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Microsoft Kills AutoRun In Windows

Posted by samzenpus on from the so-long-farewell-aufedersein-goodbys dept.

aesoteric writes "Microsoft has finally decided to push out an update to disable AutoRun in its XP operating system, a Windows feature that had been increasingly exploited by virus writers over the years. But because Microsoft still sees AutoRun as a feature and not a security hole, it isn't calling its Windows Update a "security update" but rather an "Important, non-security update" — but it effectively disables the AutoRun feature anyway."

3 of 340 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Should have never been there. by haruchai · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You've never worked a helpdesk, have you?

    --
    Pain is merely failure leaving the body
  2. AutoRun was always broken by scdeimos · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Given that PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) has been around longer than Internet Explorer, I could never understand why autorun.inf files weren't signed. Didn't Microsoft learn from all the problems induced by autorun-like behaviours on Amiga and Macintosh?

    Up until about MacOS 8 (I think) the Finder used to automatically execute .CODE resources in files on disk/HDD/CD whenever a new disc came online which is how most Mac viruses got propagated.

  3. Re:Should have never been there. by LordNimon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Betty Crocker has a FAQ on all the ways you can screw up cooking Hamburger Helper. Would you say the people who need the help have no business eating?

    No, I would say they have no business cooking.

    --
    And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
    To mold a new reality... closer to the heart