Disable Autorun/Autoplay in Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP

Most of the time viruses come from pen drives and other media that we insert into our system. And Windows has a nice service called Autoplay that automatically detects the media and initiates it. As a result the viruses in the media infect our computer prior getting scanned from our Antivirus program. So we have a nice way to disable the Autoplay service and then we can scan the media first with our Antivirus and then use it.

 

Disable Autoplay In Windows Vista And Windows 7 :

1. Open Control Panel from the Start button. You will see a screen like below.



2. Click on Autoplay.

3. Now you will get a screen like below. Just Un-tick the option “Use AutoPlay for all media and devices” and click the “Save” button at bottom right. That’s it now attach any new media and you will notice that the AutoPlay pop-up will not come anymore.

 

Disable Autoplay In Windows XP :

1. Open Run dialog box by pressing “Windows Key + R”. Alternatively open Start -> Run.



2. Type “GPEDIT.MSC” in the Run Dialog Box and click on “OK”.




3. A popup like above will come. Navigate to Local Computer Policy  -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> System.



4. Now scroll down the right pane till you see ”Turn off Autoplay”.



5. Double click on “Turn Off Autoplay”.



5. You will see a box like above. It will be marked “Not Configured”. Make it enabled and select “All Drives” in the “Turn Off Autoplay on:” menu as shown below.



6. Hit apply and your AutoRun will be disabled. Now whenever you attach a removable media, first scan it with a good antivirus and then use it.

Boost Computer Speed By Increasing Virtual Memory [Windows]

RAM being the physical memory is very important for our system. But Virtual Memory acts as an alternative and decreases the level of fragmentation in RAM. So your system requires a minimum amount of virtual memory that takes space in your Windows drive. So, if you have free space in your Windows drive then give the Recommended amount of space for virtual memory and decrease load on RAM and hence speed up your system.

 Steps To Increase Virtual Memory :
1. Click on Start Menu and  right click on “Computer” and select Properties.



2. In the left pane, select “Advance system settings”



3. Go to “Advanced” tab and under “Performance” select “Settings”.




4. Select “Advanced” tab and click on “Change” under “Virtual Memory”.




5. Untick “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” and select your windows drive. Click on “Custom size”.



6. Now see “Recommended” size at the bottom and fill exactly the same in “Initial size” field. In “Maximum size” insert a value slightly greater then recommended and click on Set.




7. You will see a pop-up box like below. Select OK.



8. It your computer asks to Restart your computer, click Restart Now.