What to do with a virus infected CD, DVD or USB

What to do with a virus infected CD, DVD or USB Picture 1 Network Administration - How to safely handle external devices such as CDs, DVDs or USB-infected viruses or malware. The question seems quite simple but maybe not everyone knows how to handle it appropriately. In this article we will show you some of the safest ways to get important files in these devices.

Malware tends to harm computers running Windows, so a simple solution is to access these files on a Mac or Linux computer.

If you are using a Windows computer, security software updates are the first to do. Then install some free anti-malware tools like Anti-Malware from Malwarebytes and SUPERAntiSpyware. For these tools, you also need to update them.

Do not use Windows to launch malicious programs when plugging in a USB or CD, so you should disable the AutoPlay feature.

If you're running Windows XP, you can use Tweak UI, which is a free tool that can help you change AutoPlay settings. When installing the software on your computer and opening the program, navigate in the left panel to the My Computer > AutoPlay > Types section . Uncheck Enable Autoplay for removable drives or Enable Autoplay for CD and DVD drives .

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Windows 7 and Vista users have a simpler implementation. Just click Start , enter: autoplay , and press ENTER.

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Uncheck the Use AutoPlay section for all media and devices .

You can now plug the suspect device into the computer. However, you should not open or move any files right now, but instead, scan the CD or USB with antivirus and malware software that has just been installed or updated.

Once you have identified the files you need to be quite secure, you can copy them to your hard drive.

But what do you do with the CD or USB after copying the data out of it? Surely we will not want someone to accidentally use it and make their system affected.

If it is a CD or DVD, destroy them by grinding the sandpaper or cutting it into small pieces.Be careful not to use your hands to break them .

With USB drives, you can clean the drive with a number of programs, such as Eraser, which is a free program that provides quite a lot of data erasing methods.

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