How to Scan a Flash Drive for Viruses on a Mac
Being a MacBook user, you likely rely on cloud services for storing data. Sometimes, you need to mount a flash drive on your laptop, but worry about data security. The problem with flash drives is that they are not considered secure.
Users often experience error messages such as “macOS cannot verify that this app is free from malware” when connecting flash drives to Mac. In this case, the operating system is not ascertained about how secure the external storage media or an application is.
The article is your guide on how to scan a flash drive for viruses on a Mac. Let’s first understand what could happen when the user connects the flash drive and views it without scanning for viruses.
What Could Happen If You Bypass USB Scan
You likely argue that macOS is a secure operating system, so it should detect potential threats and protect them from entering the ecosystem. If things seem okay when you insert the flash drive, scan all the files before copying them to your computer.
Now, what happens when you bypass the flash drive scanning and connect it to view the files straightaway?
- Inappropriate Browser Function
The presence of a virus on your computer can affect browser functionality along with other apps. You may notice a constantly spinning pinwheel that is taking you nowhere. Nothing can be more annoying than staring at the screen and waiting for the pinwheel to go away.
For instance, If you search for something on Google and it takes you to Bing, it is an indication that you have a security problem on your internet browser. According to https://setapp.com/how-to/remove-bing-redirect-from-mac, the Bing redirect virus is not necessarily that dangerous, but you still want to avoid it as well as other potential cybersecurity threats.
- Sudden Data Loss
If your flash drive contains a virus, it can harm your computer and its data far more than you ever expect. You can lose access to important information stored on your computer. File corruption can be another risk that an unscanned USB can bring to your computer.
Sometimes, even the most insignificant viruses cause data loss that is hard to recover. If the device contains serious malware, you may lose access to entire data stored in a particular location on your computer’s hard drive. Data backup is the best solution to avoid data loss.
- Sluggish Computer
Slow performance of your computer is another major consequence of virus intrusion that might have entered your system via flash drive. Even a tiny virus is sufficient to break your system that further leads to multiple performance and functional issues.
If you notice that the apps and files are taking longer than usual to open, virus infection might be the issue. Moreover, if you attempt to open an app and it freezes with no response, your system is the victim of a virus attack.
- Abrupt Security Concerns
After you connect your flash drive to the computer without scanning it properly, your computer will get viruses. As a result, the hackers may gain access to confidential information like your financial statements, online accounts, and so on.
Make sure to log out of your social media accounts after you finish browsing. Also, save financial documents securely on the computer, and don’t forget to password-protect your folders. In addition, enable two-way authentication for logging in to your online accounts.
Let’s now learn how to scan a flash drive for viruses on a Mac to ensure it is secure to connect to the Mac.
Scan Flash Drive on a Mac
- Install an Antivirus App
If you have an antivirus installed on your computer, run it to scan the drive. If not, install a professional antivirus from a legitimate link. You can download a free or paid app as per your preferences. Turn off Siri and disable notifications for faster downloads.
While free apps provide an optimal level of security from virus threats, paid antivirus applications are more powerful. The latter scans the drive thoroughly to detect everything and anything that can make your computer vulnerable to security flaws.
- Run Antivirus on Mac
After the antivirus installation process completes, the next step is to run the app to detect viruses on the flash drive. You need to connect the flash drive to your Mac to Get started. Make sure that the device is properly connected and you can see the light blinking.
Once you start the scan, avoid opening apps or browsing the internet till the process completes. Any kind of interruption can affect the process, and it may abort automatically in mid. If the scan detects any items that can be a risk, remove them right away.
The Conclusion
Security concerns with a flash drive or a USB might not seem as robust as they are. You need to be very careful while connecting any external drive to your computers. Don’t forget to scan the data storage devices before copying anything or transferring data to the computer.
When the scan completes, you can check the files on your flash drive and download them to the computer. Scan the devices each time you need to view files on them for better protection from potential threats.
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