Security Watch | Matt Hines | InfoWorld | Jump Drive Anti-Spyware tool | October 4, 2006 02:45 PM

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Jump Drive Anti-Spyware tool

October 04, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Jump Drive Anti-Spyware tool

I've gone to all sorts of places where I would have really liked to have been able to check my email or grab a file remotely but I chose not to for risk of having an infected machine grab my information and send it out to those who'll use it maliciously.

Well, ParetoLogic may have just the answer to that problem. They sent me their USB U3 enabled Jump Drive recently and I must say that it works pretty well, and I'm fairly impressed.

What I really like about the solution is the way it works.

If you're not familiar with U3 technology the short of it is that apps will run directly from the USB drive as if it were a CD. For a more detailed explanation, check here.

While we've been able to run apps and even OS's off USB drives for some time, U3 makes it a no-brainer to download software and run it off the portable drive.

That fact, coupled with portable anti-spyware product XOFTspy from ParetoLogic make for a pretty cool solution that's a quick and transportable way to check PC's or kiosks for malicious code before use.

Recently I've been using it to check suspect machines (okay, if I don't own it, all machines are suspect to me), by plugging in the drive, clicking on XOFTspy from the menu and letting it run. It's pretty quick and seems to do a pretty thorough job of detection and eradication. And before XOFTspy runs on a potentially infected system it checks the Jump Drive first to protect its data as well.

While XOFTspy isn't a full anti-virus solution, it will detect keyloggers, spyware, trojans and adware. Once a machine is checked, XOFTspy can be left on the machine for future scans. If the software is left on a specific PC it will allow the user to scan the machine for free but not remove anything found unless the software is purchased.

It seems to have worked pretty well in the short time I've used it. While it's not a true enterprise solution, it does allow personnel to carry around a quick scanner on a U3 enable drive that adds to an arsenal of tools, and for $15 bucks it's at a good price to boot.