Adding programs to Startup in Windows

This time, I am going to discuss on few methods of adding the programs to the startup in windows. My descriptions will be based on Windows XP machine and I hope you will find this information useful. Here I'll list out few such methods to add programs to startup in windows.

1. Startup folder: One of the simplest method of adding programs in startup, it provides easy and detectable method of adding any program to startup. For the user Administrator, the startup folder in Windows XP is located at:

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Start Menu\Programs

So for any user you can find startup folder at

C:\Documents and Settings\{Username}\Start Menu\Programs

Replace the {Username} by the username you want.

2) Registry editing: Registry editing is another powerful method of adding programs in startup and is one of the most popular methods for adding virii and trojans in startup.
The following registry paths can contain the string to the path of the executable to be run at startup

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce]

Similarly, you'll find similar registry paths for HKEY_CURRENT_USER. All you have to do is add new string of type REG_SZ containing the path of the executable.

3) Autoexec.bat: Root folder of your windows installation will consist of a file called autoexec.bat which can be edited to add any program in startup. Open the autoexec.bat file and add the path of the executable in the autoexec.bat file.

There are other methods too such as editing win.ini and system.ini editing. I leave them for you to google. Have fun. :)