Disable Autorun Script

Many security experts recommend turning off the Autorun feature to stop a common malware tactic of infecting a removable drive, such as a USB drive, so that it will automatically attempt to spread malware when the infected USB drive is connected to a new PC.

This script automates the steps suggested by Nick Brown, and further recommended by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), to disable Autorun on a Windows XP computer. To use it, unzip the download and double-click the DisableAutorun.reg script.

Note that with Autorun disabled, you'll no longer get an automatic installation prompt when you insert a program's installation CD or perform similar Autorun-dependent tasks. Instead, you'll need to double-click the installation or other program on the CD or removable drive yourself. Also, there have been reports of potential problems with U3 thumb drives when Autorun is disabled. Should you wish to restore Autorun, use our Restore Autorun script.

This script will change the Windows registry. To use it, download the file and double-click it. If you want to reverse the change, download and run the re-enable script.

If you use Windows Vista and want to disable Autorun, see Microsoft's somewhat techie-oriented Vista instructions.

--Erik Larkin