LG's Vaccine USB flash drive keeps your machine disinfected
By Darren Murph 
posted December 21st 2007 4:21AM
posted December 21st 2007 4:21AM
[Via EverythingUSB, image courtesy of Pocket-Lint]
posted December 21st 2007 4:21AM
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Or just make sure you have a good anti virus installed and running. And by good I don't mean Norton or McAfee. I mean Kaspersky or NOD32.
And carry a copy of ClamAV portable on your USB stick. You can get it from http://portableapps.com
By good you mean your personal favourite.
No by good I mean ones that score high marks in tests on a regular basis and are not bloated.
I personally use AntiVir.
Norton regularly scores high on tests (av-comparatives on-demand) and according to http://www.cnet.com.au/software/security/0,239029558,339283640,00.htm beats kaspersky in speed tests aside from boot-up which is not a major concern I would think. Nod32 was not tested...
So....
But personally I think antivirus is useless garbage.
Try looking at real tests such as http://www.av-comparatives.org and http://virusbtn.com where they are less concerned with how fast the program starts and more with how many viruses it actually stops.
This man speakeths the truth! Nod32 is the shizzle! Norton or Mcrapee aren't even in the same league.
I am pretty sure I just said that it scores high on av-comparatives on-demand test...
Or just use a mac. Or just use linux. Or just use BSD. Or just use Amiga OS. Or just use BeOS.
See a pattern?
Last I checked there were exploits for every OS and viruses for both Linux and Macs.
What's that in the middle? It looks like a fingerprint reader...
I'd guess it's a USB socket as I believe this thing works as a proxy between your computer and the USB stick.
Here are few more details, and it is a fingerprint reader.
http://www.t3.com/news/usb-biometric?=34957
So you plug this in and run the software on it in Windows, or do you boot from it? I'm not really seeing how this is better than having a cloned USB HD with all your stuff and good anti-virus on it.
I don't even use Anti-Virus software. Even if Vista nags with all those "administrator rights" windows, it is a sure way that weird stuff does not come on my machine.
Never say never. No OS is 100% secure.
especially Windows Vista...
My SanDisk cruzer comes with built in avast antivirus. & i trust SanDisk more than LG in Flash drive.SanDisk is also U3 so it runs more than just the antivirus.
but the biggest point is , the Sandisk is not UGLY!
U3 is surface storage junk, and this product will also be the same way most likely... It will probably cause the exact same user privilege errors that U3 causes and just be a head ache for computer administrators, I say take all the extra junk of the USB drives and just use them for storage already
U3 is terrible, IMO.
http://www.u3.com/uninstall/
There's no reason why your stick cannot "do other stuff" with it being just a plain honest-to-goodness USB drive.
Yeah it is a fingerprint scanner. Engadget have linked to the wrong picture. LG released two different things...
They are actually two USB, one with Biometric Scanner (the one in the picture) and the other one is the Vaccine.
Ah.
When I read the title and saw the scanner, I did actually think it was supposed to disinfect your fingers! Word...
Having looked at the pictures on the pocket-lint page you have to wonder how they got the pictures mixed up given it has ANTIVIRUS plastered across it.
they call it world's first(in the linked press release), but who is LG(UK) trying to kid? there has been several vaccine USBs on Korean market including one from LG themselves...
Maybe to put in a gear bag, but there is no way I would buy that otherwise.
I mean, who wants there antivirus to stop when they unplug there drive? Not to mention it probably has some terrible software on it.
How automated is this? Because I know a few people who can't seem to keep their antivirus protection running for more than a week. Every time I go to fix this girl's computer, the antivirus is totally trashed and not even started, or she has three antivirus programs fighting each other, making her computer run like a 300mhz Pentium trying to run Vista. If this thing is simple enough that _anyone_ can use it, I could see a huge market for it.
This thing would be cool if you could boot to it and scan your system for spyware and virii. If not it's just as useless as any other a/v a/s software out there.
Doesn't do you any good to boot up "all root-kitted and stuff", then try to use this.
2 questions -
a) Won't ppl rather use an antivirus than this? Doesn't really offer additional benefits right?
b) What if your comp already has an antivirus? Antiviruses are notorious for not playing well with each other ...
How will this be marketed towards members of the Christian right, who do not even believe in vaccines? :)
As the family-and-friends help-desk, this kind of thing is a godsend.
i wonder if you are "help desk" then how come you dont know nout these things ? they are around for quite long time. even my Sandisk Cruzer have built in avast.
oh i think you are godsend !
As I said in my first post you can get a copy of ClamAV that runs from a USB stick, ANY USB stick. So this is hardly an innovative product. Anyone who considers themselves as the local "helpdesk" would be carrying a USB stick with ClamAV and quite a few of the Sysinternals programs.
My current USB toolkit has enough to be getting on with, but I've not heard anything advertised like this before, so if San Disk do have something like it, they haven't sold it much (funnily enough, it's a San Disk Cruzr Micro, so not all have them I guess).
This is a joke, right? Even though it's not April 1.
Really. If you need to spend money so badly, please let me know. You can PayPal me your spare $$$.
If some techno-phreak runs a computer with no AV installed and relies on this instead, rights are immediately revoked.
What a waste of plastic.
Yea! Who need this crap, run your computers without ANY AV!
I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but why run one when you can avoid dodgy sites. And if you get one trough some other way, just fix it if you notice it.
What's the worst thing that can happen? Have to format your drive?
@blarvh, urm... have your identity stolen, and get left holding a debt of $294,000?
Viruses? Oh, you mean for Windows machines. Man, I've been running Linux so long, I had forgotten that other people still deal with those pesky buggers. I hate that for you.
This looks like just another stupid U3 software idea, U3 was a bad idea 12 months ago and still is a bad idea now, what makes LG think its a new good idea just making one with a built in anti virus on it?