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Ask the Doctor

Ask the Doctor: No Way, AutoPlay!

Posted 04/28/09 at 12:45:00 PM  by The Maximum PC Staff

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Ask the Doctor LogoWith viruses spreading on USB drives like they used to with floppies, is there a way to prevent Windows from automatically running the executable when you plug in the USB drive? I would rather be safe than have Windows automatically launch programs on USB drives, DVDs, etc.

—Kevin Campbell

It’s not clear from your question whether you’re running XP or Vista, so to cover our bases, we’ll discuss both. In XP, you can use the Microsoft PowerToy called TweakUI (http://tinyurl.com/2meyw); in TweakUI’s drop-down menu you can find AutoPlay. Select Drives and uncheck your optical drive and any USB drive letters.

In Vista, go to the Control Panel (the Control Panel Home screen, not Classic View); under Hardware and Sound, click Play CDs or Other Media Automatically. Then uncheck the box at the top marked Use AutoPlay for All Media and Devices. If you don’t want to disable AutoPlay completely, you can chose options for specific media types from that menu, too.

 

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.
COMMENTS:8
TAGS: ask the doctor, no autoplay
COMMENTS
avatarThere cert.org registry zap is best

Submitted by mikeh3 on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 8:05am

A comment earlier referenced a registry zap at cert.org. That is a FAR better approach than anything from Microsoft. For one thing, it does not involve installing softare. It also works the same on XP and Vista. Plus, its a much more complete solution. I wrote about this registry zap, which was first documented by Nick Brown here 

http://blogs.computerworld.com/the_best_way_to_disable_autorun_to_be_protected_from_infected_usb_flash_drives

No matter which solution you opt for, you can test how well it works with a sample autorun.inf file that I created. Read more here 

http://blogs.computerworld.com/test_your_defenses_against_malicious_usb_flash_drives

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avatari read that if you make a

Submitted by xunknownx on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 12:10pm

i read that if you make a AUTORUN.INF folder in your usb drive, the virus wont be able to create an actual autorun.inf file on your thumb drive.  not sure if it works tho.

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avatarI think Panda USB Vaccine

Submitted by MAXPCreader07 on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 2:42pm

I think Panda USB Vaccine does just that, but also changes the permissions on it too:

http://download.cnet.com/Panda-USB-Vaccine/3000-2239_4-10909938.html

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avatarOr, Just Burn the filename out of the Registry

Submitted by HokieTechie on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 11:31am

Another option is an unofficial registry hack that is discussed at  http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/889747 . 

The hack in question (remove the string AUTORUN.INF from the registry) is somewhat extreme, but it does leave one with a stronger assurance that Microsoft didn't accidentally leave another back door to their "NoDriveTypeAutoRun" registry key or the various tweaks that change it.

 

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avatarIn TweakUI for XP I only see

Submitted by shellpc on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 9:57am

In TweakUI for XP I only see my optical drive, hard drives and a few card readers. I don't see any drive letters for USB ports. How do you disable autoplay for usb ports in XP?

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avatarMy guess would be that you

Submitted by Muerte on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 10:35am

My guess would be that you have to anticipate which drive letter a USB drive would be when you connect it.  With removable storage, the drive letter is assigned when you actually plug the device in and it is recognized as a storage device. I'm not sure if the drive letter is retained after you unplug the device.

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avatarIf that's the case, one

Submitted by shellpc on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 12:08pm

If that's the case, one might as well click off every drive letter in the list that's not currently in use.

 I'm wondering though if you just go to the My Computer>Autoplay>Types menu and just unchecked "Enable autoplay for removeable drives" would disable autoplay for usb drives as well?

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avatarThat woould be my guess. 

Submitted by Muerte on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 11:30am

That woould be my guess.  Not too hard to test.

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