Restrict AutoRun Feature in Windows XP and Vista to CD and DVD Drives Similar to Windows 7

Autorun is the most widely used way by malicious items to spread in a Windows system. Many virus create autorun.inf file in removable media to spread in your system.

Windows 7 comes with a new enhancement in “AutoRun” feature which disables autorun functionality for removable media by default and restricts the autorun entry to only CD and DVD drives. It helps in keeping your system safe from malware, etc.

Long time back, Microsoft released an update “KB971029” for Windows XP, Server 2003 and Windows Vista users which provided the same feature to these older Windows versions. By default in Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003 operating systems, AutoRun feature is launched for all storage devices that have a valid AutoRun.inf file in the root directory such as CDs, DVDs, USB drives, external hard disks, etc. Once you installed that update, it automatically disabled AutoRun entries in AutoPlay and displayed AutoRun dialog box for CD and DVD drives only. This prevented AutoPlay from working with USB media as well.

Now the good news is that Microsoft has released the same update via Windows Updates so that more people can know about this update and install it in their systems. You can install the update via Windows Updates. Its an optional update btw.

After installing this update, you’ll need to manually install software from USB drives because you’ll no longer see autorun setup screens from programs stored on your USB drives.

If you don’t want to install the update via Windows Updates program, you can manually download it using following download links:

Download Update for XP

Download Update for Server 2003

Download Update for Server 2003 (64-bit)

Download Update for Vista

Download Update for Vista (64-bit)

Also Check:

AutoRun Disabler: Free Portable Utility to Disable Autorun Functionality in Windows

Autorun Manager: Portable Utility to Configure Autorun Functionality in Windows