In this era of advanced technology, protecting our precious data is a very challenging task, no matter how careful you are with your data there is always a risk of stealing your data from your PC and you can’t find out it. There is not always a risk of getting infected through the internet sometimes it is done physically by your friends who are very interested in your life, family members, or any random person in school or college.
Also read: How to protect a computer from Hackers (online)
There are a lot of scripts that automatically start stealing your data without you knowing about it, as it gets connected to your system. The USB port is the only medium through which they mostly made a physical connection. Malicious Pen drives, USB cables are not new nowadays and it still used to steal system data because users are not paying attention to the physical connection which is more important to do.
In this article, you are going to see the Best ways to disable your USB port in windows 10 to make sure your data is secured physically.
Table of Contents
How to disable the USB ports in Windows 10?
There are several methods to disable USB ports of window 10, you’re going to discuss all of them one by one. You can choose any of them from the below-mentioned methods and choose which one you are comfortable with.
Method 1
How to disable the USB port in window 10 using Device manager?
This is one of the easiest methods that you’re going to see among all other methods of disabling USB ports.
Step 1: Do right-click on the start menu and select Device Manager.
Step 2: Now on device manager, scroll to the bottom of the list there you can see “Universal Serial Bus Controller“. Click on it to expand it to see all the USB ports you have on your PC.
Step 3: Do right-click on the USB port you want to disable, and select “Disable device“. Disabled device options show only for those ports which are not in use.
Note: You can also use the “Uninstall device” option, but later to use that USB port you have to find that USB file and reinstall them.
As you can see this method requires only 3 steps to disable any USB port in windows 10 systems but wait, it is also easy for a person who is trying to steal your data because that persons also have some knowledge of computer basics, so it is good to follow below methods which are not that easy to again enable USB ports for any random person.
Method 2
How to disable USB ports in Windows 10 using Registry Editor?
Windows registry is widely used to disable ports in Windows 10. Registry editing is a sensitive task so make sure to follow the below-mentioned steps carefully.
In this method you need a registry editor tool, let’s start :
Step 1: Click on the Start menu, type Run, and open the run command box or you can do it by using the shortcut key which is the combination of Window+R. Now, in the run box type Regedit and press enter button.
Step 2: After opening Registry editor, we have to find USBSTOR for this just follow the below steps:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services > USBSTOR
there you can see the start file, open it by double click on it.
Step 3: Now, in the value box change the value from 3 to 4. That’s it, now restart your PC, and it makes your USB ports disabled to use for everyone.
Here your second method of disabling USB ports using Registry Editor is completed, and it is harder to enable even for those who have knowledge of computer basics.
Note: After disabling the USB port by using registry editor, it won’t affect the use of printer, keyboard, and mouse through USB on your window system so don’t worry.
Method 3
How to disable USB port in Windows 10 using Local Group Policy Editor?
This method is a bit complex, but don’t worry you can easily make it, just with TechDevilZone below simple guide for you. Just follow the below-mentioned steps carefully:
Note: In Windows 10 home edition you can’t find Local Group Policy Editor so it works not in it, but you can enable gpedit.msc in Windows 10 Home.
Step 1: Open the run command box from the Start menu or open it by using shortcut key windows+r, type “gpedit.msc” in the Run box, and press enter button, it opens the Local Group Policy Editor tool.
If gpedit.msc is not available on your system then follow the previously shared article, How to enable gpedit.msc in Windows 10
Step 2: Now, navigate to the following path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System
In the ‘system‘ find the file ‘Removable Storage Access‘, and open it. Now, you can see two names in the list, 1. Removable Disks: Deny read access and 2. Removable Disks: Deny writes access.
Step 3: Double click on both one by one and follow the below steps, after double click you’ll get another window to configure them, there you can see 3 options on the left side are Not Configured, Enabled, and Disabled.
Step 4: Now click on the Enabled option then click on apply to disable your USB port in your windows 10.
Here your third method ends, what do you think this way is complicated or not?? Let’s move to another method to disable USB ports in Windows 10.
Method 4
Disable USB port using command prompt
In this method, open your command prompt with administrator rights and enter the below commands carefully to disable the USB port:
reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor/v “Start” /t REG_DWORD /d “4” /f
> You can also remove all drives of USB devices installed on your PC, this below command possibly also removes keyboard and mouse drives.
devcon.exe remove *USB*
Now, the fourth method end as well.
Method 5
How to disable USB ports using BIOS?
BIOS refers to the input/output system, which offers to do integral changes on your computer. If you don’t know How to open BIOS in Windows 10, then check out our previous article.
Step 1: Enter the BIOS system, once it’s set up now check the menus for an option to enable and disable the onboard USB ports.
Step 2: Make sure all USB options and legacy USB support options are disabled or off.
Step 3: Save and exit the BIOS after making the change. You can use F10 to save and exit.
Here, your fifth method ends to disable the USB port using BIOS.
Method 6
How to Disable USB port using third-party?
USB Driver disable tool
You can use third-party software to disable and enable USB ports. Download and install USB Drive Disable, open it and select the Enable USB drive or disable USB driver option to Enable/disable ports on your Window 10 PC/laptop.
Another 3-party software is: Renee
Best Third-party software that is used to disable USB ports on Windows system.
That’s it, these are the best 6 ways that you can ever see to disable USB ports in your Windows 10 system.
Conclusion
Now your data is completely safe physically, whenever someone tries to insert their malicious hardware inside your Pc or laptop using a USB port, they were unable to make a connection which leads them to remove malicious hardware and never think again to steal your data physically. You take a great step towards your privacy.
FAQs on Disable USB port
What happens to the system if I disable the USB?
When you disable the USB port, it prevents others from making physical device interactions with your computer/laptop. Disabling USB ports also keep a network from becoming infected with viruses or other malware.
How to disable the USB port in Windows 10?
There are many ways through which you can accomplish this task, using third-party apps, BIOS, command prompt, local group policy editor, registry editor, and device manager.
How do companies disable USB ports?
Companies never do by default but if the customer requested, then they do temporary disablement on their user system. If we talk about methods companies used to do this is either by using the above methods or changing coding in an operating system.
What type of risk is done by USB drives?
USB can cause a lot of risks, some are:
Malware infections
Security breaches
Data loss
Data leakage
Reputation damage
and a lot of issues that are continuously developed by hackers to infect systems by physical connections.
Why are big company’s computer USB ports are not working?
Many companies don’t allow anyone to do physical connections with their system because they are well known aware of the risks that unknown people can cost them if they can make access to stored corporate files, sensitive data, and much more.
So there is a big NO for physical connection.
Which method do I personally use?
I always try to do things manually and make sure they are enough secure that no one except me knows about it. So, personally, I go with Method 2 and Method 4.
I hope this article helped you!
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