How to Disable Autorun Feature in Windows PC

Your network might seem well protected with all the security measures you have taken from direct attacks. But a whopping 25 percent of malware today is developed to spread through USB devices. Infection through USB drives spreads undetectable into the network and makes it harder to deal with later.

The autorun feature in Windows will simply make the operating system execute anything it is told to execute by an autorun.inf file on the removable media. Disabling autorun is one of the best methods to secure your PCs from notorious USB drives.

Here is how to disable autorun in Windows OS:

• Click Start → Run → type Gpedit.msc Enter
• In the window that opens, go to Computer Configuration and expand Administrative Templates
• Click System and go to Settings pane
• Right click on Turn off Autoplay and select Properties → Enabled
• Select the required drives in the Turn off Autoplay box to disable Autorun on respective drives or select All drives to disable on all drives
• Click OK
• Restart the computer

The process to disable autorun in Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista versions is as follows:

• Click Start → type Gpedit.msc in Search programs and files box and hit Enter
• In the window that opens, go to Computer Configuration → expand Administrative Templates → expand Windows Components and click on Autoplay Policies
• In the Details pane, double-click Turn off Autoplay
• Select Enabled
• Select the required drives in the Turn off Autoplay box to disable Autorun on respective drives or select All drives to disable on all drives
• Click OK
• Restart the computer

The process to disable autorun in Windows 7

• Click Start → type Gpedit.msc in Search programs and files box and hit Enter
• In the window that opens, go to Computer Configuration → expand Administrative Templates → expand Windows Components
• Right click on Turn off Autoplay and select Edit
• Select Enabled
• Select the required drives in the Turn off Autoplay box to disable Autorun on respective drives or select All drives to disable on all drives
• Click Apply → OK
• Restart the computer