Can a locked WD Passport (old 500g model) be infected by malware?

WD External and Portable SSD Portable SSD
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Hi all!

I had a malware scare on my PC while my WD Passport was connected, however the passport was locked. Is it possible that the infection got into the WD Passport?

I’ve been searching and I’ve also asked around on Reddit about this, but I can’t seem to get a clear and trustworthy answer as to the likelihood of an infection getting by the encryption/password protection of the old 500g model of the Passport. Any insight and help is appreciated, and thank you for your time!

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if the WDpassport was locked, it is not possible BUT a malware could (like you have yet read try to get the password - it is encrypted and salt ? so, you are protected against this attack. an user.

1 Like
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Thank you!

I was unfamiliar with the term “salt” before your response, however…

I have not noticed any activity that leads me to believe that the drive was accessed by some kind of attack that had located the password. Nor do I have the password stored in a place that marks it as related to this drive.

Based on the above, am I adequately understanding what you meant by salt and likely safe from having the drive been compromised?

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hello, i am not familiar with your product (not old at all and you can obtain a chat with a tech for further explanation) _ but it is notice clearly : * Help secure your important files with password protection and hardware encryption and you can follow this link :My Passport | Western Digital Product Support and read this review :WD My Passport (5TB) Review - Review 2020 - PCMag UK (all is in english) / afaik you have the choice for the lengfht of a password between 8 and more : 8 = (4 hours - valuable before to be decrypted) 12 = (34 years) / you must mixxed different sort of characters of cause _ write it twice clearly on a note book and on a paper in a box near of your p.c _ if you lock or unlock from your o.s it is a weak security level (without password or passphrase _ if it is is lock from your bios - if it is possible - it is a better level and with a 12 ° lenght it is very secure / a virus or even someone lile a hacker will have difficulty (strong) for contaminate/spoile your disk :blush:

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with AES-256 hardware encryption and password protection. Assuming it’s implemented properly, AES-256 is currently considered essentially unbreakable.
it is not possible that the dribve be compromised if it was locked before (see an anti-virus of your choice or restaure your pc if it is too much attacked (a snap can be usefull) - avast- avira or virustotal and lauch a scan -deep - for your o.s or your drive (macaffee & kaspersky are not my cup of tea)- bye :crossed_fingers:

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(not a “snap” sorry for the confusion usin this term), i meant aomei or timemachine

> (a snap can be usefull) = mistake