how to use virtualbox to test flash drive viruses

How to use virtualbox to test flash drive viruses windows#

Windows automounts, which you can see when the icon in 'my computer' changes to reflect the contents and type. This is possible in linux, but in windows not so much. When you plug in a media it should apear but it shoudln't mount unless you tell it to. 8-)įirst: no autoplay, ever, anywhere, and no automount if possible. The fact of the matter is that the real problem is running _anything_ from a not-known-clean system, but most people don't fully understand what it means to 'run something'. Just keep in mind you are still taking a risk. I think using a locked down virtual machine is a reasonable compromise between the hassle of taking extra steps to protect yourself and being a good person. For USB drives with no personally identifying marks, and outside of a security conscious environment, reading the contents seems like a reasonable second step to do so (the first being asking around to see if anyone's lost one and waiting a while for responses). On the other hand, it's nice to return lost things. Inside a security conscious environment, or when dealing with other people's networks or computers in general, I agree with everything Woody said. Securing a virtual machine takes the same steps as securing the host (turn off autorun, isolate the network, etc.) the only difference in using a virtual machine is that there's an additional layer between potential malware and any important files on the host. Virtualization is very useful tool but is not a magic bullet and does not absolve you of thinking about security.

Long answer: There are occasionally security holes in virtualization products (VMware's included). It's just like running unknown, untrusted executables - you definitely don't want to do that on the host, but doing it in a virtual machine isn't a great idea either.

Short answer: My personal take is that plugging unknown drives into a virtual machine is better than plugging them into the host, but it's (still) not a good idea in a security conscious environment. If for some reason the Virtual Machine fails to grab and mount the USB Drive before the Host does then as an example if the Host is Windows and proper precautions are not in place and autorun triggers then it could be to late and why I prefer to play it safer and never have to give it a second thought as to whether or not I've contaminated my LAN or contaminate any of my Clients systems in the field with my own devices. IMO There is absolute no good reason whatsoever to take a chance or risk infecting a known good clean working system when there are easy alternatives that are safer and IMO the proper way to deal with the unknown when it comes to issues like this. the internal HDD and before plugging in the questionable device make sure the internal HDD is not mounted. That said if I only had one system then I still do a Live Boot from known good clean media vs. Now can it safely be done attaching it to a Virtual Machine, probably, however I'm not willing to roll the dice that way when using the methodology previously mentioned is a better and safer way to deal with the unknown. I know that might sound like overkill however it's a sound and solid way to ensure I do not contaminate my LAN or any of the systems on the bench belonging to other clients or when I go into the field and use my USB devices to attach to or boot client systems. If I've booted from a USB Flash Drive then when finished I'll reboot from CD and then drop a known good clean Ghost Image on the USB Thumb Drive to ensure it's clean and ready to go for the next use. In the case of a USB Drive I'll attach it to a system on the bench that doesn't have a hard drive, is not connected to the LAN, and has been booted from CD/DVD/USB containing the proper and undated utilities to scan and effectively deal with any threats. If I need to test anything that possibly is infected I never ever attach it to a normal running system or allow it direct access to the LAN!

How to use virtualbox to test flash drive viruses