Comments for Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

Comment from walker 27 on 2009-10-10

2009-10-10T13:42:01Z

my autorun kicks on all byitself even with no media in the drives.if i am playing a game or something online it minimizes and autorun will run 5 or 6 time then i open the game and it will happen again in another minute or to when i reformat it goes away but always comes back what should i do.

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Steven77 on 2009-07-06

2009-07-07T05:20:15Z

1. Run Naevius USB Antivirus.
2. Click the "Settings" button
3. Clear checkbox, and click "OK" (view screenshot).

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from pulkit on 2009-04-13

2009-04-14T06:10:28Z

black magic did not work for me.
even after following your instructions precisely.
i copied those 3 line above and pasted on a text document and saved it as autorunoff.reg as told bu you.
after that i run that file and changes in the registry were made(windows confirmed it by a prompt).
but then i inserted my pendrive and autoplay menu was there for me.
i use WINDOWS XP SP2.
So please help me out.
waitng for your reply.
thank you.

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Comment from Vishal S on 2009-02-28

2009-03-01T05:03:44Z

FYI...Rick Ebert

Most computers using Windows OS, by default, hides extensions for known file type. Hence, you are unable to save it as .reg.
Go to My Documents > Tools > Folder Options > View > and untick the box of "Hide extension for known file types" & click Apply.

Now, right click on the autorunoff.reg.txt file & delete .txt
Thats it...
Hope it helps...
Cheers....

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Comment from Rick Ebert on 2009-02-26

2009-02-26T23:46:24Z

I've read the article and the comments thoroughly.
I am unable to copy and post or download the fix.
it always saves as autorunoff.reg.txt not just autorunoff.reg. There seems to be no save option for .reg. Can any commenter help me.
thanks
rick

Just rename the file manually.

- Leo
27-Feb-2009

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Gene Thomas on 2009-02-26

2009-02-26T19:33:22Z

Now my wife hates me. How do I reverse autorunoff.reg?

She would rather have an unsecure machine? OK, just backup the resgitry, then fire up regedit and delete the registry entry that the .reg file added. (As someone else pointed out it may be possible to simply use system restore to restore to a point prior to running the .reg flie.)

- Leo
27-Feb-2009

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Vishal S on 2009-02-25

2009-02-26T07:49:19Z

It seems Leo is too busy to reply....

FYI...Larry....
System restore helps....as it worked for me..hence..its bound to work for you as well....
Cheers...

Vishal

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Comment from Larry Reznik on 2009-02-22

2009-02-23T01:19:13Z

I implement this modification without backing up my registry first. Please tell me how undo this modification. Thank you.
Larry

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Comment from Vishal Soraisam on 2009-02-21

2009-02-22T05:31:10Z

I ran the tweak as advised. And now, whenever, I insert the USB drive in my PC, it shows "windows explorer has encountered an error and needs to be closed". Unfortunately, I didn't do a registry backup [lesson learnt the hard way]....I can't access my USB drive as it keeps on getting the message..please help me to restore the old settings...thanks..

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Comment from Richard FDisk on 2009-02-18

2009-02-19T06:23:08Z

I absolutely hate AutoRun / AutoPlay; I've hated it since they first introduced it, it's extremely annoying not to mention a way to lose your OS or data or both:
consider the following:
an evil person puts a legitimate windows / dos program on a CD/DVD or USB device and uses autorun.inf to tell it to totally roast your C:\ drive, no AV or anti-anything will stop it because it's a legitimate part of the OS,

I use two apps to prevent autorun / autoplay
1> tweakUI
2> GPEdit.msc (XP Pro only not available on XP home)
in GPEdit there are two settings:
one in computer configuration and the other in user configuration
expand: "Administrative Templates" in both sections
then click on system,
under system is "Turn off Autoplay"
change it to enabled and in the drop down box select "all drives"

after doing this I have yet to see an autorun.inf run on any of my systems;

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Howard Thompson on 2009-02-18

2009-02-19T05:57:33Z

I have XP Pro and Firefox OS.When I clicked on your link to download "autorunof.reg" my computor came up with "this does not exist"

Remember to right-click and Save As...

- Leo
19-Feb-2009

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Comment from Steve on 2009-02-18

2009-02-18T17:55:46Z

Hi Leo!

Besides the security risk, I find autorun highly annoying. Alas, this registry entry didn't work for me either. I did verify that the key made it into the registry. This on an HP laptop running XPpro.
Any thoughts? TIA! S.

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Mark on 2009-02-18

2009-02-18T15:00:09Z

Can't users just use Tweak UI and disable this feature under My Computer-Autoplay-Types, and unchecking the boxes next to both CD and DVD and removable drives?

That's actually why I listed some of the other things that Autorun actually does. TweakUI prevents automatic playing, but may not disable the ability to modify the menu of choices, the description, or the double click action.

- Leo
18-Feb-2009

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Comment from anon on 2009-02-17

2009-02-18T01:29:30Z

I turned autorun off and Windows no longer recognizes my DVD drive.

Turned it back on - Windows now recognizes the drive.

I want it off but how to see drive?

Autorun should not affect the visibility of the drive at all. You should be able to open up Windows Explorer and see the contents of the drive manually. You're saying that's not the case?

- Leo
18-Feb-2009

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from bill on 2009-02-17

2009-02-18T00:01:08Z

I could not get rid of auto run I copied to my desktop. I then ran it and got the 2 warnings but the next time I turned on the computer the auto run still ran. Your instructions may be good for computer savy people but not me. Go ahead and laugh and put down people like me but explain things better. Yes, I gave to you tip jar 3 times when you just started.

Certainly not putting anyone down - I try very hard make my answers accessible to all. So the two warnings you got: were they from Registry Editor? And when you say "auto run still ran", what exactly still ran? How did you test it?

- Leo
18-Feb-2009

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Comment from Bucky on 2009-02-17

2009-02-17T20:49:57Z

I had previously disabled autorun with TweakUI, but found that File Explorer would not refresh when I changed CDs! Would using the .reg fix result in the same problem?

I suspect it'll have the same issue, and further I suspect that this issue is unrelated to autorun being on or off. Remember you can always press F5 in Windows Explorer to refresh the view.

- Leo
18-Feb-2009

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Comment from Richard Costa on 2009-02-17

2009-02-17T18:56:51Z

Leo,

Can you please comment on the following Update statement from the CERT blog on the subject of completely disabling AutoRun:

"Microsoft Windows may cache AutoRun information from connected devices. The impact of this feature is that even after disabling AutoRun as described above, you may still experience AutoRun behaviors for devices (USB drives, network shares, etc.) that have been connected to the computer in the past. For this reason, we also recommend removing this cache by deleting the MountPoints2 registry key for each user:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2

I have tried to delete this key per their instructions but it will not stay deleted. It always returns with reboot."

Thanks in advance

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Comment from Howard Rubin on 2009-02-17

2009-02-17T18:45:03Z

This information has been used by security conscious individuals for quite some time. Thanks for making this article in such a way that the "general public" can understand and use! I work on computers for a living and use this registry edit on every one of my customers machines for over three years. If they call me later and ask why their computer is acting a bit different, I explain and my work is more appreciated. Just an extra service at no extra charge!

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Comment from B. Presti on 2009-02-17

2009-02-17T16:38:45Z

Does this mean the 'Hold the left ShiftKey down while inserting a CD' or the instructions contained here:
http://www.base40.com/cdtTipAutoRun.htm
are not full assurances that autorun has been disabled?

That's actually why I listed some of the other things that Autorun actually does. The shift key trick prevents automatic playing, but may not disable the ability to modify the menu of choices, the description, or the double click action.

- Leo
18-Feb-2009

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Alexis Carabott on 2009-02-17

2009-02-17T16:26:03Z

Downloading the reg file was very easy and hopefully, no autorun for me.
Thanx Leo !
Regards

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Daniel Klein on 2009-02-17

2009-02-17T16:22:52Z

Shouldn't anti-virus software detect a problem?

Maybe. And do you really want to count on a maybe? The fact is that machines are getting infected every day because of autorun, with or without anti-virus installed.

- Leo
18-Feb-2009

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Comment from Al Simons on 2009-02-14

2009-02-14T19:49:18Z

Leo, can you comment on how this differs from the result if you use the TweakUI PowerToy to disable? Does the PowerToy leave holes?

The Power Toy leaves holes. That's actually why I listed some of the other things that Autorun actually does. TweakUI prevents automatic playing, but may not disable the ability to modify the menu of choices, the description, or the double click action.

- Leo
14-Feb-2009

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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Comment from Dell on 2009-02-13

2009-02-14T00:22:22Z

My friend, I'm thinking you're going to need a much more detailed, step-by-step set of instructions to make this reg edit work smoothly. FAR too many folks are just not as computer literate as we might think and there are at least two or three vague areas on your instructions that will have SOME screwing up their registry beyond belief. Just sayin'.....

I'm hopeful that "download and run this .reg file" will be simple enough.

- Leo
14-Feb-2009

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A comment on: Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

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