It is not possible to autorun applications from an USB stick in windows unless you already have a program started that watches the usb ports. APO usb autorun suite makes it pretty easy to use autorun informations on usb drives. The tool checks whether a connected usb drive contains autorun information, if it does those are executed.
The suite contains three programs, first usb autorun which checks the connected usb devices, second the autorun.inf builder which makes it easy to create autostarts and last but not least the autoruns starter which is able to display information when files are autostarted from the usb device.
The big question is if this is useful to at least some users and I think it is. It is not only possible to start executables using this method but also playlists, documents, html pages and everything else you can think of.
I’ve written an article some weeks ago about using true crypt to encrypt part of your mobile device so that no one would get access to those files without the program true crypt and the key that you specified when creating the container.
A good application would be to autostart true crypt from the usb drive to be able to decrypt the container with the important files.
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Actually, with SP2 on Windows, you can autorun USB devices without installing another application on your computer. I have a complete tutorial on doing just that. You can find it at http://www.dailycupoftech.com/usb-drive-autoruninf-tweaking/.
I love the TrueCrypt idea. I have actually been doing this for a couple of years and talk about it in http://www.dailycupoftech.com/zen-and-the-art-of-the-usb-drive/.
I really like the blog. Keep up the good work and good information.
You’re not truely autorunning w/ your solution – some user interaction is still required. Note that the “always perform this action” is not an option when you create an Autorun.inf file on a USB drive.
However, there are many programs out there, one actually written by me (BusRunner, if you want a copy give me a shout brandonATbc3techDOTnet) that will sit in your system tray and launch programs you specify based on configurations stored on your USB drive. Very effective.
A simple registry change in XP will enable autorun for removable devices. Keep in mind not all usb flash drives are the same flavor of device.