how to interpret autorun results

Question

who to interpret autorun results

Answer 1

1. Open the Autoruns utility from the Sysinternals Suite.
2. Once the utility is open, it will display a list of all the programs and services that are set to start automatically on your computer.
3. The Autoruns utility also displays the location of each program or service, which can help you identify its purpose and potential security risks.
4. Autoruns uses a color-coded system to indicate the status of each program or service. Green indicates that the program or service is signed by a trusted publisher, yellow indicates that it is unsigned or has an unknown publisher, and red indicates that it is considered a potential security risk.
5. You can click on any entry in the list to view more detailed information about the program or service, including its file path, registry key, and other relevant data.
6. If you notice any programs or services that you don't recognize or that have a red or yellow status, you may want to investigate further to determine whether they are safe or if they should be disabled.

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hth

Marcin

Answer 2

Hello

Autoruns are software designed to identify software that is configured to run automatically when a device boots up or when a user logs in. Legitimate software typically launches when the device boots up, such as Outlook, because users typically check email first when logging into a device. If the device is compromised, any installed malware also needs to be able to continue running across reboots. To do this, it can take advantage of many legitimate Windows features, allowing the software to launch at boot time.

Understanding Autoruns:

Autoruns can display multiple tabs, each tab containing data about the autostart mechanism.

Logon tab: Displays the standard startup location for all users, including program startup location and associated run keys. Run keys are part of the device registry and are often created by malware to automatically launch the malware when the device boots.

Explorer tab: Displays detailed information about:

Shell Extensions: These are plug-ins for Windows Explorer that allow you to preview PDF files, for example.

Browser Helper Objects: DLL modules that serve as Internet Explorer plug-ins.

Explorer Toolbars: These are third-party plug-ins for Internet Explorer, toolbars will give you access to third-party platforms.

Active Setup Executions: A mechanism for executing commands per user during login.

Internet Explorer tab: Displays Browser Helper Objects, Internet Explorer toolbars, and extensions.

Scheduled Tasks: Displays tasks configured to start at boot or login, a common technique among various malware families.

Using Autoruns:

To identify unwanted software:

Run Autoruns on a clean device.

Select File and then Save to save the output as an AutoRuns Data file (with a .arn extension).

Later, use the Compare function to compare the results and check for persistent unwanted software.

Interpret the results:

Each entry corresponds to a startup item. Right-click the entry and select Search Online for more information.

Use caution when disabling items. Some items are critical to system functionality.

Remember that Autoruns stores backup files so you can restore any changes later.

Autoruns for Windows - Sysinternals | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,

Yanhong Liu

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