need an experts explanation-autorun and malware

hi people, i am looking for an experts explanation to a question about malware and the autorun feature of windows(xp pro/sp3). here first is some background info from an earlier thread of mine:
http://forums.whatthetech.com/index.php?sh…mp;#entry735206

so, like the last entry in the above mentioned thread asks-how can ORIGINAL software roms from RESPECTABLE, LEGITIMATE software developers infect my computer with malware when autorun is enabled?
i understand how usb sticks, burnt cds/dvds etc. can infect my system, but what/where is the danger when an original cd is instered into my dvd/cd rom and autorun takes over?

any explanations would be greatly received.
thanks

danszczerba, The malware removal forum is for… believe it or not… helping people remove malware. The tech forums are usually a better place for questions and answers. However… while your here… I'll answer your question: You are not going to get "infected" from running a "clean" program… whether running it off of a floppy drive, a thumb drive, the internet, or a CD. The trick is… how do you know it's clean? Granted, original manufacturers disks should be clean. But believe it or not… they aren't always - not because the manufacturer put something nefarious on there (though only a couple years ago a well known company provided a rootkit with all of their music and movie CD's)… but perhaps a third party vendor slipped a little adware on board (happens), or the disk looks new but it had actually already been sold to someone else and was returned with a "hijacker" (used to happen… shouldn't in recent times), or the disk got "swapped" out…. or any number of other unlikely issues. The risk is extremely remote. However, the greatest risk to any computer system is the guy sitting in front of it. Is it always you? No friend ever pops a photo CD into your system? No music CD's? Never anything but original manufacturers CD's? The fact is that your system cannot tell if it's you inserting a "pristine" cd or somebody else sticking in a corrupt "party mix" CD. On an XP system… either you just let everything play (as you used to), or you require the system to make you be sure that you really want to run that specific program. This isn't an issue for Vista and Windows 7 users as Microsoft corrected the situation and doesn't give a choice to put yourself at risk.

thank you very much Tomk, that was a very informative answer/explanation to my question. i think i will leave my drives exactly the way they are-with autorun disabled to everybody here at WhattheTech, the best forum i have found for when i need help with computer related instances. THANKS AGAIN!!!

danszczerba, You are very welcome. I think you've made a wise decision. Good luck and be well.

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