eset internet security freezes while analyzing flash drive

[Necro PC 3]

Hello, when I parse a flash drive (Fat32) with Eset Internet Security version 15.0.23.0, the program is glorified, and when I remove the flash drive, it returns to its normal state. Is there a solution to this problem, thank you

I use windows 7....
(I don't want to reinstall the program)

[Marcos 5,290]

Unfortunately it's not clear what you mean. Neither "parse a flash drive" nor "the program is glorified" makes sense to me. Definition of glorified by Google Translate: represented as or appearing more elevated or special than is the case.

Please open a support ticket with your local ESET distributor to troubleshot the issue.

[Necro PC 3]

I mean eset internet security stops working while analyzing flash drive

[peteyt 396]

I presume there is something possibly big or corrupt on the flash drive. Have you tried scanning some stuff individually to see if you can pin point the file

[Necro PC 3]

Thank you for the reply, I tried scanning a file inside a flash drive and that scan was successful, I tried to scan the flash drive by pressing the right mouse button and selecting "scan by eset" and that worked too, so this problem only happens sometimes.

[Aryeh Goretsky 390]

Hello,

Perhaps the USB flash drive has begun to fail?

You may wish to copy all of the contents off the USB flash drive to your computer's internal drive, then run the USB flash drive manufacturer's diagnostics against it to check it for errors.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[Necro PC 3]

Thank you for your response, but I recently purchased the USB flash drive and this problem only happens sometimes.

[Marcos 5,290]

On 3/5/2022 at 3:48 PM, Necro PC said:

I mean eset internet security stops working while analyzing flash drive

What does this exactly mean? Does ESET gui crash or what happens?

[Necro PC 3]

Yes, that's exactly what happens, ESET gui crashes

[itman 1,755]

My best guess at this point is the USB drive contains malware or crap-ware on it. When Eset encounters it, the software reacts by attempting to block the source thereby freezing the Eset GUI in the process.

You stated the drive is new. That really doesn't matter since USB drives can have malware or crap-ware inserted at the manufacturing source. The worst type is firmware based such as this recent example: https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-cybercriminals-are-mailing-out-usb-drives-that-will-install-ransomware/ .

I as a rule always reformat new USB thumb drives to NTFS format prior to using the drive. However, this won't help if the drive's firmware has been compromised.

Bottom line here is unless the drive was acquired from a known vetted trusted source, I would pitch the drive. And again, there have been past instances of drive tampering occurring at the manufacturing source.

Edited March 8, 2022 by itman

[Marcos 5,290]

I'd recommend opening a support ticket with your local ESET distributor. Probably a kernel or complete memory dump will be needed for perusal. A customer care representative will provide instructions based on recommendations by developers.

[Necro PC 3]

Thank you all, really the flash drive got viruses from another computer, ESET on my machine deleted them all, now, resetting the flash drive and converting it to NTFS helps?

[Necro PC 3]

Another question, are the viruses deleted from the flash drive, or are they still there even after ESET deletes them?

[itman 1,755]

1 hour ago, Necro PC said:

converting it to NTFS helps?

Quote

Why is an NTFS partition more secure than FAT32?

A) NTFS has a built-in security mode that allows administrative access for the security team. FAT32 has known security vulnerabilities. C) NTFS can automatically identify and alert on security breaches. D) NTFS provides additional permission settings, file system encryption option, and other security enhancements.

Why is NTFS more reliable than fat?

NTFS is more robust and effective than FAT since it makes use of advanced data structures to improve reliability, disk space utilization and overall performance. Support for NTFS has grown but is not as universal as FAT32. This comparison looks at the features, advantages and disadvantages of NTFS vis-à-vis FAT32.

https://answerstoall.com/language/why-is-an-ntfs-partition-more-secure-than-fat32/

Edited March 8, 2022 by itman

[itman 1,755]

1 hour ago, Necro PC said:

Another question, are the viruses deleted from the flash drive, or are they still there even after ESET deletes them?

When Eset detects malware, it will more associated files to its Quarantine area and delete the source files. In certain situations, it will just delete the source file.

Open Eset Quarantine via the GUI's Tools section and you should see entries for deleted malware from the flash drive.

Note: you should always closely exam the Eset scan log to ensure all detected malware has been removed.

Edited March 8, 2022 by itman

[Necro PC 3]

Thank you, I converted the flash drive to NTFS, I also reset the flash drive, and the problem did not go away, when I analyze the flash drive from the notice that eset shows, ESEt Main GUI stops working, and when I scan by pressing the right button then scan Via eset the scan was successful. Really confusing problem

[itman 1,755]

55 minutes ago, Necro PC said:

when I analyze the flash drive from the notice that eset shows, ESEt Main GUI stops working,

I just scanned one of my USB thumb drives this way and had no issue with the Eset scan. As such, the issue isn't directly Eset related.

Open a command prompt windows. Type in:

chkdsk X:

where X = drive letter Win has assigned to your thumb drive.

This might take a while depending on the size of the drive. When chkdsk completes, it will notify you if any errors were encountered. If chkdsk finds errors, run it again as:

chkdsk X: /f

where X = drive letter Win has assigned to your thumb drive.

to correct any errors found.

Also if you did a quick drive reformat to NTFS:

Quote

/Q  Performs a quick format. Deletes the file table and the root directory of a previously formatted volume, but does not perform a sector-by-sector scan for bad areas. You should use the /Q command-line option to format only previously formatted volumes that you know are in good condition

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/format

no bad drive disk sector bypass activity will be performed. You have to perform a full drive reformat to NTFS.

There is a strong suspicion that there is a bad sector on that drive. When the Eset scan hits that sector is when it goes bonkers.

Edited March 8, 2022 by itman

[itman 1,755]

1 hour ago, Necro PC said:

and when I scan by pressing the right button then scan Via eset the scan was successful.

The Eset "right mouse button" option is a context scan. It is primarily designed to scan individual files. As such, no boot sector scanning is being performed.

Since it appears the Eset scan immediately hangs when a "scan" is selected from the Eset popup menu, this would be indicative of a boot sector issue; one possibility is malware; i.e. bootkit.. If this persists after a "full" reformat to NTFS is performed. I would pitch the drive.

[Necro PC 3]

Thank you for the quick reply, chkdsk did its job without finding any problems.

[itman 1,755]

One more additional comment here.

Try another USB thumb drive. If that drive can be scanned from the Eset removable media  popup scan option, this will confirm that the problem is with the original USB thumb drive.

[Necro PC 3]

i'm Sorry, I dont have another USB thumb drive.

[Necro PC 3]

Finally I found one, Eset successfully analyzed it

[itman 1,755]

1 hour ago, Necro PC said:

Finally I found one, Eset successfully analyzed it

At this point, it has been confirmed the issue it related to a specific drive.

If a full format of the drive doesn't resolve the Eset scan issue, below are your options:

1. Search for disk utility that performs multiple "wipe" passes against all sectors on the drive. 

Note that a Win full format only performs one pass against the drive writing binary zeros to all sectors. There have been persistent past malware that have been able to evade a single pass disk wipe.

A multiple pass wipe on a large drive can take days to complete.

2. Don't use the drive and destroy it - Recommended.

3. "Live with" the Eset scan issue.

 

[Necro PC 3]

Thank you for the replay, Can you tell ESET developer team about this issue and fix it.
- With some other improvements to the appearance, such as the notification window pop-up animation and making it stronger against viruses.

*And do bad sector repair programs help?

[Marcos 5,290]

2 minutes ago, Necro PC said:

Can you tell ESET developer team about this issue and fix it.

As suggested above, please open a support ticket with your local ESET distributor. Probably further dumps and logs will be requested by developers for perusal.

2 minutes ago, Necro PC said:

- With some other improvements to the appearance, such as the notification window pop-up animation and making it stronger against viruses.

If you have come across a suspicious file that you think should be detected, please submit it in an archive protected with the password "infected" to samples[at]eset.com.