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Panda Security Offers Free Vaccine to Block Malware Spreading Through USB Drives

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 March 2009, 08:00 CDT

Panda USB Vaccine Stops Conficker and other Malware in its Tracks by Disabling AutoRun from Removable Media such as CD/DVD Drives

GLENDALE, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Security, a world leader in IT security, announced that it is offering Panda USB Vaccine, a free security solution designed to block malware which spreads through removable drives such as pen drives, CD/DVD drives, and other data storage devices. There is an increasing amount of malware which, like the dangerous Conficker worm, spreads via these removable drives to devices such as MP3 players, PCs, and digital cameras. The Panda USB Vaccine protects removable drives from this threat and keeps systems safe from malware infection. This free tool can be downloaded from: http://www.pandasecurity.com/usa/homeusers/downloads/usbvaccine/.

The basic technique used for malware infection is as follows: Windows uses the Autorun.inf file on these drives or devices to determine which action to take when they are connected to the computer. This file, which is on the device's root directory, offers the option to define a program to automatically run part of the content stored on the device when it connects to the computer. Cyber-crooks are increasingly using this feature to spread viruses through the modification of Autorun.inf with commands so that malware stored on the USB drive, for example, is run automatically when the device connects to a computer. This will immediately infect the computer in question.

In response to this trend Panda Security, through its Panda Research division, has developed Panda USB Vaccine, a free product which offers a double layer of preventive protection, allowing users to disable the AutoRun feature on their computers as well as on USB drives and other devices.

"This is a very useful tool as there is no easy and intuitive way of disabling the AutoRun feature in Windows," explains Pedro Bustamante, senior research advisor at Panda Security. "Panda USB Vaccine makes it simple for users to provide their systems with a high level of security against infections through removable drives and devices."

About Panda Security

Panda Security is one of the world's leading IT security providers, with millions of clients around the globe and products available in over twenty languages. Our mission is to keep our customers' information and IT assets safe from security threats, giving them the most effective protection with the minimum resource consumption.

Every day, thousands of new malicious codes are created. To combat this threat, Panda Security has developed an innovative and unique security model which can automatically analyze and classify thousands of new malware samples. This model is collective intelligence and ensures that Panda Security solutions can protect against far more threats than the products of any other company. The exceptional detection capacity of collective intelligence can be put to the test at the Infected or Not website (http://www.infectedornot.com)

For more information and evaluation versions of all Panda Security solutions, visit our website at: http://www.pandasecurity.com/

SOURCE Panda Security

Source: PR Newswire

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