Using a potentially infected USB stick !


rezpower

rezpower

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OS
Windows 11 PRO
I have in my possession a USB stick that has been used by a friend on a PC full of malware and viruses.
I want to know if it is possible to use this stick on my laptop without any risk .
Of course I'm not going to execute anything from the stick or copy anything to my PC (I just want to format it)
The only protection I have on my laptop is windows defender!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 PRO
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Razer Blade 17
    CPU
    Intel i7-12800H
    Memory
    32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Steinberg UR44
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD (M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + Malwarebytes
Turn autoplay off. Stick the USB disk in, and format it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex Micro 5000
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-12500T
    Memory
    2 x 8GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 3200
as echo2446 says, first make sure autoplay is turned off.

www.elevenforum.com

Turn On or Off AutoPlay in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off AutoPlay for all media and devices in your account in Windows 11. AutoPlay lets you choose an action for different kinds of media when you plug in a device or insert media. You can set AutoPlay to open different kinds of content, such as photos...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

Once plugged in, you can right-click on the usb drive in File Explorer, select Properties > Show more options, then 'Scan with Microsoft Defender...'. If you don't want anything that's on it, only want to use it yourself, then just format it.

1683034178203.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Frankly, I would donate the USB stick to your friend, same friend, not a different friend :eek1:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Thanks guys, I will do as advised. For an extra layer of security I will download and install Malwarebytes with its
one month trial. If with all this something unexpected happens, I will let you all know. 🫣
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 PRO
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Razer Blade 17
    CPU
    Intel i7-12800H
    Memory
    32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Steinberg UR44
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD (M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + Malwarebytes
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