeware installed and you cannot guarantee this.
Therefore, why take security risk when you can protect the USB drive with this quick fix.

How to Protect USB Drive on Windows Systems

This article gives you the step-by-step procedure to protect USB drive on Windows Systems. The procedure should work with all Windows installation. If not, leave a comment below and we will help you with it.
Step 1: Insert the USB device on your system and go to ‘Device Manager’.

Step 2: From the list of devices visible, locate the USB drive, right-click, and click on ‘Properties’.

Step 3: In the ‘Properties’ section, locate the ‘Policies’ tab. Check for ‘Removal Policy’ and select ‘Better Performance’. Save the changes.

Step 4: Go to ‘My Computer’, locate the USB device, right-click and choose ‘Format’.

Step 5: You will see a lot of options. Select ‘File Systems’ and choose ‘NTFS’ option. Tick ‘Quick Format’ and click on ‘Start’ for the formatting to work.

Wait for a while for the formatting to happen. Now, the next step to protect USB drive is to set it on read-only mode.
Step 6: Go to ‘My Computer’, locate the USB device, right-click and choose ‘Properties’.

Step 7: Select the ‘Security’ tab. You’ll notice the access to the USB drive is given to ‘Everyone’. Click on ‘Edit’ and choose the ‘Permissions for Everyone’ as ‘Read only’. Click OK.

What happens after this change is that anyone using your USB device cannot make any changes to its root folders. Further, if you use the USB drive on any unsecured computer system, no harm will be done as the viruses and malware cannot infect the root files.
You can read the files anywhere and anytime. To make any changes, cut-paste or drag-pull the files or folders on the system and make changes.

Alternatives to Protect USB Drive: Use Passwords

If you want to avoid these steps and do for something automatic, you can protect USB drive with a password. Only those who would know the password will access the USB drive.
Here are some recommendations:

USB Disk Security:

ZBShareWare is its creator and the application is available for free download. The application will not slow computer performance and it is competent software. It is compatible with all anti-virus solutions and comes free for personal usage only. Give it a try.

Safe House Software

This offers a complete suite of protection software. It has 448-bit advanced encryption and unlimited amount of private storage. There is a password dictionary to warn you about weak passwords and has a graphical meter to indicate password strength.

SanDisk Secure Access

If you’re a SanDisk user, install their Secure Access software. It creates a password-protected folder on the drive with 128-bit AES encryption where certain files can be transferred to the new folder, restricting access to everyone.
What methods do you use to protect USB drive? You can share doubts or questions below.