Expert: James Filmer - 12/25/2009

Question
Can virus affect your motherboard and usb flash drives?
If my usb flash drive which has important files is connected to my pc when its affected with virus (trojan worms, key-loggers, etc...) can it be affected as well?

Also can my motherboard be affected as well?

Answer
Chris,

A virus can't really affect your motherboard hardware directly, but it can indirectly via the BIOS.

I could use my own words, but I'd be saying basically what's already been revealed (following posts) appropriate for the average user.

http://dniinoi.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/the-myth-behind-virus-attack-and-hardwar...
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/606376

And, there are other discussions - use your favorite search engine with words like "can a virus affect the motherboard?".

As far as flash drives, the following posts discuss how to determine if a flash drive is infected (and how to remove), how to disable Autorun, and other pro-active security info.

http://www.whoismadhur.com/2008/01/26/how-to-remove-virus-from-usb-drives/
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/usb-flash-virus-secure,6564.html