You’d Better Stop Opening Flash Drives Automatically Windows 10

Why It Is Dangerous to Open Flash Drives Automatically in Windows 10

When you connect a memory card, USB flash drive, or any other storage device to your PC, it may be open automatically. Perhaps, you think it is innovative and time-saving. But, you need to know that it is also dangerous.

Why?

Months ago, Marius Tivadar, a security expert from BitDefender, said that Windows’ AutoPlay and Autorun features have vulnerabilities which allow hackers authorized access to your computer. Then, it may damage your machine no matter your computer is locked or not.

See this information, you may ask this question: how the hackers attack your computer in this situation?

Now, you can see the explanation from the TechRepublic:

Plugging a USB drive containing a malformed NTFS image into a Windows machine can cause it to bluescreen in mere seconds.

It is said that Tivadar used a 10MB NTFS image and some modified directory names to crash a a Windows 7 and Windows 10 in seconds. This experiment can be back to July 2017.

He has reported this problem to the Microsoft company, but the company doesn’t set it as a threat for “it does not meet the bar for servicing down-level (issuing a security patch).”

But, to keep your computer and its data safe, you’d better stop opening flash drives automatically Windows10.

Here, if you need to recover your lost data which is deleted by virus, you can try the free data recovery software – MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

How to Recover Data from a RAW USB Flash Drive on Windows?

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How to disable AutoPlay and Autorun on Windows 10

Generally speaking, there are two ways to stop opening flash drives automatically Windows10. Please see the following introduction.

Way 1: Use Settings app

Step 1: You need to press the Windows key on the keyboard or the Windows icon in the lower-left corner on the computer screen.

Then, you need to input autoplay and choose AutoPlay Settings from the search result.

Step 2: You will enter the AutoPlay settings screen. Then, you need to turn to button to OFF to close the autoplay setting. Besides, you’d better turn off Autoplay for both removable drive and memory card.

Way 2: Using Group Policy Level

AutoPlay vs. AutoRun

What is AutoPlay? When you connect an external hard drive to your computer, Windows will pop out a window which prompts you to choose an action to handle the drive. This is the AutoPlay dialogue.

On the other hand, AutoRun can be treated as an INF file to install a program.

Here, we think you’d better block both of these two features to keep your computer data safe.

How to disable AutoPlay:

Step 1: Press the Windows key or click on the Windows icon on the screen. Then, you need to input gpedit on the search bar. After that, choose Edit Group Policy option from the search result.

Step 2: You will see a new page. Here, you need to go to Computer Configuration > Administrative templates > Windows Components > AutoPlay Policies.

Step 3: Then, you need to choose Turn off AutoPlay option under AutoPlay Policies. Next, choose Enabled option. After that, you need to make sure that All Drives is selected under Options. At last, click on Apply to save the changes.

How to disable AutoRun:

Go to AutoPlay Policies page which is mentioned above, and then click on Set the default behavior for AutoRun. Then, choose Enabled option.

Then, you need to choose Do not execute any autorun commands. Next, click on Apply to save the changes.

After these operations, the connected flash drives as well as other kinds of removable drives will not be open automatically.