How to Disable USB tethering without disabling USB all together?

Question

is it possible to disable (via a group policy or otherwise) USB tethering without also disabling all USB devices?

I'm in a school and we are looking to stop pupils from bypassing our network, which they are currently doing via USB tethering to phones and using mobile data.

I would like to keep USB working as many of our devices like, webcams and smart boards ect. all require it, as well students sometimes require use of USB sticks and SD card readers for subjects.

is there anyway or third party software to do this?

Answer 1

Hello

 

Yes, it is possible to disable USB tethering without disabling all USB devices. You can achieve this by using Group Policy in Windows. Here are the steps you can follow:

 

Open Group Policy Editor: Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter.

 

Navigate to Device Installation Restrictions: In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation > Device Installation Restrictions.

 

Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs: In the right pane, find and double-click on Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs. This will open a new window.

 

Enable the policy and add device IDs: In the new window, select Enabled, then click on Show next to Enter the device IDs to be prevented from installing. In the new window, you can add the device IDs for the devices you want to block.

 

You can find the device ID in the Device Manager. Each device has its own device ID, and you should extract it from your network. For example, USB tethering devices often have a device ID that starts with USB\class_e0.

 

[active directory - Block or Disable USB tethering using Windows AD GroupPolicy - Server Fault](https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fserverfault.com%2Fquestions%2F1098755%2Fblock-or-disable-usb-tethering-using-windows-ad-grouppolicy&data=05%7C02%7Cwesleyl%40wicresoft.com%7Ce7759ea6668148e08e3408dc3f5a38c7%7Cb2ae8dd9097749768706861b488b1512%7C0%7C0%7C638454903984586738%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=liRKXiaToV4kv5jO6FR%2B%2BZI6mqOala2x3uXbj5vWBBE%3D&reserved=0"原始 URL: https://serverfault.com/questions/1098755/block-or-disable-usb-tethering-using-windows-ad-grouppolicy。如果你信任此链接, 请单击或点击。")

 

Please note that this method requires administrative privileges and should be used with caution, as it can block the installation of the specified devices.

 

As for third-party software, I couldn’t find a specific one that blocks USB tethering while allowing other USB devices. However, there are USB blocker software available that can provide port security and protection. You might want to check them out and see if they meet your requirements.

 

[windowsreport.com](https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwindowsreport.com%2Fblock-usb-ports-software%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cwesleyl%40wicresoft.com%7Ce7759ea6668148e08e3408dc3f5a38c7%7Cb2ae8dd9097749768706861b488b1512%7C0%7C0%7C638454903984600089%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=eFHaUbglsVxAQ7GwJvtj64Npw6PCF0Lm4CBBip3cfG4%3D&reserved=0"原始 URL: https://windowsreport.com/block-usb-ports-software/。如果你信任此链接, 请单击或点击。")