1. HOW TO
Make a
USB Read Only

2. There are two ways to make a
USB flash drive Read Only

3. Which one is best for you?
Universal solution and is
100% permanent
PC specific and a good
deterrent

4. Universal Solution = 100% Permanent
On Everything
This means the USB stick is
Read Only on ALL computers, TVs, stereo’s, anything
Read-Only a.k.a. = Write Protected or Data Locked

5. Flag a USB stick to be Read-Only
in a specific computer
Makes the USB read only, but only for a
specific computer, not a universal solution

6. IT managers or Content Owners
want the USB to be Read Only so
the files cannot be deleted or
formatted of the drive

7. Value of Read Only USBs:
Original files to remain the same
and blocks the ability for files to
be changed or manipulated
It’s smart to have USBs Read Only
so virus’ don’t jump onto the drive
and possibly spread to other
computers

8. LET US START WITH THE LESS
PERMANENT WAY
Easier to do and doesn’t require specific hardware
Windows7 machine or higher
Use the DiskPart utility which allows you to
perform all sorts of cool things to flash drives,
like setting write protection

9. Connect the USB
to your Windows
computer
Go to your
Windows Start and
in the Search Field
type “cmd”
TO BEGIN:

10. Get to the C root of your computer
In the CMD window type: cd
this will get you back to the root of the C drive
In CMD window type: DISKPART
Then type: LIST DISK

11. FIND THE USB STICK CONNECTED TO YOUR PC
Select the device
you want to
change to become
Read Only
type:
SELECT DISK “X”
X = Disk # listed
DiskPart will
confirm the
attribute was set
and you can now
type “EXIT
To set the drive as
read only, type:
ATTRIBUTES DISK
SET READONLY

12. What we did is make a registry
entry in that Windows
machine so the PC always
treats the USB as Read Only
PC SPECIFIC

13. AN EASY WAY TO REMOVE
WHAT YOU JUST DID
USB Scrub
Utility will remove the registry entry
we just made and the User can once
again do anything they want to the
drive
REGISTRY CLEANING TOOL

14. ANOTHER NON-PERMANENT
OPTION IS SET A FILE AS READ ONLY
Set the file to Read Only will block the User from deleting the file
However, this only works on
the PC so if the USB is put into
a Mac or Linux box, they can do
whatever

15. ANOTHER OPTION IS:
FORMATTING THE DRIVE AS NTFS
NTFS file system is what we call a ‘dynamic file system’
If you decide to format as NTFS
simply modify permissions so
that All Users have Read
Access. The USB is Read-Only,
but only at the File level

16. THE ONLY PERMANENTLY
READ ONLY SOLUTION
Is setting the USB to Read Only at the controller level
The controller level method will
block the SCSI write command to
the NAND memory of the device
The device is set as Read Only
Not the computer it’s connected to

17. Unfortunately there are over
100 USB controller chip
manufacturers.
Each manufacturer uses their
own set of commands to talk
with the controller
INSIDE TIP:

18. NO UNIVERSAL
SOLUTION TO SET
THE READ ONLY
ATTRIBUTE

19. THERE ARE
MANUFACTURERS
WHO MAKE A
READ ONLY DRIVE

20. Nexcopy offers USB media to turn on and off
the write protection. This will make the USB
Read-Only to anything it’s connected to
FREE SOFTWARE
Comes with the
purchase of the drive

22. USB Drives
USB 2.0
USB 3.0
From 2GB through 128GB
Various styles and colors available
Nexcopy Incorporated

23. https://www.getusb.info/how-to-make-a-usb-read-only/
READ THE ENTIRE BLOG
RESOURCES
https:www.nexcopy.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive_security