Strange Files in C:\Windows

[Jack Gillis]

There are about a dozen or so files in my C:\Windows folder whose names
appear as small rectangles. I believe they are all 1KB in size. Like J.
Buffett's tattoo, where they came from I haven't a clue. Does anyone have
an
idea? Should I be concerned?

Thank you.

 

[Guest]

Perform full scan with UPDATED and current antivirus software and antispyware
software.Make sure you have downloaded all the updates for your Windows
version.


http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

If you do not have antivirus ,scan with :


http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm
Panda Software free Active Scan,where you can check your
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For antispyware programs ,use :

@ Ad-Aware SE Personal
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware


@ Microsoft Antispyware (only for people with genuie-legal Windows )
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx


If you do not have antivirus software you can take trial version here:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/downloads/default.mspx


Another option :

http://www.virustotal.com/flash/index_en.html

Send a suspicious file for analyze to VirusTotal
They will scan it for malware with almost all antivirus softwares with the
latest definitions
and then will send you the report.The service is FREE .
If something is suspicious they will send the file to all antivirus
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they will establish signatures for disinfecting the malware.


Panda_man

 

[Jack Gillis]

Thank you.

Have done all the scans you suggested plus Spybot. Nothing found by any of
them.

Any further suggestions?

 

[Mikhail Zhilin]

Let's hope I'm wrong in my assumption -- but I would check the HDD using the
diagnostic utility from the HDD manufacturer's site.

And probably run (Start -- Run...):

chkdsk C: /f

before (chkdsk will run after restart; you can read its log via the Event
Viewer after system will boot in Windows).

--
Mikhail Zhilin
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
http://www.aha.ru/~mwz
Sorry, no technical support by e-mail.
Please reply to the newsgroups only.
======

 

[Jack Gillis]

A follow up on this issue.

I have discovered by opening every one of these files in Notebook, they all
take the form

[MACROS]
IDLIST0=0,65535
[MACROCONFIG]
0=
-1=

Does anyone recognize this sort of thing. As far as I know, the only
programs I have that use macros are those in MS Office 2003 and its
predecessor 97.

I hope this stirs someone's memory.

Thanks again.

 

[Jack Gillis]

Thank you Mikhail.

I think I will wait a few days before doing as you suggest and let my
addendum to my original post settle in and see if it triggers an answer.
Would you mind looking at the addendum?

Thank you again.

 

[Mikhail Zhilin]

Jack,

I've read already your reply with the content of these files.

Most likely my assumption is really wrong. In theory, such files may appear
when run some of the non-English-language programs, which create the files
with the non-Latin letters in the names.

BTW, Google result:
"Your search - "IDLIST0=0,65535" - did not match any documents."

But if you search for simple: IDLIST0
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=IDLIST0&btnG=Search
then you'll see, I think, the same squares in the articles names of, say,
Japan sites. That means the font used doesn't include the symbols of the
non-Latin letters/hieroglyphs of this language, and substitutes the squares
for them.

--
Mikhail Zhilin
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
http://www.aha.ru/~mwz
Sorry, no technical support by e-mail.
Please reply to the newsgroups only.
======

 

[Jack Gillis]

Thank you very much again, Mikhail.

What you say makes sense. I think I will just move them out to a floppy
where no program can find them and see if the system chokes and what chokes
it.