That autorun article is great. But could you make one on how to disable autorun in Windows Vista for the Vista users.
Thanks Leo and keep up the great work.
Posted by: Dan Warrener at March 14, 2008 6:33 PM
Hi Leo,
Unfortunately this question didn't come early enough to put me on guard. What you're describing happened to me couple of weeks ago and gave me a Trojan Backdoor.win32.Rbot. Later I found the autorun file on my USB/Mp3. I'll try to disable autorun as you mentioned.
But CD-ROMS and DVDs are safe, aren't they? Malware can't launch from them... or am I mistaken?
Thanks
Posted by: 'Leo fan' at March 14, 2008 8:03 PM
Why would ANYBODY put a USB thumbdrive anywhere NEAR their computer if they didn't know what was on it??? The scabs that write all these viruses LIVE for people like that!
Posted by: Carl R. Goodwin at March 14, 2008 8:34 PM
Thankfully Vista won't autorun anything without first prompting.
Posted by: Chris Buechler at March 15, 2008 11:26 AM
To "Leo fan":
Of course malware can be launched from CDs and DVDs, if there is malware on the media.
Use your favorite search engine and look up "sony rootkit" for a rather infamous example.
Posted by: Ken B at March 17, 2008 10:09 AM
what is the future of pen drive
Posted by: tareq at July 13, 2008 12:04 PM
Great article, Leo. There are some good questions and responses here. I just wanted to add my two cents worth.
It turns out that many people (about 40%) will put an unknown device into their computer, just to see what's on it. I have the evidence, which I have summarized at my site, The Honey Stick Project, at http://www.honeystickproject.com. The site was inspired by the penetration test you mentioned above, and is intended to raise awareness about the risks of using mobile devices, in general.
The technique I use in the project can be useful for measuring the level of security awareness and safe computing habits in an organization. Please drop by and give me your comments.
One other note: As indicated in one of the related article links above, it is possible for a device to be configured to trick a system into bypassing autorun, depending on your system. I have some notes about this on my site, also.
Fascinating site, Scott. Thanks!
- Leo 22-Sep-2008
Posted by: Scott Wright at September 21, 2008 8:34 PM
Some public libraries check out thumbdrives to their patrons. Apparently they don't always check to make sure the drive has been wiped clean by the previous user.
In my case the leftover files were benign to me, but the previous user probably wouldn't be too happy to know his resume and rehab history were left on it for anyone to see!
Moral: make sure the flash drive has been wiped clean before you use it OR return it.
Posted by: Kim at September 30, 2008 11:49 AM
Sir actually i m doing one software. It must be run the program from thumb drive .
so i dontknw the autorun file.inf
Posted by: kuhan at October 19, 2008 6:32 PM
At least Microsoft has finally partially recognised the problem. There's a fairly recent update that is supposed to disable autoplay for all drives except CDs and DVDs. Mine is disabled anyway, but that should be the default for ALL drives.
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Hey Leo,
That autorun article is great. But could you make one on how to disable autorun in Windows Vista for the Vista users.
Thanks Leo and keep up the great work.
Posted by: Dan Warrener at March 14, 2008 6:33 PMHi Leo,
Unfortunately this question didn't come early enough to put me on guard. What you're describing happened to me couple of weeks ago and gave me a Trojan Backdoor.win32.Rbot. Later I found the autorun file on my USB/Mp3. I'll try to disable autorun as you mentioned.
But CD-ROMS and DVDs are safe, aren't they? Malware can't launch from them... or am I mistaken?
Thanks
Posted by: 'Leo fan' at March 14, 2008 8:03 PMWhy would ANYBODY put a USB thumbdrive anywhere NEAR their computer if they didn't know what was on it??? The scabs that write all these viruses LIVE for people like that!
Posted by: Carl R. Goodwin at March 14, 2008 8:34 PMThankfully Vista won't autorun anything without first prompting.
more info: http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/3732
Posted by: Chris Buechler at March 15, 2008 11:26 AMTo "Leo fan":
Of course malware can be launched from CDs and DVDs, if there is malware on the media.
Use your favorite search engine and look up "sony rootkit" for a rather infamous example.
Posted by: Ken B at March 17, 2008 10:09 AMwhat is the future of pen drive
Posted by: tareq at July 13, 2008 12:04 PMGreat article, Leo. There are some good questions and responses here. I just wanted to add my two cents worth.
It turns out that many people (about 40%) will put an unknown device into their computer, just to see what's on it. I have the evidence, which I have summarized at my site, The Honey Stick Project, at http://www.honeystickproject.com. The site was inspired by the penetration test you mentioned above, and is intended to raise awareness about the risks of using mobile devices, in general.
The technique I use in the project can be useful for measuring the level of security awareness and safe computing habits in an organization. Please drop by and give me your comments.
One other note: As indicated in one of the related article links above, it is possible for a device to be configured to trick a system into bypassing autorun, depending on your system. I have some notes about this on my site, also.
22-Sep-2008
Some public libraries check out thumbdrives to their patrons. Apparently they don't always check to make sure the drive has been wiped clean by the previous user.
In my case the leftover files were benign to me, but the previous user probably wouldn't be too happy to know his resume and rehab history were left on it for anyone to see!
Moral: make sure the flash drive has been wiped clean before you use it OR return it.
Posted by: Kim at September 30, 2008 11:49 AMSir actually i m doing one software. It must be run the program from thumb drive .
Posted by: kuhan at October 19, 2008 6:32 PMso i dontknw the autorun file.inf
At least Microsoft has finally partially recognised the problem. There's a fairly recent update that is supposed to disable autoplay for all drives except CDs and DVDs. Mine is disabled anyway, but that should be the default for ALL drives.
Posted by: realist at March 15, 2011 8:24 AMTo post a comment on "I found a USB thumbdrive, plugged it in and now my system won't work. What happened?", please return to that article's main page.