On Friday, Microsoft pushed updates for Windows operating systems that disables the AutoRun feature for non-optical devices.  This update affected Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, and 2008. Microsoft already disables the feature in the, soon to be available, Windows 7 OS. The update was available voluntarily back in August.

AutoRun (and AutoPlay) was originally developed out of convenience to eliminate the need for users to browse the media for the correct file to open.  However, recently it has been exploited to automatically run malware and other obtrusive software applications without the users consent.

Interestingly, the update doesn’t cripple removable optical media (i.e. CDs and DVDs) from running AutoRun procedures.  So companies, such as U3, who manufacture their devices to represent themselves as CDs are largely unaffected by the update.