Does Avast offer protection against USB hacks?

[ddabrahim]

Hi.

I'm using Avast Premium Security.

I am not the most up to date when it comes to ways people can get hacked. I have learned only recently that, USB cables and USB flash drives can hide malicious software and hardware that either install/download malware on to our PC and/or open a back door for hackers to access our system remotely when we plug them in and often we don't even notice anything about it. Such USB cables and flash drives looks exactly normal and also works as normal, but when you plug them in, they come with extra malicious "features".

Until very recently I was not careful with cables and flash drives, I was getting and using all sort of cables and flash drives from all sort of different sources and brands. I really did not care.

Now that I know about this, I'm going to stop using cables and flash drives coming from unknown sources and unknown brands and wondering if I have recently plugged in one of these malicious cables in to my Mac or Windows PC, would Avast Premium Security offer any protection against them? Am I protected right now?

I am not asking about malicious files on a flash drive, but I'm asking about these hacked cables and flash drives specifically where the malware and malicious code is hidden in the firmware and controllers inside the cable and the drive.

Thanks in advance.

[DavidR]

USB Cables, no, what is connected to them might be.

Avast Scans USB devices, it doesn't scan the whole devices content when you plug it in, but if anything is transferred to your main system that content would be scanned in line with other newly created, modified or executed files on your system drive/s.

I have learned only recently that, USB cables and USB flash drives can hide malicious software and hardware that either install/download malware on to our PC

I don't know where you learnt this - you have me on how it is possible so store anything (malicious or otherwise) on a USB cable. It is inert, it has no storage means, no firmware or controllers.  They need something to physically store (memory chip, etc.) the data on and be run from or executed.

Now a usb cable has to have a connector on either end, depending on the type of usb device it might be technically possible to have a chip secreted into something like a bulky connector.  But that in itself would be a usb device and not a inert cable as such.  In which case the same rules would applied as far as scanning by avast is concerned.

Until very recently I was not careful with cables and flash drives, I was getting and using all sort of cables and flash drives from all sort of different sources and brands. I really did not care.

So I guess avast has protected your system so far

[ddabrahim]

I don't know where you learnt this - you have me on how it is possible so store anything (malicious or otherwise) on a USB cable. It is inert, it has no storage means, no firmware or controllers.

I also did not know it is possible but they can install a little device with storage inside the head of the USB cable and often it is looks just like a regular USB cable but when you plug it in, it can install malware on to your computer or execute malicious code to open back doors or listen to key strokes remotely over wifi if the hacker is nearby. No need to connect any device to the cable. The cable itself is malicious.

I learned about it on a non-english place, but this is what I've found in English.

Here is an article about it from 2020 for ones installing malware:
https://www.mitnicksecurity.com/blog/the-latest-malware-threat-the-usb-ninja-cable

And one from 2019 about listening to key strokes over wifi:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/malicious-usb-cables-wi-fi-controller,38603.html

Now these articles are talking about remote attacks nearby, but the one I’ve seen was talking about malware and open back doors so you can be attacked over the internet just like when you open a malicious email or website or download something.

The same way flash drives can be malicious too, it is not the flash storage where the malware or malicious code is, but the micro controller/firmware? I don't know this staff.

So we are getting in to an age when a single cable can be harmful and getting one without sealed packaging and from unknown sources  is going to be dangerous. No more cables from Alibaba for me.

[DavidR]

When modified in this way they cease to be just cables, as I said.

Now a usb cable has to have a connector on either end, depending on the type of usb device it might be technically possible to have a chip secreted into something like a bulky connector.  But that in itself would be a usb device and not a inert cable as such.  In which case the same rules would applied as far as scanning by avast is concerned.

So this activity should be monitored by Avast Antivirus.

[Cluster-Lizard2014]

There is a whole class of anti-virus/anti-malware software specifically designed to block autorun.inf and ctfmon.exe, the malicious file types most commonly used on infected flash drives. Just Google "Tools To Protect Computer From Infected USB Flash Drives" and you'll find a whole bucket load of them.

The problem has been around for years and probably why there are so many tools available.

I guess, in theory, a small malicious device could be built into a USB cable. But its doesn't seem to me to make much difference whether the cable has the device built in or you've just attached an infected flash drive directly.   

But as DavidR says AVAST already scans USB devices and so use of any of those other tools, which apparently do much the same job, likely makes using any of them for extra protection redundant.