Guide to protect a USB memory against writing

In many companies, professionals put write protection on removable media. This is dictated by the need to protect against the leakage of information to the competition.. But there is another situation where a flash drive is used on multiple computers and the best way to protect the information it contains from users and viruses is to prohibit writing. We are going to consider several alternatives to perform this task.

How to protect a flash drive from being written to

You can do this with the media from the Windows operating system itself, with special software or with the hardware features of the USB flash drive. Let's see these methods.

Method 1: use special software

Not all users can confidently work with the registry or operating system service programs (that we will discuss later). Therefore, for your convenience, Special software has been created to help you cope with the described methods at the push of a button or two. As an example, there is a blocked USB port utility, which is designed to block the computer's own port.

The USB download port is blocked.

The program is easy to use. At the same time, no installation needed. To use it, do the following

1. Hazlo. The default password to start it is “To unblock”..
2. To lock the USB connectors on the machine, select “Block USB ports” and press the exit button. “Shall”. To unlock them, press “Unblock USB ports”

This type of utility helps protect against copying of confidential data from your computer to USB drives. But it has a low level of protection and is only suitable for normal users.

Read also: Instructions for creating a bootable flash drive in Windows

Ratool, a computer program without costs, has proven its effectiveness.

Download Ratool for free.

This utility will securely protect the data on your flash drive from being tampered with or erased. It is considered efficient because it works at the hardware level. The use for this case is as follows:

1. Open the program. There you will see 3 items:
   • Allow read and write for USB – this item enables full access to the USB flash drive;
   • Allow read only – this item will report that the flash drive is read-only when connected;
   • Lock the USB drive – This option absolutely blocks access to the USB drive.
2. After making changes to the USB flash drive rules, close the program.

The necessary changes have been made to the system. The program has additional convenient functions, with which you can read on the menu “Parameters”..

Another very practical program for providing write protection on a flash drive is called ToolsPlus USB KEY.

Descarga ToolsPlus USB KEY

When you use the pendrive on your computer, the program asks you for a password. And if it is not correct, flash drive disconnects.

The utility runs without installation. To write protect, just press a button “To accept (minimize to tray)”. Pushing the button “Settings”. you can determine a password and add a startup for automatic startup. Only one button press for write protection. This program hides in the tray upon launch and the average user will not notice it.

Considerate software is the best protection option for the average user.

Method 2: use built-in switch

Several manufacturers have provided a hardware kill switch on the USB device, that blocks writing. If you put such a USB storage device in the lock, it will be impossible to write or delete anything on it.

Read also: A Guide For When Your Computer Can't See Your Flash Drive

Method 3: edit the registry

1. To open the operating system registry, open the menu “Start”., enter it in the blank. “Search programs and files” command regedit. The same can be done with the key combination. “TO WIN”+ “R”where you will also be asked to enter regedit.
2. When the record is open, traverses the specified branch in sequence:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SYSTEM->CurrentControlSet->Control->StorageDevicePolicies

3. Check the value of the WriteProtect parameter. Available values:
   • 0 – recording mode;
   • 1 – reading mode.

   Therefore, to have write protection, we must configure the parameter in “1”. Then the flash drive will be read-only.

4. If you need to keep your computer safe from information leakage, you can disable the use of USB sticks in the registry. To do this, review the specified registry hive:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SYSTEM->CurrentControlSet->Services->USBSTOR

5. In the right window, locate the parameter “Start”.. In normal mode, this setting is 3. If you change to 4, USB memory is locked.
6. After restarting the computer, USB flash drive will not show up in Windows.

Method 4: make changes to group policy

This method will work for an NTFS formatted USB flash drive. Read our tutorial on how to make a flash drive with this file system.

Lesson: How to format a flash drive to NTFS

1. Insert the flash drive into your computer. Right click on its icon in the “My computer”. O “This computer.”.
2. Open drop-down menu “Properties”. Select the tab “Security”.
3. In the section “Groups and Users” Press the button “Change…”.
4. A new window will open with a list of groups and users. Here, in the list of permits, uncheck the option “to write”. and press the button “Request”..

It will be impossible to write to the flash drive after such operation.

Read also: What to do if the flash drive won't format

Method 5: determine permissions

This uses the local group policy editor (“Gpedit.msc”). Windows versions 7, 8, 10 Home does not provide this component of the operating system. It is included in Windows Professional. You can run this tool in the same way as previously described.

1. After opening the editor, navigate sequentially to the desired section:

   «Административные шаблоны» -> «Система» -> «Доступ к съемным запоминающим устройствам» .

2. On the right side of the editor, look for the parameter “Removable disks: prohibit writing”.
3. The default state is “Not fixed”.Change it for “Switched on”.. To do this, double click on the parameter with the left mouse button to open the modifying window. Check the parameter “Enable”. and press “Request”..

By using this method, no need to restart your computer, changes to the write ban will take effect immediately.

All the write protection methods described for the USB flash drive will help you protect your information.. By putting this protection, can be calm: with her you are no longer afraid of viruses or human errors. Which method to use, it's up to you. Good luck.

Our web portal has reverse instructions: how to delete the protection that we put in this tutorial.

Lesson: How to remove write protection from a flash drive

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