automatically executed upon opening a folder

Let's say I'm downloading files to a specific folder. Some of them are
malicious. They are downloaded automatically. In Win98 if the folder's
definition was not "Web view", then opening the folder was safe.

Now I switch to XP, and I wonder, if there are complications - whether
some filenames with .ini or .hta extensions that are executed or can
instruct Windows to open another file, automatically upon opening the
folder.

Teli
e-mail: teletypedpoboxes.com (you should replace the d in this address with @).