Autoruns by Microsoft Sysinternals remains the definitive utility for gaining complete visibility into exactly what launches when your computer boots up. While the built-in Windows Task Manager shows a basic list of startup apps, Autoruns digs much deeper, revealing every single auto-starting location including obscure registry keys, scheduled tasks, and browser extensions. It is an essential diagnostic tool for users who need to hunt down persistent malware or simply want to strip away bloatware to achieve the fastest possible boot times.
Key Features
- Hide Microsoft Entries: Instantly filters out critical system processes signed by Microsoft, allowing you to focus strictly on third-party applications and potential threats without accidentally breaking your OS.
- VirusTotal Integration: right-click any suspicious entry to check its hash against dozens of antivirus engines, providing immediate insight into whether a file is safe or malicious.
- Comprehensive Categories: Organizes startup items into specific tabs like Logon, Explorer Shell Extensions, Scheduled Tasks, Services, and Drivers, ensuring you never miss a hidden autostart location.
- Jump to Entry: Lets you navigate directly to the specific Registry key or file folder for any item, making it easy to manually inspect or back up configurations before making changes.
- Autorunsc Command Line: Includes a command-line version that allows system administrators to script scans and export startup data to CSV or XML formats for automated analysis across multiple machines.
Use Cases
System administrators and security professionals rely on this tool to manually remove malware that evades traditional antivirus scans by hiding in non-standard startup locations. It is also perfect for power users who want to aggressively optimize Windows performance by disabling unnecessary background services, update checkers, and driver utilities that slow down the login process.
Autoruns offers a level of transparency and control that goes far beyond standard system tools, making it the industry standard for maintaining a clean and secure Windows environment.
Version 14.11 — February 2024
- Resolved an issue where command-line parameters were not correctly parsed for shortcuts located in the Startup folder.
- Implemented general stability enhancements and minor fixes to improve overall reliability.
