Turn off auto play in Windows XP

You all must have faced the spread of malicious files through pen drives or cds. The files like autorun.inf,recyclers,system info and many others files comes through some external devices ,they can effect your OS in many ways. The common effects of these files are :-
1>You can't open your drives on click.
2>No folder option in tools.
3>NEWFOLDER.EXE in every drive.
4>Change of file extension(due to which files become of no use)
5>Start of new process like userini.exe,winlagon.exe.

These files are autorun files which executes once the external devices are plugged in to the computer. 

What is Autoplay ?

Autoplay is a feature in the Windows operating system that allows you to configure how your computer reacts when you insert removable media, such as CDs, DVDs, USB drives, or memory cards. It provides options to automatically launch a specific program, play media files, import photos, open folders to view files, or take other actions based on the type of media being inserted.

Here's how to configure Autoplay settings in Windows:

1. Open the Control Panel: Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box. Type "control" (without quotes) and press Enter. This will open the Control Panel.

2. Access the Autoplay settings: In the Control Panel, locate and click on the "AutoPlay" or "Autoplay" option. This will open the Autoplay settings window.

3. Configure Autoplay options: In the Autoplay settings window, you'll see a list of media types such as "Removable drive," "Memory card," "Music files," "Pictures," etc. For each media type, you can choose an action from the drop-down menu.

   - Selecting "Take no action" will disable Autoplay for that media type.

   - Selecting an application from the list will automatically launch that program when the corresponding media type is inserted.

   - Choosing "Ask me every time" will prompt you to select an action each time you insert media of that type.

4. Customize Autoplay defaults: If you want to change the default Autoplay settings that apply to all media types, scroll to the bottom of the Autoplay settings window. Here you'll find the option to customize the default Autoplay behavior.

5. Save your changes: After making your desired changes to the Autoplay settings, click the "Save" or "Apply" button to apply the changes.

Please note that Autoplay settings may vary slightly depending on the version of Windows you are using. Additionally, it's important to exercise caution when configuring Autoplay options, as automatically running programs or files from removable media can pose security risks. It's recommended to keep Autoplay settings set to "Ask me every time" or "Take no action" for enhanced security.

These are the most likely problems and many times the antivirus is also not able to detect it.
these problems are caused due to spread of some malicious files from external devices one of the easy solution to prevent this is to disable the auto run settings.

To disable auto run using the GPO, follow these steps :-
1>click on start.
2>go to run.
3>type gpedit.msc

(gpedit is present in windows professional but in windows xp home you need to download and install it(just google it and you will get the file) 

a window will appear like this

4>goto computerconfiguration > administrative template > system
5>on the right panel search for "turn off auto play" and enable it.

6>reboot your pc.