Protection for Standalone systems

Clarence

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Hi guys,
I've been researching online and so as to antivirus protection for standalone machines (those without internet connection) only to discover that virus definations needs to be updated and so on.

But these machines are used by individual employees to type documents and save via usb etc (this is were I'm afraid that a usb with a virus can infect these machines) I know if the same usb is to be used on the network the antivirus will do its work.

If there was a way to secure these machines, with some software or even under local policy editor to stop .exe from a usb would be nice:) any suggestions?
 
You can download somthing like Clamwin, which will allow you to add the definition updates manually...
(Please note that I am not recommending Clamwin exactly, just software like it.)
 
So let me get this straight.
You have PC's that have no internet connections and you are afraid that those PC's get viruses via USB storage.
The why they thrive are to multiply and spread. You shouldn't worry about an offline PC getting virus. If it does, it wouldn't know what to do.

Tell me, what do you expect a virus creator to use an effected offline pc for?
I can't see a use at all.
 
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So let me get this straight.
You have PC's that have no internet connections and you are afraid that those PC's get viruses via USB storage.
The why they thrive are to multiply and spread. You shouldn't worry about an offline PC getting virus. If it does, it wouldn't know what to do.

Tell me, what do you expect a virus creator to use an effected offline pc for?
I can't see a use at all.
I dont think that it is a question of what it could be used for, I think that it is more of a matter of keeping unwanted software from cluttering up a system, or causing other problems. But you do raise a good point. The only real threat that comes from malware on a disconnected system would be internal damage.
 
Good point.
I still believe that it's shouldn't be much of a concerns since the only way the spyware (or other harmful software) will get onto the computer is via a USB drive.
Even if the USB drive just came from an effected computer, doesn't mean that the USB drive have a virus on it. Far from it actually. Viruses or spyware usually doesn't concern itself with USB drives. It has other tasks to do.
 
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In the amount of time that I have been studying and removing malware, there has only been a couple of instances where the installing trojan stuck around and infected portable media. So its not that common.
If you where to google it, you would find tons of info but very little actual statics of USB infection rates. That is probably due to what I was talking about above.

Its never a bad idea to arm yourself though. No matter how small the chance, anything above 0% is usually a good enough reason for at least basic protection. Just from my experience for what that is worth...
 
I would personally not want to bother with an AV on an offline PC. Simply because of low risk factor and wasted performance. Also because of the need to reconnect the PC to the internet for AV updates once in awhile. An AV gets less useful for each update it misses because new updated viruses and spywares are released every day.

If it finally get's effected with a virus, what's it suppose to do? No internet connection will make the majority of them useless.
The only thing i can think of being a problem is a virus that locks down the computer.
You know, like those viruses that forces you to pay something to get your computer unlocked again.
Even though he is not able to actually pay that "unlock", the computer will still get locked up. (which is easily fixed btw)
And maybe a few viruses that are only programmed to destroy. But still, if the AV isn't up to date, these threats might still work.

But hey, throw in MSE, AVG, avast or whatever if you are concerned. Get use to the "your computer is in danger" message because you are running an outdated AV. You are gonna see that a lot
 
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You should be able to use a security policy to disable auto-run.

XP machines by default seemed to be particularly vulnerable to these "hidden" .exe malicious software exploits, as it auto-ran them by default. I came across a PC that had one called "chess.exe," it infected any memory stick you plugged in, then any PC you plugged the stick into (and the .exe auto-ran), would also be exploited.

It was particularly confusing, as I worked in a computer shop and used the USB to install drivers etc, we had to figure out why the same PC kept getting a virus!
 
I would personally not want to bother with an AV on an offline PC. Simply because of low risk factor and wasted performance. Also because of the need to reconnect the PC to the internet for AV updates once in awhile. An AV gets less useful for each update it misses because new updated viruses and spywares are released every day.
That is why I mentioned ClamAV. No need for somthing as strong as avast, and clamwin can be updated manually. In other words, you can get the definitions from a different source. Also, its an on-demand scanner only, so it seems tailor fit for this type of situation.
 
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