Thread: Configuration of computers in office

[Q]The configuration of all our computers in our office is as follows, AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor, 448 MB of RAM, Windows XP with Service pack 2, Symantec Antivirus Version 10.1 with complete updates. It is observed that a file called 'autorun.inf' is constantly being created in the root directory of all the drives and we are unable to open the drive by double-clicking. Further, the PCs are infected with the virus. Though it gets cleaned, it keeps re-appearing. Please help me clean out the virus.

Autorun. inf viruses use the Autorun feature of Windows to spread themselves between computers via email and removable storage media. This virus makes a copy of the autorun.inf file in the root directory of all the drives on your PC as well as any external drive. This causes the virus to run every time an external device like a pen drive is inserted or every time you double-click the drive icon in Windows Explorer. The first step to remove this virus is to disable the Autorun feature from your computers. To do this, click on 'Start Run and type 'regedit'. Scroll down to the key 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Softwa re\M icrosoft\Wi ndows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer'. Double click 'NoDriveTypeAutoRun' on the right hand panel and change the 'Value data' from '91' to 'ff'. Then again scroll down on the left hand panel to 'HKEY_USERS\. DE FAU L T\Software\M icrosoft\Windows\ Current Version\Policies\Explorer'.

Here again change the 'Value data' of 'NoDriveTypeAutoRun' from '91' to
'ff'. Exit from the registry editor by just closing it. Then click on 'Start Run and type 'msconfig'. Here, disable all the unnecessary or unwanted programs that you suspect could trigger the virus again at the startup. You can also use the free program HijackThis to do the same job. Finally reboot the computer to Safe Mode and delete all the autorun.inf files from all drives in My Computer and also from external storage drives.

Here is a trick you can use. To prevent the autorun.inf files from being generated again, create a folder named 'autorun. inf' in every drive and partition's root folder. Also do the same on every pen drive you have. Use the command 'md autorun.inf' from the command prompt on all drives. This will not allow a file by the name of 'autorun.inf' to be created as the system will not allow any two files or folders of the same name. Finally, reboot your computers in normal mode, install all updates for your antivirus software and scan your computer for any other viruses. Keep your computer updated for the latest patches from Microsoft at all times using the Windows Update feature.