USB Utility...

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Hi all.

I was wanting to know the opinion on putting utilities (specifically, firewall, antivirus, and spam/spyware) on a USB drive so I could keep my Windows (once my system comes ) installation clean and running like a well "oiled" machine. There are several applications to keep the USB drive protected as well, so it won't get viruses itself.

I put Opera on my drive because my school uses some cryptic form of IE and Firefox and I prefer Opera if I can get my hands on it because of its broad range of usefulness and convenience. That said, would an antivirus (obviously not an always on one, I'm not dumb and I don't download any file I see or go to weird sites), firewall (I've found a couple that'll run from a drive), and a spyware application on a USB drive be a viable option to keep the software off my HD?

I'm not big on huge applications that take over my computer (reason I'm for this idea). Everything I've put on the USB drive is fairly light. (Clamwin, Ghostwall, Spybot Search and Destroy) Most of the software I have tested works on different computer and runs.

Again, I'm wanting a general opinion and your thoughts on doing this. (This also gives me the option to troubleshoot minor issues for my friends)

Thanks,
Will

P.S. I know about the U3 program and others like it, but I like having control. 

Edited by WillG - 09 Jul 2008 at 11:06pm

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WillG Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AVADirect Noob Joined: 29 Jun 2008 Posts: 14	Quote Reply Topic: USB Utility... Posted: 09 Jul 2008 at 11:02pm
	Hi all. I was wanting to know the opinion on putting utilities (specifically, firewall, antivirus, and spam/spyware) on a USB drive so I could keep my Windows (once my system comes ) installation clean and running like a well "oiled" machine. There are several applications to keep the USB drive protected as well, so it won't get viruses itself. I put Opera on my drive because my school uses some cryptic form of IE and Firefox and I prefer Opera if I can get my hands on it because of its broad range of usefulness and convenience. That said, would an antivirus (obviously not an always on one, I'm not dumb and I don't download any file I see or go to weird sites), firewall (I've found a couple that'll run from a drive), and a spyware application on a USB drive be a viable option to keep the software off my HD? I'm not big on huge applications that take over my computer (reason I'm for this idea). Everything I've put on the USB drive is fairly light. (Clamwin, Ghostwall, Spybot Search and Destroy) Most of the software I have tested works on different computer and runs. Again, I'm wanting a general opinion and your thoughts on doing this. (This also gives me the option to troubleshoot minor issues for my friends) Thanks, Will P.S. I know about the U3 program and others like it, but I like having control. Edited by WillG - 09 Jul 2008 at 11:06pm

cmundy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List AVADirect Staff AVADirect Support Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Location: AVADirect Posts: 57	Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jul 2008 at 12:19pm
	Hello WillG, Just so I don't get confused about your question, are you saying you are going to be using this extra external USB drive to store only utilities on?
	Chris Mundy AVADirect Director of Technical Support 216-503-6371 Direct

WillG Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AVADirect Noob Joined: 29 Jun 2008 Posts: 14	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jul 2008 at 11:50am
	Thats pretty much the plan. Somethings I have discovered through my own testing have worked fairly well when left on the flash drive. Some programs hate being run on the flash drive.

Jmundy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List AVADirect Staff AVADirect Sales Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Location: AVADirect HQ Posts: 1339	Quote Reply Posted: 03 Oct 2008 at 10:46am
	I agree. I was running a benchmark on a particular system last week, and we needed a good gaming benchmark to use. I chose Company of Heroes, due to it's high demand for graphic power, but I could not get the DX10 update to run from the CD. I then had to copy the .exe file onto my desktop and then copy it to a USB Flash drive. It worked with a hitch! So really, it could work both ways. :-) Kind Regards,
	Joseph Mundy Assistant Sales Manager 1-216-503-6361 joseph.mundy@avadirect.com