The Autorun.inf virus is very common, and it can be very pesky to try and get rid of. Luckily we will teach you how to do just that in this easy to understand tutorial. Before you being, please note that deleting autorun.inf is only possible if your computer is completely free of other viruses. If you have other active threats in your computer at the time of removal, then the autorun.inf virus will simply return just as strong as ever. There are several methods used to remove this pesky virus. Here we will cover the three most effective methods of removal.
- Removing Autorun.inf Virus with Command Prompts
1. First, open command line, To do this, open the start menu, and then go to Run, in Vista you will have to type “Run” into the search box. Once the Run box appears, type in “CMD” and hit enter. This will give you the Command box. Once in the Command box, type in the line:
del /a:rhs [driveletter]:autorun.inf
2. Then replace [driveletter] with your drive. If the virus is on the D drive then the command will need to be:
del /a:rhs D:autorun.inf
3. Finally restart the computer and you are completely finished!
- Removing autorun.inf If It Has Returned
Usually when you refresh the windows explorer view a virus process will recreate it. This file is attached to many events of windows explorer including OPEN, REFRESH, etc. To prevent this from happening you will need to make sure all Explorer windows are closed. Then follow these instructions.
1. First, open the command prompt using the instructions from the previous method.
2. To remove the virus, simply type following and then press enter.
F:
F:attrib -s -r -h *.*
If there are any malicious EXE files those are now visible so if unnecessary delete them too.
F:del autorun.inf
3. Afteryou’ve finished the above steps, you should then remove the USB disk immediately.
4. Congratulations you have removed the activation config. File from the USB disk. You can now delete any EXE files located on the disk.
- Removing Autorun.inf Using FlashDisinfector
1. First, you’ll need to download the Flash_Disinfector.exe. This file can be found online using a dimple web search.
2. Then, double-click on the Flash_Disinfector.exe file to run the file and then follow any instructions that appear.
3. You may be asked to insert the flash drive and any other removable drives. Do as asked so the utility can clean up those drives also.
5. Once the program has finished scanning you can then exit the application.
6. Finally, restart the computer to finish the process.
Keep in mind that Flash_Disinfector will remove any autorun.inf files, and it will also create a hidden folder called autorun.inf in each USB drive. Do not delete this folder, as it will help protect your drives from future infection by the virus.