Enabling Turn Off Autoplay

Windows provides Autoplay feature to examine a removable media that newly discovered by the system. It is closely like AutoRun feature. Removable media can be a flashdisk, a CD, a DVD, a memory card or an external hard disk etc.

But this feature has a disadvantage. If the removable media connected to the computer is infected by some viruses, the virus will be automatically loaded to memory, or even your system will be automatically infected. Virus is usually an executable hidden file. And in a certain way will be automatically executed when a media or a directory / folder  is being connected to the system. Usually by using an autorun.inf file.

To avoid this, we have to enable Turn Off Autoplay feature. From Start Up menu, choose Run. Type gpedit.msc then click OK.

The Group Policy window will appear :

There are two configuration : Computer Configuration and User Configuration. Form Computer Configuration, choose Administrative Templates - System, then choose Turn off Autoplay as the picture shown below :

Then Turn off Autoplay Properties window will appear. Choose Enabled and All drives. Then click Apply – OK :

You also have to do these steps for User Configuration. Choose Administrative Templates - System, then choose Turn off Autoplay  as the picture shown below :

Choose Enabled and All drives. Then click Apply – OK.

Once the Turn Off Autoplay feature has been enabled, just remember do not ever double click a folder or a media that is infected by viruses. It is more save to use Windows Explorer, by clicking the mouse right button on Start Menu, then choose Explorer. In this way, the hidden viruses will not be executed. It will decrease the risk of viral infection to your system. Then all you have to do is deleting suspicious hidden files. But before you can do this, you have to make all the hidden files shown.