MICROSOFT announced it is making a change to the way Windows 7 will handle USB drives in order to make them more secure.
As a result of the change, most USB drives will not be able to automatically launch a program using a Windows feature known as AutoRun, Microsoft said in a post on its Security Research & Defense Blog.
If an infected USB drive is inserted on a machine then the AutoRun task will not be displayed, Microsoft said.
Fixed removable media, such as CDs and DVDs will still be able to use AutoRun.
Also, some specialized "smart" USB flash drives such as those containing U3 software will still be able to appear as DVD drives, effectively allowing them to also use AutoRun, Microsoft cautioned.
The change will show up in the release candidate version of Windows 7 that is being released to developers this week and publicly on May 5 2009.
The AutoRun functionality has been blamed for malware that has infected USB thumb drives, leading to a temporary ban on their use at the U.S. Defense Department, and digital photo frames, among other storage types.
Microsoft detailed additional security features in Windows 7 during the RSA security conference last week.
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