If you plug a USB drive into Microsoft Windows, in many cases it will try to do things “for you” with the drive. Not a great idea. There could be malware lurking on that USB drive.
There are a couple of things you can do to help mitigate the issue. These tips assume Windows 11.
Turn off Autoplay
- Open Settings. Press Windows + I to open the Settings app.
- Go to Bluetooth & devices. In the left sidebar, click on “Bluetooth & devices.”
- Select Autoplay. Scroll down and click on “Autoplay.”
- Turn Off Autoplay. You’ll see a toggle switch labeled “Use Autoplay for all media and devices.” Turn this off.
This will turn it off completely. You can, if you want, make individual settings for different types of devices.
Deny Execute Access (Pro or Enterprise versions of Windows 11)
- Open Group Policy Editor. Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter.
- Navigate to the Removable Storage Access Policies. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Removable Storage Access.
- Modify Policies. You can enable the policy “Removable Disks: Deny execute access” to prevent execution from removable drives.
- Apply and Reboot.
Note, there are some cases where you may want to execute scripts or programs from a removable drive. If that’s the case, you may not want to do this, or make a note of it so you can re-enable if needed.
I just checked a freshly installed Windows 11 and the autoplay is off by default.
Were you trying to get upvotes just for the fun of it??
First of all I believe you are incorrect.
You’re doing a single anecdotal “test” from (I assume) one copy of the installation media. News flash, not all installation images of Windows 11 are the same.
And I will answer your anecdotal evidence with some anecdotal evidence of my own: almost every friend and coworker I’ve asked about this says Autoplay is on. And when I check Google or ChatGPT, they confirm that a fresh install of Windows 11 will have it on by default. So…I guess everyone else is wrong about this but you’re right about every installation of Windows 11.
Secondly, your question ignores the fact that people should probably check to see if it’s on. It can get turned on accidentally or even by an update. Microsoft is constantly messing arbitrarily with user preferences and settings with their weekly updates. You do know that, right?
Finally, you posted some version of this same reply multiple times in this thread. Why? Are you just doing that to “get upvotes for fun”?
BTW, there’s no karma on lemmy…upvotes don’t matter.
It’s fine to correct someone, but first do a better job of checking your methodology, and second, don’t assume their motivations for trying to share helpful info.
I checked two more computers after reading your reply (first time setups) and they all have autoplay off, so I remain skeptical of what you stated.
There are so many trolls and misinformation floating around.
As far as I have seen with those “fresh” installs, your information is not matching the reality here, so I’m moving on to other sources.
it could also be regional differences, since your checks are localized to your area, and OP’s his area. lots of software updates have incremental regional rollouts so i’m making a guess that that’s what’s happening, based on responses to this post.
don’t automatically assume someone is “farming for points” when they post about something that doesn’t immediately apply to you. it may apply to you in the future.
Thank you, this is the sort of thing I was trying to point out. And I love how he ignored all my other points just to focus on this one ISO or installer he’s using over and over again to “prove” that he’s right.
Funny part is, I never said it was the default in the original post anyway. The whole point is, if it’s turned on, you may want to turn it off.
This was used as an attack vector more than 15 years ago,I can’t believe they re enabled it honestly. There was a virus on my school’s pcs which installed itself on the USB keys and people just went home and spread it everywhere without clicking on anything thanks to autoplay. Also “asked to chatgpt” lmao.