Question/Issue:
How to block USB flash drives while allowing other USB devices?

Symptoms:
When blocking USB devices in the application and device control policy, it also blocks other devices that are dependent on (commonly floppy drives and hard drives).

Cause:
When adding any device in the "Blocked Devices" column, it by default blocks other devices that are dependent on that device.

Solution:
1. Open 'Application and device control' policy in Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager.
2. Click on the device control tab.
3. Under the 'blocked devices' section click the ADD button and select the USB option.
4. Click the ADD button under "Excluded from Blocking" and select, one by one, all of the other devices that use USB that should not be blocked (eg: pointing devices, keyboard, cameras, joysticks, HDD, etc. )
5. Click Ok to save the changes and assign policy.

Document ID: 2008022822274348
Last Modified: 11/12/2008
Date Created: 02/28/2008
Operating System(s): Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional Edition, Windows Server 2003 Web/Standard/Enterprise/Datacenter Edition
Product(s): Endpoint Protection 11
Release(s): Endpoint Protection 11.0, Endpoint Protection 11.0.1