Autorun Slowed Down -- Redmondmag.com

Barney's Blog

Autorun Slowed Down

The notion of Autorun is a bit scary. Sure, it's convenient to have a CD or DVD start right up without having to go to the Start Menu and futz around. But what would happen if Autorun initiates bad code? It would be like that feeling one gets clicking on a malicious link -- a feeling of no control.

Fortunately Microsoft hasn't seen these attacks yet...but hackers would love Autorun because they don't have to trick anyone in clicking anything. They just have to somehow get their nasty software on a USB, DVD, CD or extended drive.

Microsoft has heard the fears, and just shipped an update that partially turns off Autorun. XP and Vista users will now be notified before Autorunning, but only for USB or extended drives. CDs and DVDs will still Autorun because presumably they were published by trustworthy vendors. Windows 7 came shipped with this fix.

Posted by Doug Barney on 02/16/2011 at 1:18 PM

Featured

Multi-Tenant Organization Hooks Released for Microsoft 365

Microsoft Entra ID's new multi-tenant organization capabilities have reached general availability (GA).
Real-World Ransomware Recovery

Here's how I was (mostly) successful in recovering a family PC infected with malware.
Microsoft Launches Small AI Models Family Phi-3

Recognizing that bigger isn't always better, Microsoft has released its smallest open AI models to date, Phi-3.
Microsoft and OpenAI Continue Global AI Expansions

Microsoft and OpenAI each continued their global expansion this month, with the announcements of new infrastructure investments and service rollouts in new regions, like Asia and the Middle East.
Cisco Warns of Brute Force Attacks Targeting VPNs and Firewalls

Cisco has revealed that a global increase in brute force attacks targeting Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other devices is currently taking place.