Each time you connect an external drive to your PC the autoplay window appears requiring you to choose an action. If you care about your computer’s security, you certainly won’t want for any file to be automatically saved to your PC. For this reason, it’s considered good practice to disable autoplay settings in Windows 10.
It’s very easy to run autoplay settings in a safe manner so keep reading to find out what you need to do.
How to disable autoplay settings in Windows 10
Launch the Settings app and select ‘Devices’.
On the right-hand sidebar click or tap on ‘AutoPlay’.
Here you can simply toggle off the switch under ‘use AutoPlay for all media and devices’ to completely disable it. Alternatively, you can configure the settings for removable drive and memory card to something harmless such as ‘Take no action’ or ‘Ask me every time’.
OK, so this was an easy way to disable autoplay settings in Windows 10, or configure them to be secure. But Windows offers more granular control over these settings in the Control Panel.
If you want to adjust them, open Control Panel. You can do this from the Start button right-click menu.
In ‘Large icons’ view click on AutoPlay.
As you can see, on this settings screen you have more detailed options on configuring AutoPlay settings. You can choose actions for each type of media file, and besides removable drives and memory cards you can customize autoplay behavior for DVDs, CDs, Blu-ray discs, applications and games, and even other devices.
Obviously, the new Settings is basically a dumbed down version of the Control Panel which is can be more accessible for those with less technical experience. If you really want to tweak autoplay settings, Control Panel is the place to visit.
