Portable storage device with stand-alone antivirus capability

• US 20070261118A1
• Filed: 04/28/2006
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trend Micro Inc.
• Original Assignee: Trend Micro Inc.
• Inventors: Lu, Chien-Chih
• Granted Patent: US 7,975,304 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/562 Static detection

Abstract

In one embodiment, a portable storage device includes a removable device interface and a non-volatile memory having a read-only partition and a regular storage partition. The read-only partition may include a protection program for scanning data in the regular storage partition for viruses. Upon connection of the portable storage device into a computer, the protection program may be read from the read-only partition for loading and running in the main memory of the computer. The protection program may be configured to stop running in the main memory upon removal of the portable storage device from the computer. The device interface may comprise the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, for example.

Claims

1. A portable storage device comprising:

a device interface configured to allow the portable storage device to be connected to a computer; and

a non-volatile memory coupled to the device interface in the portable storage device, the non-volatile memory including a read-only partition and a regular storage partition, the read-only partition including a protection program for scanning data in the regular storage partition for viruses, the protection program being configured to be read from the read-only partition of the non-volatile memory for loading and running in a main memory of a computer upon coupling of the device interface into a peripheral port of the computer.

2. The portable storage device of claim 1 wherein the protection program is further configured to stop running in the main memory of the computer when the portable storage device is unplugged from the computer.

3. The portable storage device of claim 1 wherein the non-volatile memory comprises flash memory.

4. The portable storage device of claim 1 wherein the device interface comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

5. The portable storage device of claim 1 further comprising patterns of computer viruses stored in the read-only partition.

6. The portable storage device of claim 1 further comprising patterns of computer viruses stored in a hidden partition of the non-volatile memory.

7. The portable storage device of claim 1 wherein the read-only partition appears as a CD-ROM partition to the operating system of the computer.

8. The portable storage device of claim 1 wherein the protection program is configured to scan for viruses only those data stored in the regular storage partition.

9. A method of protecting a portable storage device from viruses, the method comprising:

loading a virus scanning program from a read-only partition of a solid state memory of the portable storage device to a main memory of a computer upon insertion of the portable storage device to a peripheral port of the computer;

monitoring a regular storage partition of the solid state memory for transferred data from the computer; and

using the virus scanning program to scan the transferred data for viruses.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

terminating the virus scanning program from running in the main memory of the computer when the portable storage device has been unplugged from the computer.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

searching a local data storage of the computer for virus patterns compatible with the scanning program; and

writing the virus patterns to the regular storage partition of the solid state memory.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

loading virus patterns from the read-only partition of the solid state memory to the main memory of the computer.

13. A portable USB storage device comprising a memory, the memory including:

a CD-ROM partition comprising a USB protection program, the USB protection program being configured to be automatically loaded from the CD-ROM partition to a main memory of a computer upon plugging of the USB portable storage device to a USB port of the computer, the CD-ROM partition further comprising patterns of viruses; and

a regular storage partition for storing user data configured to be scanned by the USB protection program for viruses while the portable USB storage device is plugged to the USB port of the computer.

14. The portable USB storage device of claim 13 wherein the memory is a flash memory containing the CD-ROM partition and the regular storage partition.

15. The portable USB storage device of claim 13 wherein the memory further includes a hidden partition.