Confused about "Immunise USB:" notification every time I put my USB card into my computer

I always click on the option, but it does not seem to have any effect. Each time the same message pops up!

Some background info. I have one USB card I use for results from a medical device. This has a large number of very small data files but no executable files. I don't want it scanned each time I put it into the computer as this takes a long time (about 15 minutes) and does not remember that it had already scanned these items a day ago. So I have changed the setting from Autoscan to Ask every time. It doesn't ask but simply nags me about immunisation. This won't worry me when I put in my usual USB stick, but what happens when I get a different usb device from someone else which I would like to first scan?? I don't understand how the Immunisation function works!!!

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Gjoksi

Hello.

Check out these comments:

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/348927#Comment_348927

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/349258#Comment_349258

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/349410#Comment_349410

Regards.

elliotg

I am still quite confused. I don't have a good grasp of what Immunisation actually is.

Is it something which is done to the device you have put into computer? Or is it a change to a setting in the computer itself which blocks autorun ?

Surely someone from from Bitdefender could clarify this!

Alexandru_BD

Hi,

In short, once it has been immunized, that USB device is protected against any autorun-based threats. I will detail how it works in the following lines.

The immunizer is a standalone utility by Bitdefender designed to protect against malware spread via USB and similar removable drives. It focuses on neutralizing threats that exploit Windows’ Autorun mechanism.
The tool consists of two main protection components:

When you immunize a USB stick or SD card, the tool prevents malicious code from being able to create or modify the autorun.inf file that would otherwise allow automatic execution of malware.
It does this by deleting any existing autorun.inf and replacing it with a protected folder of the same name. This folder is hidden, system-protected, and cannot be overwritten by malware.

So, the "Immunize" option allows you to immunize your USB storage device or SD card against infections with autorun-based malware. Even if your storage device has been plugged into an infected computer, the piece of malware will be unable to create its autorun.inf file, thus annihilating any chance of auto-launching itself.

I hopes this brings more clarity on what immunization actually is.

Regards