Last Updated on April 28, 2026
Autoruns by Sysinternals is a free utility that can show you everything that is set to start with your computer. It’s similar to the Windows System Configuration Utility (msconfig) but shows much more information. This can come in very handy if you are trying to troubleshoot issues such as slow startup times with your computer, error messages that pop up at startup, strange programs that run on their own right after Windows starts or slow overall performance because of a program or programs using your computer’s resources. Autoruns is a free download and consists of an executable file so there is nothing to install. In Windows 11 and 10, it is essential to run Autoruns with administrative privileges to see system-level startup items. To do this, right-click the autoruns64.exe file and select Run as Administrator. This ensures the tool can scan protected registry keys and system folders that are otherwise hidden from standard users.
Autoruns can show you information such as the following:
- What programs are configured to run during system startup or login
- What services are starting
- Scheduled tasks
- Drivers that are being loaded
- Codecs that are being loaded
- Print monitor information
- Explorer Shell Extensions: What adds items to your right-click “Context Menu.”
- Background Services: Every non-Microsoft service that starts automatically.
- Office Add-ins: Plugins that load when you open Word, Excel, or Outlook.
- WMI Entries: Advanced startup methods often used by both legitimate software and malware.
Here are some examples of what categories Autoruns lets you manage.
Items set to start at login. As you can see here if there is anything that doesn’t need to be started with your computer then you can disable it by unchecking the box next to that item. It shows you the name of the program, a description, who created the program and the location to the executable file that is starting with your computer.
Scheduled tasks displays the entry in the Windows Task Scheduler with a brief description of the task. It also shows the publisher of the software and the path to the executable.
Office and Explorer Add-ons: While Internet Explorer has been retired, Autoruns is still the best tool for managing Explorer Shell Extensions. If your File Explorer is slow or crashing when you right-click a file, you can use the “Explorer” tab in Autoruns to disable third-party extensions (like old PDF creators or cloud storage icons) that might be causing the conflict.
It’s easy to disable or delete entries from within Autoruns if you don’t want that item to startup with your computer. Just be careful that you know what you are disabling or deleting since there is a chance you can cause your computer not to start properly or at all! To disable an entry simply uncheck the item. Autoruns will store the startup information in a backup location so that it can reactivate the entry when you recheck it. To delete an entry you would right click on it and choose delete.
There are several right click options that will give you more information about an autorun location or entry. Copy will copy the information shown as text in case you want to send it to someone to have them look at the information. Jump to will open the registry location or scheduled task location of that particular item. Process Explorer will open that entry in the Process Explorer utility if you have it installed. Properties will open the properties information page for that file.
Integration with VirusTotal
One of the most powerful features added to Autoruns is its integration with VirusTotal. In the “Options” menu, you can select Scan Options and check Check https://www.google.com/search?q=VirusTotal.com.
Autoruns will then send the hashes of all your startup items to VirusTotal and show you a detection ratio (e.g., 0/75). If you see an item with a high detection count (like 15/75), you can click the link to see exactly what antivirus engines flagged it as malware. This makes Autoruns an incredible tool for manual malware removal. There is also a Command Line version (autorunsc.exe) included in the zip file, which is great for technical users who want to output their startup list to a text file for analysis.
Autoruns can be downloaded free here.
