Autorunning CDs was the default until windows vista, which is how the u3 usb devices were used for “hacksaw”[0] and “switchblade”[1] attacks.

More on u3: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U3_(software)?wprov=sfti1

0: https://forums.hak5.org/topic/2843-usb-hacksaw-development/

1: https://forums.hak5.org/topic/2361-usb-switchblade-developme...

Its quite incredible how long this was working for. Autorun was a dream for malware.

It was also incredibly convenient - put game CD in drive, game launcher appears with INSTALL / PLAY (depending on the status). Also it was neat to give a DVD with some sliceshow/photos/videos/etc to your grandparents/aunt/uncle/etc who didn't knew much about computers and tell them "just put the disk in the drive and it'll do the rest".

But as usual, one rotten apple spoils the entire barrel.

The way it works today is just as simple. The OS automatic asks permission to run the program.

The UX is certainly worse, especially on Win10 where it displays a tiny popup at the bottom right side (at least in Vista and 7 it had a popup at the center and IIRC the popup even had an icon of the game/program if autorun specified one). For most users it isn't a practical issue though, just a lesser experience. If you are comfortable with computers after a while you ghost through such popups :-P.

Having said that i did have my aunt (who is generally afraid that if she does something wrong the computer will break forever) spell me out the options in a popup (for a photo dvd she got from a photographer for a relative's graduation) over the phone once though, so i'm sure that, if nothing else, it can be a bit unexpected for less knowledgeable users.

... or you could press Shift while the CD was being loaded.

Win96 = Win95OSR?

I think it’s a typo.

Indeed a typo that I didn't catch until after the edit window.