Microsoft is finally getting rid of Autorun

    On Tuesday, Microsoft began distributing a critical update for Windows Server 2008 and earlier versions of Windows, which changes the OS’s response to connecting a flash drive or other portable media. Until yesterday, the default behavior was to run the autorun.inf file without notifying the user. Such default settings have led to the spread of a number of viruses, including Conficker.

    Microsoft representatives say that they could have released the patch earlier, but met resistance from some of their partners, for whom this feature was very important.

    Until now, users of earlier versions of Windows had to look for a patch., independently download and install, but now it is included in the official Windows Update mechanism. For Windows 7, similar changes were made in April 2009 with the release of Release Candidate 1.

    It should be added that at a recent hacker conference Shmoocon showed how to attack a computer through Autorun for Linux ( presentation ).

    Under Windows, autorun is still saved by default for CD and DVD. Generally speaking, it’s strange who ever thought to introduce such a default function for flash drives. Perhaps it was lobbied for by the same large Microsoft partners.

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