The significant increase in infection is curious because Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs will not launch autorun. In 2008, infected digital picture frames exploited the feature and while it was possible to disable AutoRun, doing so was not an easy task.Īt last year's AusCERT security conference IBM accidentally issued delegates a thumb drive which exploited AutoRun. Antivirus vendors are warning customers of a spreading malware that can infect computers through a well-known bug in the Windows AutoRun software used to automatically launch programs on a DVD or USB device. One of its reasons for issuing the 'non-security update' was that it found that Windows XP users were 10 times more likely to get infected when faced with such an attack.įirst introduced in Windows 95, the feature has caused security professionals frustration. The feature remained in Windows 7 but Microsoft claimed to have largely addressed AutoRun abuse.

So Microsoft wasn't calling its Windows Update a 'security update' but rather an 'Important, non-security update' which effectively disabled AutoRun. Click the Apply button to complete the configuration. On the next step, click the Enabled option.

In other words, in a very real sense, it's not a bug, it's a feature,' said Adam Shostack, a Microsoft security program manager. Locate the Turn off Autoplay option, then right click it and choose the Edit option. 'AutoRun isn't an accident - it's by design, and as I mentioned we care about the very real positive uses of the feature. The problem for Microsoft was that while the obvious solution was to disable AutoRun, it was considered a legitimate feature, which happened to be exploited by the Conficker worm, Rimecud and Taterf.

Usb autorun windows 7