Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

Discuss hardware related to portable usage, including the kind of storage devices people use, and how they use them.
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abc
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Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

#1 Post by abc »

Hi,

Is there software to prevent unsolicited write/delete operations for files on my external drive - preferably prompts to Allow or Deny the action of some sort.
  • I need to be sure my important data has not been tampered with (e.g. write/delete) by rogue or unruly software without my permission.
  • I don't need or care for encryption - at least not at the moment.
  • I don't need or care for user account control - at least not the moment.
  • I'd like to allow certain software the right to use write/delete privileges
  • I'd like to disallow everything else write/delete operations that has not been allowed by myself.
  • I'd like this to work on different hardware and different operating systems. *
  • Open source or freeware is preferable.
*Doesn't need to be installed [Portable -preferable but not required]. Run under fairly older hardware 2006-2008ish/limited memory and with WinXP-SP3/Vista or Linux/Ubuntu with WINE.


Am I living in a dream world or does such software exist?

- abc

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JohnTHaller
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Re: Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

#2 Post by JohnTHaller »

As soon as you plug your drive in, the host computer has access to all your stuff and can mess with it. Having a piece of software to prevent this on the drive won't help as anything on the computer has access before anything on your drive even runs.

The only possibility would be to use something like TrueCrypt to have an encrypted virtual drive and scan it before mounting the drive. You could even modify TrueCrypt to support something like you'd like (though I'd wager you'll be amazed at how often most apps need to write and this would require quite a bit of coding to pull off). Of course, this will require admin rights on every machine.
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ChemZ
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Re: Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

#3 Post by ChemZ »

Firewall?

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JohnTHaller
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Re: Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

#4 Post by JohnTHaller »

ChemZ wrote:Firewall?
The problem there is admin rights, too, as in order for a software firewall to be able to intercept drive commands it would need admin rights and maybe even need a system-level driver. We've been discussing this in relation to a portable software firewall in the PortableApps.com forums.
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rokth
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Re: Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

#5 Post by rokth »

Why not try an SD card with a USB to SD adapter. Most, if not all, SD cards have a switch to prevent writes.

If you have an M$ Pro OS you should be able to set permissions on both your external drive and trusted software packages.

And some firewalls can can do what you want. Probably not a portable.

It depends on what you're working with.

Is the external drive for use on more than one machine is is it only going to connect to you hardware?
The former I'd say SD, the latter I'd say permissions or firewall.

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JohnTHaller
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Re: Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

#6 Post by JohnTHaller »

rokth wrote:Why not try an SD card with a USB to SD adapter. Most, if not all, SD cards have a switch to prevent writes.
The issue with that is that many portable apps can't handle running on read-only media. That and the fact that you then don't get to save any of your changes. That said, many of the apps we do at PortableApps.com are read-only aware and will either go into a special mode to handle that or prompt you to copy the app locally (to a writeable location in temp) temporarily so that the app is usable in the case of apps that don't like running read-only (see Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, etc).
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m^(2)
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Re: Protect against unsolicited write/delete operations?

#7 Post by m^(2) »

abc wrote:Hi,

Is there software to prevent unsolicited write/delete operations for files on my external drive - preferably prompts to Allow or Deny the action of some sort.
  • I need to be sure my important data has not been tampered with (e.g. write/delete) by rogue or unruly software without my permission.
  • I don't need or care for encryption - at least not at the moment.
  • I don't need or care for user account control - at least not the moment.
  • I'd like to allow certain software the right to use write/delete privileges
  • I'd like to disallow everything else write/delete operations that has not been allowed by myself.
  • I'd like this to work on different hardware and different operating systems. *
  • Open source or freeware is preferable.
*Doesn't need to be installed [Portable -preferable but not required]. Run under fairly older hardware 2006-2008ish/limited memory and with WinXP-SP3/Vista or Linux/Ubuntu with WINE.


Am I living in a dream world or does such software exist?

- abc
Keep a backup copy?

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