I know how hard it is to keep a PC safe from viruses and trojans as nearly every USB stick carries some undetectable and auto-multiplying virus. Especially in university, where I have to constantly exchange USB sticks, it becomes hard to keep my USB stick safe and clean.
Mostly the viruses that multiply through USB sticks use the autorun function of USB as it does not require any user confirmation and runs secretly in the background, unlike a CD or DVD.
The best way to keep USB viruses from injecting themselves to your PC or laptop is to Disable the USB Autorun feature and I will teach you how to do it.
- Click the Start button, then Run and enter “gpedit.msc” without the quotes
- Go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System
- Scroll down to “Turn off Autoplay” and double click on it
- Click on the “Enabled” radio button, then for “Turn off Autoplay on” select “All drives”

This will now prevent any virus from auto executing itself through a USB drive. Additionaly, it is recommeneded to keep a good free anti virus solution too for additional security e.g. http://www.free-av.com




Nice permanent way!
or just keep holding Shift when u insert a USB disk? it cancels the autorun
I found this post to be useful, so I linked it in my blog
http://blog.nftecnostar.com/nf-tecnostars-starred-links-2/
Hey Good found thankx
Thank you very much. I alwasy fear to put my USB stick on university computers but now I can do it safely without fear.
In hostels, it is very important the disable Autorun as the main culprit of virus infection is the autorun.inf file.
Hey DJ
gpedit.msc is not available in WinXP home edition. So I wrote about how to disable it from registry.
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Thanks for that AshFame. Probably someone on WinXP Home Edition can make use of it.
Just what many of us needs to do. Cool tip indeed.
How do I do it if step no.1 does not work, I click the start button, clicked on run and typed gpedit.msc and the computer said that there was no file, is there an alternate way to turn it off?
@John
I assume you are Windows XP Home. Please use this guide to get the hack working.
http://blog.ashfame.com/2008/03/disable-usb-autorun-save-pc-usb-viruses/
Thanx yaar. I really needed it as I use it in university pcs and in cafes too.