Users will have to manually install the software," Microsoft warned in a security advisory. "Users who install this update will no longer receive a setup message that prompts them to install programs that are delivered by USB flash drives.
Microsoft noted that the update breaks the functionality of some USB drives.
The unannounced automatic deployment of the AutoRun update may cause confusion if users expect files - in particular, setup executables that kick off software installation - to launch when they insert a flash drive in their Windows XP or Vista PCs. Microsoft confirmed the update reset, and said that it changed the delivery process to "minimize the user interaction required to install the updates on systems configured for automatic updating." However, the company did not respond to questions about why it did not communicate the change to users as it had in early February when it said the patch was optional. When the update is in place, flash drives inserted into a PC running XP or Vista no longer offer the option to run programs the AutoRun extinction does not affect CDs or DVDs. Microsoft changed AutoRun's behavior in Windows 7 to block automatic execution of files on a USB drive, and first backported the modifications to Windows XP and Vista in August 2009. Microsoft's move to cripple AutoRun is a response to malware's continued reliance on infection tactics that abuse AutoRun and AutoPlay, the technologies that automatically launch executable files on removable media, especially USB flash drives.īoth Conficker, a worm that spread widely in early 2009, and Stuxnet, the worm that analysts suspect was developed to sabotage Iran's nuclear programs, used AutoRun and flash drives to infect Windows PCs. The "High-priority updates" section of XP's Windows Update is the same location where security-related patches appear. In Windows XP, for example, users now see the AutoRun fix under the "High-priority updates" label, and the patch is pre-checked so it downloads and installs without any user action. But last week Microsoft changed those rules and began feeding users the update through the Automatic Updates feature of Windows Update, which automatically downloads and installs hotfixes and other software upgrades.
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