# USB Network Protection: nothing from a USB drive goes online unasked

> USB Network Protection makes FireAI treat any app launched from a USB stick, SD card or external disk as a stranger: it always asks first, and in Paranoid or Under attack it’s refused outright.

FireAI Docs (HisnLabs) · Feature · Available since FireAI 0.1.6
Canonical: https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/usb-network-protection

**Where in FireAI:** World map › USB

Plug in a drive someone handed you without letting what’s on it phone home.

A USB stick found in a car park, a drive a colleague lends you, an SD card from a conference: running an app from one of them is a classic way in. USB Network Protection makes sure anything started from such a drive can’t reach the internet without you knowing.

## What happens in each mode

| Security mode | App launched from a USB or external drive |
| --- | --- |
| Home | FireAI asks you, like any new app. It’s never let through silently. |
| Coffee shop | FireAI asks you, like any new app. It’s never let through silently. |
| Paranoid | Refused outright, no question asked. |
| Under attack | Refused outright, no question asked. |

> **Note:** If you’ve made an Allow rule for that exact app, it wins in every mode, so a tool you trust and always run from a drive keeps working.

## See what was refused

The USB button at the top of the World map shows whether the protection is strict right now (green) and lists recent connections it refused, with the app and where it tried to go.

## What counts as an external drive

Any disk macOS reports as removable or ejectable and not built in: USB sticks, SD cards, external SSDs and hard drives. Apps installed in your Applications folder are not affected, even if you first copied them from a drive.

To change how strict FireAI is overall, pick a [security mode](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/security-modes). For the other on-the-go protections, see [Coffee Shop Armor](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/coffee-shop-armor) and [Clipboard Armor](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/clipboard-armor).

## Read next

- [Security modes: Home, Coffee shop, Paranoid, Under attack](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/security-modes.md)
- [Mac firewall rules: by app, website, domain, IP or range](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/per-app-rules.md)
- [Clipboard Armor: spot an app that goes online right after you copy something](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/clipboard-armor.md)
- [Coffee Shop Armor: safer on public Wi-Fi, and warned about fake networks](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/coffee-shop-armor.md)

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