Enabling and disabling autorun flash drives on a computer

For the convenience of users, Microsoft has created such a built-in function in the operating system, such as autorun flash drive. Its main task is to simplify the user experience. But the main disadvantage is the introduction on the computer of viruses, written on removable media when copying, used previously on another PC. And in order to protect your “machine” from malicious programs, you should know how to enable or disable the autorun of flash drives and other removable media.

What is the "autorun"

This is a function that allows you to run a program that is on a removable device quickly and without any action from a person. It was originally developed only for DVD and CD. Whereas now it can be launched automatically, even when connecting smartphones. For example, for media with movies and music, the player is loaded, for a blank disc - recording software, for photos - a viewer, etc. If the removable drive contains files of different types, then a window pops up offering several actions.

The essence of the function is that in the root folder of the removable media you need to create autorun.inf for the flash drive. This is a file containing a command to automatically launch a specific program. The system will check the included drive for the presence of this file and, if it finds it, then, without making unnecessary requests, run it. This is also used by many viruses. But there is a good way to protect removable equipment - this is to create a file for the autorun flash drive. In this case, the malicious program will not be able to register it itself, since it already exists and thus will not start when the device is connected to the computer.

IMPORTANT. Many virus creators know this trick and can easily delete this file from removable media. Therefore, the issue of infection with equipment viruses should be approached more seriously.

Enable and Disable Auto Start

For Windows 7, 8

Before you enable the autorun flash drive, you need to open the control panel in the “Start” menu and select “Autorun”. Opposite to the entry "Use for all media and devices" put a tick.

Opposite to the "Use for all media and devices" entry, tick the box

Then save the settings. And in order to disable autorun flash drives, you must remove the pointer from this tab.

For Windows XP

The process of connecting and disconnecting this feature in OS XP is a bit more complicated. To do this, go to the "Group Policy". In the “Start” menu, find the “Run” tab, set the gredit.msc command and press “enter”. In the window that opens, select "Computer Configuration", "Administrative Templates" and "System". In the right part, find the line "Disable automatic loading".

Click on Disable autorun

To enable the function, mark the item “Disabled” (not set) and confirm “OK”. And to disable it, select the line "On" and "For all discs with confirmation of the choice."

After you have done autorun flash drives, you should insert a removable drive into your PC and check the operation of the system.

Basics of using the "Autostart" function

  • You should know that autorun for a flash drive itself does not contain malicious code, but only has a link to an existing file with a virus from the Internet.
  • Also, malicious utilities are registered in the Autorun folder when copying with the extension .inf, .bat, .exe, .pif, .ini, .cmd, etc.
  • You can not immediately run a file or group of files avarun. You need to open them with the help of software for viewing (for example, a notebook) and check for viruses.
  • If while copying data, autorun is found in addition to the necessary information, it should be deleted. And if it is not deleted or disappears, and after a minute it is recreated, then the computer is infected.
  • You can also use various optimization programs (tweakers) to disable the function. But it is better to do it manually, for greater safety.

Why create Autorun.inf

Before you make an autorun for a flash drive, you need to know that you should not just create a folder, but make it so that malicious software cannot delete it. And in order for the virus to be unable to figure out how to remove autorun.inf from a flash drive, it must be hidden. In this case, it can play the role of an indicator. For example, if the flash drive contains viruses, then they probably already tried to delete this folder, and during this operation it ceases to be hidden. Thus, it becomes clear that there are malicious programs on the media. And since deleting autoruns from a flash drive will not work in a simple way, you need to either format it or clean it with the help of AVZ antivirus, or use FlashGuard.

Now, knowing how to enable or disable autorun of removable equipment by protecting it with the autorun file, you can significantly reduce the virus attack on your computer or laptop.