disabling autorun on Windows XP

Autorun is an annoying "feature" of Windows operating systems that allows programs on external media, such as CD-ROMs and thumb drives, to be run automatically after the external media is mounted on the system. Obviously, this is can be serious problem when you are not sure whether the content contains harmful programming, and it is often a nuisance even when you're sure the content is safe.

To disable autorun, use Notepad to create a text file with the following content:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

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

Save the file to your desktop with a ".reg" extension. Then, double-click the file in Explorer to merge its contents into your system registry.