Some users might want to skip loading these autostart programs from time to time to save some time to be able to work on the computer. The following solution works only when running Windows XP operating systems. Microsoft seems to have disabled the option in Windows Vista (and most likely kept it that way in Windows 7).

To start Windows XP without any startup programs press the [Shift] key while the computer system is booting. The key has to be pressed as soon as the Windows desktop background appears. This will prevent startup programs from being loaded automatically. It might take a few tries to get it to work.

Related posts

• Open Files Patcher (2)
• Howto Remove the Restart your Computer now dialog box (8)
• How To Quickly Open Folders In Windows (18)
• Get rid of unwanted files, cache and cookies (0)
• Fix Windows Vista Resetting Folder View Settings (4)

Computer vaccination referring to disabling autorun completely from removable media like usb flash drives or optical drives like CDs or DVD drives. To enable the protection of the computer system from programs that are auto-executed if usb flash drives or CDs or DVDs are inserted into the computer drives.

A click on vaccinate computer will immediately disable autorun on the computer system. The USB drive vaccination option on the other hand will disable autorun from selected usb flash drives. The drives have to be connected to the computer system before the computer can be protected. Every connected usb flash drive will be listed in a pulldown menu. A click on vaccinate usb will prevent autorun from being executed from that usb flash drive.

It should be noted that it is not possible to undo the autorun protection of a selected usb flash drive in the computer system using the security software. Another limitation is that it will only work on usb flash drives that have been formatted with the FAT or FAT32 file system.

Panda Research USB Vaccine increases the security of a computer system in regards to usb flash drives and other media with autorun capabilities. The security software has been tested under Windows Vista, Windows XP and even Windows 2000. It will work on all

Related posts

• USB Flash Drives Cleaner (1)
• Test USB Flash Drive And Hard Drive Integrity And Size (2)
• Youtube Video Search Is A Barebone Youtube Downloader (2)
• Xkcd Comic Wallpaper Changer (2)
• Wireless Networking Software Homedale (13)

There is however another solution in the form of the USB security software USB Cop which has been uploaded to Sourceforge yesterday. USB Cop blocks all attempts to run an autorun.inf file on the computer system. It will instead display the contents of the file to the user giving a recommendation what the user should do with it.

Available options are to browse the contents of the disk or to close the dialog without performing an action. The interface itself will display all entries that are located in the autorun.inf file.

The option to execute the autorun.inf file normally is missing from the available options. What this application currently does is block all attempts of running an autorun.inf file on the computer system. The only difference between disabling that option in Windows and using the software is the ability to browse and see the contents of the autorun.inf file a bit faster and automatic with the software. In reality it would simply mean a few additional clicks for the same result without running a software in the background all the time.

The software itself uses about 4.5 Megabytes of computer memory while running.

Related posts

• Autorun Eater (8)
• Check which usb devices have been connected to your computer (1)
• Use PStart to access your portable devices (3)
• USB Port Protection (7)
• USB Flashdrive Benchmark (7)

Here is a short explanation if you have never heard of autorun.inf files before: It contains information about files and processes that are automatically executed when a disk is inserted or double-clicked. Autorun is often confused with autoplay but they are not the same. Autorun is directly related to the autorun.inf file on the disk while autoplay automatically reacts to new devices or media, for example a music CD is automatically played in Windows when inserted.

Autorun Eater takes care of autorun.inf files before it can be executed on the system. This is done my actively monitoring the system in real time. It will automatically remove suspicious autorun.inf files and store them in a secure space in case of a false positive.

I know that some of you do not like to run a lot of programs in the background which is also my preferred way. It is possible to disable the autorun.inf system wide which is the only protection that works flawlessly. The common Registry keys NoDriveAutoRun and NoDriveTypeAutoRun do not eliminate the dangers of autorun.inf files. When properly configured they prevent that the autorun.inf file on USB devices gets executed automatically but it will still be executed when a user double-clicks the drive.

The only real autorun.inf protection which disables it completely is the following Registry setting. Just copy the following lines into a text document and name it auto.reg.

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\Autorun.inf]
@="@SYS:DoesNotExist"

Double-click that file and restart your computer afterwards. Autorun should now be disabled for all drives on your system.

Related posts

• Increase USB Security With USB Cop (8)
• What is connecting to the Internet (4)
• USB Flash Drives: USB Vaccine (6)
• True Crypt 6 released (3)
• System Safety Monitor 2 (1)

Instead of browsing through your system menus and launching applications, or even instead of just clicking shortcuts on desktop or on a launcher application, you can create simple (or complex) scripts that will do the job for you while you sit back and watch. With these “session” scripts you can launch multiple applications at once, from one place by clicking one icon. Sometimes when launching manually, you maybe got used to adding delays between starting resource-intensive applications so that your CPU can handle it better. Session scripts can take care of it for you too, you can define as long delays as you want.There are at least 2 ways of creating such scripts:

1) you might want to use some of many task automating applications which can handle a lot of routine work (eg. AutoIt, free; xStarter, paid; EasyMacro, paid)

2) you can write a simple batch script for your system handler using commands like “start %program_xyz% -parameter1 – parameter2 | application_abc” and so on

I won’t describe using automating programs because they vary from each other and moreover they usually contain a comprehensible tutorial or help files. Using batch scripts is very easy (at least for our purpose), you can find a lot of tutorials and examples either for Windows, Mac or Unix systems. To completely hide (minimize) running batch script on Windows, I use a great freeware application called cmdow which lets you do stuff like that and a lot more.

Using these session files can help you to save a little effort, maybe few seconds of your life. But every single second counts, right ;)

Related posts

• USB Flash Drives: USB Vaccine (6)
• Start Windows Without Autostart Entries (6)
• Increase USB Security With USB Cop (8)
• Autoruns 8.4 (0)
• Autorun Eater (8)

This is a very useful tool that every windows user should run from time to time to check on his autostarts, I bet there will be more than you think there are. Removing some helps to speed up windows startup as well.

Simply run Autoruns and it shows you the currently configured auto-start applications as well as the full list of Registry and file system locations available for auto-start configuration. Autostart locations displayed by Autoruns include logon entries, Explorer add-ons, Internet Explorer add-ons including Browser Helper Objects (BHOs), Appinit DLLs, image hijacks, boot execute images, Winlogon notification DLLs, Windows Services and Winsock Layered Service Providers. Switch tabs to view autostarts from different categories.

Related posts

• Sysinternals Suite (0)
• Auto Window Manager (4)
• Zombie City Tactics (0)
• Xsite Freeware (1)
• Wise Registry Cleaner (4)