Autorun vs Autoplay


pokeefe0001

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I just switched security software - form Kaspersky Internet Security to BitDefender Total Security - and see in its "vulnerability scan" results that I have Autorun enabled. Does Autorun still exist? I thought Autoplay was the only Autorun-ish sort of thing left, and I have Autoplay disabled. If Autorun still exists I definitely want to disable it, but I can't find any recent reference to it. (If Autorun doesn't exist I'll start worrying about BitDefender.)
 

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Win 11 2H21 build 22000.675

I just switched security software - form Kaspersky Internet Security to BitDefender Total Security - and see in its "vulnerability scan" results that I have Autorun enabled. Does Autorun still exist? I thought Autoplay was the only Autorun-ish sort of thing left, and I have Autoplay disabled. If Autorun still exists I definitely want to disable it, but I can't find any recent reference to it. (If Autorun doesn't exist I'll start worrying about BitDefender.)


I've been running Bitedefender Internet Security since 2013.
I highly recommend just disabling Vulnerability scan altogether. I've found it breaks a lot of otherwise harmless programs. Especially older programs. And is constantly going online looking for updates for programs, even when they should be left alone.
 
Last edited:

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Autorun is from the old Windows 95 days when we would launch a program or a game directly from a floppy or cd.
Autoplay is where audio or video automatically plays when a cd/dvd is inserted.

To disable autorun open control panel>autoplay>scroll to the bottom>software and games>select 'take no action' or 'ask me every time'
 

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    Defender+MWB Premium
Judging by the title of the thread - Autoplay presumably means just play media whenever a media device is recognised whereas autorun means run an .exe or.msi file (those are the most common) which means run the application - often an install or update.- when a device is inserted into the computer with the .exe file etc on it.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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I thought Autoplay was the only Autorun-ish sort of thing left, and I have Autoplay disabled.

You are sort-of-correct. With the advent of Windows 7, AutoRun was limited to working only with optical disks [CDs & DVDs].

Windows 7 Help said this:-
Windows 7 Help said:
What's the difference between AutoPlay and autorun?
AutoPlay
AutoPlay is a Windows feature that lets you choose which program to use to start different kinds of media, such as music CDs, or CDs and DVDs containing photos. For example, if you have more than one media player installed on your computer, AutoPlay will ask which media player you want to use when you try to play a music CD for the first time. You can change AutoPlay settings for each media type.
Autorun
Autorun is a technology used to automatically start programs or enhanced content (such as video content on a music CD) when you insert a CD or another media type into your computer. This is different from AutoPlay, but the result is often the same: when inserted, the CD starts automatically by using a particular program. Autorun is incorporated into the media types that use it, and you can't modify it.
When you try to play a CD or another media type that uses autorun, AutoPlay asks you to choose an action to perform (for example, to play the autorun content or to skip it).

The whole thing was gone into in great detail in an article by Steven Sinofsky in the series of MS blogs - Engineering Windows 7 but they are no longer available online. I've attached an extract of the relevant pages.
In case anybody wants to search web archives, this was the last working version of the link that I kept - Engineering Windows 7 - Improvements to AutoPlay - MSDN blog
The most accurate references to & discussion of this section of the Engineering Windows 7 blog are by SamLogic​
Searching for further corroboration online is difficult because many articles that purport to be about AutoRun are actually about AutoPlay. Even the MSDocs website only contains articles about AutoRun in WinXP, Vista & Server 2008.


Summary: You do not have to do anything or worry about anything.


All the best,
Denis
 

Attachments

  • Engineering Windows 7 - Improvements to AutoPlay - MSDN blog.pdf
    2 MB · Views: 2
Last edited:

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To disable autorun open control panel>autoplay>scroll to the bottom>software and games>select 'take no action' or 'ask me every time'
Ah! I had turned Autoplay off in Settings but hadn't looked in the Control Panel. I've now set everything to "Take no action" in the Control Panel.

I've been running Bitedefender Internet Security since 2013.
I highly recommend just disabling Vulnerability scan altogether. I've found it breaks a lot of otherwise harmless programs. Especially older programs. And is constantly going online looking for updates for programs, even when they should be left alone.
I'm glad to hear there's a way to do that. There must be a lot of settings that I haven't found. The Settings tab certainly doesn't hold much.
 

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    PC/Desktop
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    Intel Core i5-8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME H370-PLUS
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2043BWX
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 256GB
    WDC 1TB NVMe
    WD 3TB external USB drive
    PSU
    I don't remember
    Case
    Corsair something-or-other
    Cooling
    Air CPU + 2 case fans
    Keyboard
    DAS S Pro (Cherry Brown)
    Mouse
    Logitech USB of some sort
Ah! I had turned Autoplay off in Settings but hadn't looked in the Control Panel. I've now set everything to "Take no action" in the Control Panel.


I'm glad to hear there's a way to do that. There must be a lot of settings that I haven't found. The Settings tab certainly doesn't hold much.


On my version... there's 7 modules under Protection, and another 6 under Privacy.
I only run the AV, Firewall and Threat Defense.
I turn all the other stuff off.
Each module has it's own settings, also.
They have 24/7 tech support (free). You can call them and they will walk you through it, if you want.

1-954-414-9655 <---- U.S.


Image1.png
 

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    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
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    PC/Desktop
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    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
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    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
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    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
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    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
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    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
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    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?

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