Staff secretly dropped computer discs and USB thumb drives in the parking lots of government buildings and private contractors. Of those who picked them up, 60 percent plugged the devices into office computers, curious to see what they contained. If the drive or CD case had an official logo, 90 percent were installed.
“There’s no device known to mankind that will prevent people from being idiots,”
people being idiots " Auto Run " ?
(8 posts) (3 voices)-
Anonymous
UnregisteredPosted 12 years ago # -
If you've got autorun disabled - it's not quite so idiotic!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Anonymous
Unregisteredhttp://windowssecrets.com/top-story/autorun-patch-a-long-time-coming-for-xp-users/
AutoRun patch a long time coming for XP users
Posted on March 5, 2009 not fixhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715/
Article ID: 967715 - Last Review: June 10, 2011 - Revision: 6.3
How to disable the Autorun functionality in Windows (A may be fix) ?and good luck with stoping Autorun with all updates.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I've had autorun disabled for a couple of years. It blocks autorun from both CDs/DVDs and flashdrives. It's a bit of a surprise when I put in a new software CD and don't see the install start. Then I remember and go looking for the startup info. I can read the autorun and tell what it was supposed to do so I can complete the install manually.
Actually, it does not COMPLETELY block it. The "icon" command still works. The icon you see beside the drive name sill changes from the default if the command is used. Microsoft is aware of this situation. They seemed surprised when I brought it to their attention and had them test it. However, it will not execute any program. It will ONLY change the icon, even if the icon is found from within an executable.
I'm running Vista32 Ultimate SP2 and I've kept up with all my updates. I see from the links that Vista SP1 will lose support today (7/12/11) and XP SP2 will lose support tomorrow (7/13/11).
From what I hear, XP users are not gonna be happy about that. I seem to recall a lot of complaints about XP SP3 and a lot of users not going to it. XP is over 10 years old now - time to give up the dinosaur!
Posted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
Moderator"... Staff secretly dropped computer discs and USB thumb drives in the parking lots of government buildings and private contractors. Of those who picked them up, 60 percent plugged the devices into office computers, curious to see what they contained."
FWIW, It was originally reported that *dropped* USB sticks was how they got the Stuxnet worm into the systems running centrifuges for the Iranian nuclear program. Also AFAIK disabling autorun does not render a USB device safe with 100% certainty. Besides whatever's stored normally, the embedded code that makes them work can be hacked -- research on-line.
"The icon you see beside the drive name sill changes... it will not execute any program. It will ONLY change the icon, even if the icon is found from within an executable..."
Reading that icon in the .exe the file has to be opened -- there was a hotfix not long ago that patched a vulnerability that was being exploited just that way. Don't know that any hotfix is 100% certain to fix anything. Mom's always say that you shouldn't put anything in your mouth that you don't know where it's been -- same with your USB ports. :-)
Posted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
Moderator"...XP is over 10 years old now - time to give up the dinosaur!"
Not disagreeing or arguing, I wanted to point out that there are still very many, very valid reasons to run XP today. To many folks those are fighting words -- to others it just makes them feel bad. The mods can more than handle the 1st, but there's nothing they can do about the people who read that & just go away.
With apologies for going OT, & briefly because I've no idea whether this will survive or not... Though illegal copies are available & the trial can run forever [Google], not everyone knows that or feels comfortable using Windows that way, & Windows 7 costs money, money that not everyone has. I can't work so I'm poor, & while I'm still much more fortunate than many, any time anyone says or even implies that you have to go out & spend money you don't have, it does feel bad. I know any money I spend on my PC is money that I can't spend somewhere else, like on shoes or clothes or food. Perhaps worse in this case, XP is the last version of Windows that works on old hardware, & that's what lots of people without a lot of money use -- having to use old hardware is why we still see comments on the GOTD page re: win98.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I know what you mean about costing money. I have an older machine that won't even run XP (it's too small). I was ticked that I got the machine just 2 weeks before XP came out and I wasn't even offered it at a discount! I thought that stunk! It wasn't until later that I realized that I didn't have enough memory to support XP and every time I've tried to increase the memory, the new memory has failed. I think there's a problem with the motherboard but it's too old to address now.
Computers are coming down in price. My first computer in 1987 had a HUGE 40 MB drive and cost me almost $10,000! Now you can even get a laptop with 500 GB for under $1,0000 (laptops have always been more expensive than desktops).
My husband and I have been un/under-employed for over 10 years and we have managed to upgrade to a new computer 4 years ago (Vista) so I'm sure there are ways for others with limited incomes to do similar.
I also am aware that many people just refuse to even consider anything other than XP. I have met with a great deal of derision over the years because I have no problem with, and even LIKE Vista! I'm just letting that frustration back out towards those who have belittled me by calling XP a dinosaur. Any software still in use after 10 years without a complete overhaul (SP doesn't qualify) is a dinosaur! Aside - I've got over 30 years experience in software engineering so I'm not just talking off the top of my head!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Anonymous
Unregisteredhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715/
see Prerequisites to disable Autorun capabilities
How to use Group Policy settings to disable all Autorun features in Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista & XP if Pro if not >>
How to selectively disable specific Autorun features
To selectively disable specific Autorun features, you must change the NoDriveTypeAutoRun entry in one of the following registry key subkeys:
" Pease read " update is not a fix need allso to go Group Policy settings or registry key so say microsoft.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953252 Vista "disable Autorun registry key"
Support for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) ends on July 12, 2011. To continue receiving security updates for Windows, make sure you're running Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2).
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-020A.html
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc144204%28v=VS.85%29.aspx
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/AutoRun
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/04/27/improvements-to-autoplay.aspx
You will first see this updated AutoRun experience in the Windows 7 RC build
AutoPlay & Autrun infohttp://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2009/04/28/autorun-changes-in-windows-7.aspx
AutoPlay will no longer support the AutoRun functionality for non-optical removable media. In other words, AutoPlay will still work for CD/DVDs but it will no longer work for USB drives.
It is worth noting that some smart USB flash drives can pose as a CD/DVD drive instead of standard ones (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U3 for an example). In this specific scenario, the operating system will treat the USB drive as if it is a CD/DVD because the type of the device is determined at the hardware level.For further information please visit the Windows 7 blog.
by the way my Windows 7 some one put in a USB and the Antivirus stop 3 Autrun spy & td
so good luck with Windows 7 and Autorunhttp://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help/end-support
There's no SP3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. If you're running the 64-bit version of Windows XP with SP2, you have the latest service pack and will continue to be eligible for support and receive updates until April 8, 2014.not a dinosaur! keep it.Posted 12 years ago #
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