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USB Malware: INF/autorun prevention and removal

INF/autorun is USB malware (aka – a USB virus) that is automatically installed to your PC via an autorun.inf file. Since USB drives are so popular these days most of the new malware released also copies itself to the USB flash drive and waits to travel to a new PC.

The USB malware threat is somewhat overblown.  Most antivirus programs can easily detect and clean USB flash drive viruses as long as the anti-virus software is up to date, however as we all know, not everyone runs anti-virus or keeps it up to date.

For more prevention, consider running a Host Intrusion Detection program along with your anti-virus (like Threatfire). HIT programs can easily prevent USB viruses from auto-installing and HIT doesn’t need to be updated as much as anti-virus software.

I personally have come into contact with a USB virus (from my wife :P ) and it was easily killed via Kaspersky.



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My Top 10 Anti-Malware Applications

These are my top 10 antivirus programs (aka – anti-malware programs) that are generally not known to the average PC user. Before you buy anti-virus at your local store you may want to consider these free anti-malware applications (which are far better than anything you pay for).

I work on 3-4 infected PC’s a day, and these are the tools I live by.

  1. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware and Rogue Remover – super fast malware removal with awesome detection rates.
  2. SmitFraudFix – does a great job at removing rogue anti-virus applications (gets rid of all those fake system alerts saying you are infected).
  3. ComboFix (if you’re running windows xp AND you have just done a complete virus scan in safe mode).
  4. Avira Antivirus (also known as Free AV) – has an excellent detection rate and removal system. Best used in safe mode.
  5. ThreatFire – this is a behavioral anti-malware tool that is a great addition to a layered anti-malware approach. ThreatFire does not rely on updates to stop malware which is a huge bonus.
  6. SuperAntiSpyware – great anti-spyware that offers super detection and removal. Removal usually requires a reboot, but you can minimize this if you run your scan in safe mode.
  7. VundoFix – from attribune. Since most infections are Vundo based and are hard as hell to remove, VundoFix does a great job removing all Vundo infections, even the latest ones.
  8. Ultimate Boot CD 4 Win (UBCD4WIN) – Say goodbye to malware. UBCD4Win is a bootable cd loaded with antivirus and anti-malware applications. In a bootable environment malware (even rootkits) are toast…all of them. I use my UBCD4win on very heavily infected machines and removal is always 100%. You can read my article on how to build a bootable antivirus disc here.
  9. HiJackThis – think you may be infected? HiJackThis will enumerate runtime and startup entries and gives you (or another person) a detailed log from which to gauge how infected a PC is. HJT logs can and will be confusing to most people and HJT logs should only be analyzed by qualified anti-malware technicians. HJT can remove some infections, but I’ve found that it does a pretty poor job.
  10. Gmer Anti-Rootkit – these guys offer free anti-rootkit detection and removal. GMER is superp anti-rootkit technology for free. If you encounter an infected machine I would recommend a GMER scan just to make sure a rootkit isn’t hanging around.
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