Tag Archives: threats
Today's Threats and Solutions for USB Storage Devices
USB products have been in market since 2000. The ever-growing nature of personal and business data, has led to exponential demand of USB flash drives and external hard disks. From ordinary people to large organizations, all rely on USB drives to keep, transfer and receive documents, pictures, videos and so on.
The main reason for popularity of these devices is that they are light, small and inexpensive. A few years ago, it was hard to believe that with a piece of hardware half the size of a bank card, one could hold thousands of documents and pictures right in their pocket. It is worth mentioning that a typical 8 GB USB flash drive has enough space to keep more than 15000 photos (500 KB average photo size). In response to this high demand market, manufacturers strive to produce devices with greater storage space, faster transfer rates and lower costs. For example, a 1 TB USB drive will be available during 2013.
USB flash drives use a common standard, which is supported by all modern operating systems, called USB mass storage. As a result, anyone can connect one of them to a Mac, copy some files, and conveniently connect it to a Windows based machine to access those files.
So, are we going to conclude that they have no disadvantages? Absolutely not. They have a lot to offer, but they all have one problem in common: they are dangerous!
Antivirus companies report than the AutoRun feature in Microsoft Windows is still among top ten threats. This feature helps programs that are meant to run automatically when a USB drive is connected to a PC, but obviously a malware can be easily executed by it. Most computer viruses copy themselves to removable USB disks, and sometimes, this is their main method of spreading. When a virus, or any other type of malware gets onto a USB disk, there is a high chance that other systems using that USB drive get infected too.
Moreover, USB drives, because of high capacity relative to their small size, are the first choice if someone wants to steal valuable or confidential data. Companies and businesses are at risk when employees can duplicate corporate documents on USB drives and take them outside the office. One study showed that the average cost of a data breach, can be as high as $2.5 million. And this is not only for companies. Every individual has private files, or even projects on their computer, with doors open to intruders.
There must exist some sort of solution to avoid these threats. In today’s software world, there are a few applications that can help everybody secure their USB ports. But not every software solution, is eligible to increase the security of your PCs at home and work. You should be looking for a software that solves above-mentioned problems, has excellent technical support, and gets updated regularly with new features. There are free solutions around, but they all lack some point or another. They are usually written for hobby, and not from a ‘professional’ viewpoint.
A wise option is USB Security Suite. It has everything you need to protect your PCs from USB-related threats. USB Security Suite automatically scans any USB disk attached to a computer to prevent viruses from spreading. It can also vaccinate your USB drives, so that they never get infected by other computers. If you need to know what activities (copy, rename, delete, etc.) happen on USB drives of your system, USB Security Suite can monitor and log them. Data theft protection made easy.
Boost Performance and Stability with System Mechanic Professional
Over a few months of use, a computer inevitably slows down and becomes less reliable. While a regular maintenance routine will help to keep your computer performing better, there’s no substitute for carrying out the occasional performance audit to restore performance and reliability. However, unless you’re an advanced user with plenty of time and who has extensive knowledge of the inner workings of Windows, this course of action is generally not advisable. After all, there’s always a chance of things going wrong to the extent that you could end up with an unworkable machine that perhaps might not even be able to boot. Fortunately, System Mechanic Professional provides your one-stop PC tune-up utility for maximum ease of use and saving you time.
Safeguard Your Computer Against Data Corruption
If certain data on your computer gets corrupted, typically either due to a failing hard drive or an improper system shutdown, you can be left with malfunctioning programs, an unstable computer or even one that won’t boot at all. There are many possible reasons for data corruption, including things as simple as a faulty driver installation or malicious software. System Mechanic Professional provides a powerful, industry-leading data recalibration utility that will fix system instability issues related to data integrity. Requiring minimal interaction from the user, the program will automatically scan, detect and repair any faults that it finds, allowing you to continue using your PC without any further problems.
Stay Safe from Online Threats
Malicious software and other online threats remain a major concern of modern life, hence the necessity to take every necessary step to minimize the risk of any damage occurring. Being a multifunctional tool, System Mechanic Professional provides all of the features you need to keep your computer and data safe from a variety of online threats and other possible security threats. The stability guard and system shield work constantly to look out for any rogue programs or potentially malicious lines of code that could harm your PC. It works by targeting the root causes of common problems and by identifying suspicious activities on your computer that are frequently associated with malicious software attacks. The system shield component is itself a triple-certified tool designed to hastily neutralize zero-day threats the moment they become known.
Save Time with Automated Task Scheduling
System Mechanic Professional is designed first and foremost to save you time by requiring minimal user interaction and allowing you to configure automated tasks with ease. The program also includes a component called Active Care, which takes care of everyday maintenance routines, including those concerning security, performance and reliability. It will optimize the contents of your hard drive, improve memory performance and cut start up times all by itself. At the same time, you can also schedule the Net Booster tool to run to periodically scan your Internet connection and make any necessary optimizations to improve performance. Another included tool is the CRUDD Remover, a feature for automatically getting rid of bloatware that commonly comes preinstalled on new computers.