Now a days apart from internet, the main source for virus to spread into our computers is with the help of pen drives. The usage of pen drives has been rapidly increased as the transfer of data is so simple and fast. But, in the same way the chances of virus entering in to the computer has also been increased. The well known virus which effects the pen drives is the 'autorun' virus. The name itself says that it enters into the pendrive or into the computer automatically when it starts running.



If the above window is opened when you connect the pen drive, then the pen drive is affected with autorun virus. The very small icon and the word 'program' beside it clearly shows that there exists autorun virus in the pen drive.

Where does this virus comes from?:

This virus may enter into a computer through a pen drive or from internet. When a virus-free pen drive is connected to the virus-effected computer, the 'autorun' virus which is present in the computer automatically enters into the pen drive. This virus not only effects the pen drives, but also all other external peripherals like hard disks,memory cards etc.

Solution:

There are 3 ways to avoid or remove the 'autorun' virus.

1. By running the antivirus program
2. By disabling the 'autorun' feature in tour computer
3. Removing the 'autorun' virus manually

1. By running the antivirus program:

If you have the latest update of a good antivirus program, better scan the pen drive before opening it. This commonly followed procedure by most of the people. But if the antivirus is not containing the updated version, sometimes it may not detect the virus.

2. By disabling the 'autorun' feature:

You can disable the 'autorun', which makes the computer not to open the newly connected devices automatically. To disable the 'autorun' feature, click start>run> type 'gpedit.msc' inthe run textbox. In the left panel of Group policy, click on 'computer configuration' then double click on 'Administrative Templates' in the right panel then double click on the 'System'. Search for 'Turn off Autoplay' option and open it. Click on the 'Disabled' radio button and click ok. Now the 'autorun' feature will be disabled in your computer. But disabling autorun will not remove the virus from the pen drive. We are just avoiding the virus. Opening the pen drive directly will make the virus to spread in to the system.

3. Removing the 'autorun' virus manually:

This is the best and preferrable way to remove the autorun virus. Open command prompt (start>run>cmd). Type the drive letter of the pen drive and press enter (e.g. h:). This opens you the pen drive. Type "del *.bat", which deletes the batch files in the pen drive. Most viruses are written using batch programming and are saved as batch files. Type "attrib -h -s -r autorun.inf". This makes the autorun.inf file visible and writable. Type "edit autorun.inf". This takes you to the editor where you can modify the 'autorun.inf' file. Delete everything which is written over there and save it. Thats it.. The 'autorun' virus is removed.

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Tags & Keywords : virus,computers,pen drives,security,autorun,flash memory,data,plug and play,system