What is Autorun.inf?

Autorun.inf file was first introduced in Windows95 for autoplay of CD/DVD-ROM programs. When CD is inserted into the drive the shell first checks for root directory autorun.inf file in CD/DVD discs and follows the instructions according to that file. The autorun.inf file works on all removable media like USB drives, Flash drives.

Autorun.inf programs are generally written in notepad which has instructions what to do and it has an icon which is displayed after insertion in Mycomputer.The autorun file executes itself while insertion,one way to avoid auto execution of autorun file is press down the shift key while CD is being inserted .

The simple program of autorun.inf is as follow:

[autorun]
open=Setup.exe
icon=Setup.exe,1

[autorun] is the the start of the program
Open is keyword what action to be taken on insertion
Setup.exe is the value defining the application that will be automatically started.
Icon is the keyword to determine the icon used for the disk.

Microsoft has removed the autorun.inf feature from Windows 7. This means that when you insert the USBdrive, the programs will not automatically start up.Thats means Windows7 has more security features than any other windows(vista/XP/2000/98) products.

Drawbacks of Autorun.inf:
If the autorun.inf contains virus it gets automatically executed and infects the computer.

How to Enable or Disable Autorun.inf In Windows?

Windows XP:

To disable autorun.inf in WindowsXP a small registry hack is used

Click Start-->Type 'regedit in Run Command, that takes to registry editor window. Now Select Edit|Find and type in NoDriveTypeAutoRun. This value should be found in this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.

The NoDriveTypeAutoRun value should be hexadecimal 95 if AutoRun is enabled on all CDs, or B5 if disabled for CDs.

Windows Vista/7:
Go to Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\AutoPlay.
To Enable:
At the top, check Use Autoplay for all devices and Click Save.
To Disable:
Uncheck Use Autoplay for all devices and Click Save.

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