AutoRuns

This tool, which checks more autorun locations than any other autorun monitor, shows which programs are configured to run during the boot or logon process, and these programs are displayed in the order in which Windows handles them. Such programs can be located in the autoload folder or be registered in the registry sections of Run, RunOnce and others. Autoruns can also be configured to display other locations, such as shell extensions, toolbars, browser support objects, Winlogon notifications, automated services, and many more. Autoruns has a wider range of features than the MSConfig utility, which is included with Windows Me and XP.

The Autoruns feature in Hide Signed Microsoft Entries lets you focus on automatically running third-party items if they have been added to your system. You can also view the objects that you have configured to automatically run for other accounts in the system. The download archive also includes a command line program, Autorunsc. The output data of this tool can be obtained in CSV format.

AutoRuns precisely identifies and controls which programs run during your computer's startup, enhancing system performance and security.

You'll probably be surprised how many executable files run automatically! Autoruns runs on all versions of Windows, including Windows XP 64-bit Edition (for x64) and Windows Server 2003 64-bit Edition (for x64). The Brand article in the November 2004 issue of Windows IT Pro Magazine describes additional methods of working with Autoruns. If you have any questions or problems, please visit the Sysinternals Autoruns forum. Simply launch Autoruns and it will show you which applications are configured to run automatically and provide a complete list of registry partitions and file system directories that can be used to set up automatic startup. The items shown in Autoruns belong to several categories: objects that start automatically when you log on, additional Explorer components, additional Internet Explorer components (including browser support module (BHO) objects), application initialization DLLs, item spoofing, objects that are executed in the early stages of loading, Winlogon's DLL notification libraries, Windows services, and multi-level Winsock service providers. To view the automatically launched objects of the required category, just select the necessary tab.

To view the properties of the executable object configured for automatic launch, you should select this object and use the menu item or the button of the Properties toolbar. If the Process Explorer program is running in the system and the selected executable file is used by some active process, then if the Process Explorer item is selected in the Entry menu, a dialog box of properties of the process using the selected object will appear.

To go to the registry section or the file system directory displayed in the program window or to set up the object to be launched automatically, just select the necessary item and use the menu command or the Jump toolbar button.

To disable an object that is launched automatically, clear the check box corresponding to it. You can delete such an object using the menu command or the Delete toolbar button. To view the automatically launched items for other user accounts, simply select the desired User menu item. For more information on display options and other useful information, see the Quick Start Help.