fix(windows): delete autostart script — it looked like malware and froze Settings>Network

[joelteply]

Summary

Deletes tools/scripts/windows-setup-autostart.ps1. The script registered a ContinuumWSL SYSTEM-level scheduled task that fired wsl.exe at boot, which:

1. Popped a visible terminal window on every login — the malware playbook signature.
2. Spun up the vEthernet (WSL) virtual adapter before NlaSvc/WMI had finished enumerating the real Wi-Fi adapter, causing Win11's Settings → Network page to freeze on a stalled WCM provider query. Reproduced twice on a fresh HP Omen 5090 with Wi-Fi 7 silicon.
3. Started tailscaled + sshd + postgres + nvidia-smi probes at boot as SYSTEM, which is hostile install behavior whether or not the intent was legitimate.

The script's intent was a legitimate "make this box reachable via SSH/Tailscale after a reboot" — but the implementation pattern is indistinguishable from malware to a security-conscious operator. Perception matters. Silent SYSTEM-level scheduled tasks that pop terminals and bring up virtual adapters on every boot erode trust in the project even when the code is benign.

The replacement (for anyone who actually wants WSL services on boot): use Microsoft's built-in wsl.conf [boot] mechanism inside the WSL distro itself. No Windows-side scheduled task. No console window. No SYSTEM privileges.

# /etc/wsl.conf inside the distro
[boot]
command="service ssh start && tailscale up --ssh"

Existing installs — cleanup

Anyone who already ran the script can clean up via:

Unregister-ScheduledTask -TaskName ContinuumWSL -Confirm:$false
wsl --shutdown

Reboot. Settings → Network unfreezes.

Test plan

• No references to windows-setup-autostart.ps1 anywhere else in the tree
• Deleting the file does not break any documented install flow (it was never wired into install.ps1)
• Confirm Settings → Network no longer freezes on the reproducing 5090 box after cleanup

🤖 Generated with Claude Code