Malware Detected: Canvio Connect 2TB External HDD

Question

I purchased a Canvio Connect 2TB external hard drive yesterday (20 July, 2014). Upon connecting to my Mac the antivirus software ClamXav alerted me that there was malware in the file "autorun.new" in the NTI folder of the external hard drive. The malware is called "INF.Autorun-32". I further tested the "autorun.new" file using VirusTotal, resulting in the file being flagged by the ClamAV (definition: INF.Autorun-32) and McAfee (definition: Generic!atr.b) engines.
Does anyone know if this is a false positive, or malware loaded onto the drive by some unscrupulous vendor?

Answer 1

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greyag wrote:
I got a warning from ClamXav that a malware called "INF.autorun-32" was detected in the setup.exe in a folder called "NTI" -- I believe the .exe to be the installer of some backup software.
A quick answer is that the "autorun.new" file will automatically run something (probably setup.exe) when you plug that drive into a Windows machine. It won't run at all under OS X.
The definition has been in the database since early 2009.
The Microsoft malware encyclopedia says this about such malware:
VirTool:INF/Autorun
Description: This is a detection for a file, called autorun.inf, that can be used by worms when they spread to local, network, or removable drives. The file has instructions to launch the malware automatically when the removable drive is...
Published Date: Oct 10, 2013
Alert level: Severe
Checking VirusTotal I could only find one submitted file (from Toshiba) as being infected with this and ClamXav was the only scanner to detect it.
is it worth trying to use the hard drive? Should I reformat the drive and would that be sufficient to wipe off any possible malware?
Bottom line is that even if an actual infection, it cannot harm your Mac in any way.
Erasing the drive will permanently eliminate it and you should alway reformat any disk you receive purchase for use with your Mac as they are almost all formatted for Windows and this obviously is.
Partition the drive using Disk Utility with one or more partitions with a GUID Partition Table using the "Options..." button and a Format of Mac OS Extended (Journaled).