3 ways to Prevent USB Drives from Auto running Programs

USB drives can be a security threat to any system and it can be used to autorun harmful programs in your computer.Know how you can prevent USB drives from auto running programs.

Recently one of my Friends at College showed me a way to hack my  XP password without logging In By running a Batch File.I was totally amazed by the trick. He later explained me that the Batch file was stored in the USB and When i Plugged in the USB drive it runned the program automatically and i never Knew of it.

So I decided that I should turn off USB autorun and prevent the autorun of programs from USB drive.

Prevent the autorun of programs In USB drive

When Inserting a USB drive in your computer you can  prevent the autorun of programs  by holding down the Shift Key. Do not double click on the USB drive Icon in “My computer”. Instead right click and select Explore.  If you double click The USB icon and If the USB Drive contains any autorun.inf file then it will start executing itself. So you better be careful.

This is a manual process and you have to remember it every time you insert a USB drive in your computer. However the Next process requires One time Investment .

Related : Important Softwares For USB Drives

Turn off Autoplay on all Drives

This windows trick can be used to turn off autoplay in all your Hard drives (including USB Drives )

1. Go to Start – Run. Type gpedit.msc in the Run box. and hit Enter. This will Open the Group Policy editor.

2. Navigate to  Computer Configuration –Administrative Templates.Double click On administrative Templates and then Double click On System.

3. You will see “System Highlighted on the Left pane. Scroll Down and Select “Turn off Autoplay”.

4.Double Click it and select the Radio Button “ Enabled” . Next pull down the Dropdown and Select “All drives”. Click OK and You are done.

Now You need not Bother about  autorun.inf files in USB drives.

Use a USB – Disk Security Software

If you are no geek and want a Simple Solution try Using any of the following Utilities :

USB 1.3.This Utility detects the autorun.inf file In the USB drive and renames it thereby preventing its running by the system. You can turn Autorun On/Off from the system tray and Its Very friendly to use.

USB Disk Security : My favorite and I have seen many of my Friends Using it. What it does that whenever you enter a USB drive into a System it scans the Drive immediately and denies access If it finds an Autorun.inf file or any kind of executables that may harm your system. You can select the individual files and Move them to “Vault”. This prevents Autorun of programs from the USB drive all together.