How to Protect Computer From USB Flash Drive Autorun/Startup Viruses – Wimp

I have recently discovered a developer’s (L. Madhavan) website on which he/she has posted his many useful software projects. One of them was LAN Messenger which I have already told you about. Another one of his Windows programs is Wimp. The name is derived from Windows Malware Protection and is only 200KB large. No installation is required – all we do is extract the EXE file from the downloaded archive and open it.

So what exactly does Wimp do? In the developer’s own words:

Wimp was initially designed to remove the many common “flash drive” viruses, i.e. those that spread through USB flash drives; currently, Wimp detects and removes more than 15 of these “flash drive” viruses.
Wimp also prevents malicious programs from disabling Task Manager and Registry Editor, and also prevents changes to many other important system settings.
Protect your system from common “flash drive” viruses, and prevent malicious programs from modifying important system settings or disabling essential utilities such as Task Manager.

In other words, Wimp is a great tool to have running at all times. It neatly sits in our System Tray and notifies us whenever it removes an infection. My suggestion would be to continue to use whatever antivirus program you have to scan your flash drive in addition to Wimp’s scan (one might detect an infection overlooked by the other).

Madhavan also suggests how to use the program:
“To make the best use of Wimp, place it in your Startup folder: Go to Start > Programs, right-click on Startup and select Open. Create a shortcut to Wimp in this folder.”
Wimp is a tiny yet useful program that deserves two thumbs up.