strange 0 kb size files in root directory 2

[combo]

Win 98SE, IE6, AVG7 av software. Occasionally 0 kb size files are created in the root directory, with variable length filenames, that look like a part of system or help files.
No errors reported by scandisk, no viruses, no ad software.
Anyone knows the reason or solution?
Thanks in advance.

combo

 

[cdogg]

umm, can you give us a couple filename examples?

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[combo]

Latest names of not deleted file (second - dashed R):
?{?{?{?{?{?{
?

and older one (dll extension):
CLI.DLL

All 0 kB.

combo

 

[cdogg]

Not sure what they are. I would move them into a temp folder for now. Reboot and see if there any problems over the next couple days. Make sure you open every program that you care about at least once.

If things seem OK after that, I'd say they're safe to delete. Keep in mind that those are not common filenames and you could be heavily infected with spyware or a virus. Visit this forum if you think that's the case:
forum760

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[torandson]

Hi,
I get the same thing. They are in the Windows folder, and have filenames that look like registry keys or something, beginning with ffff or some such, and include a { and maybe a } somewhere but they all have a .tmp extension. I delete them. They come right back. I first noticed this a few weeks ago. I just quarantined about fifty of them.
My out of date SpySweeper and Norton AV don't seem to mind them. I WILL be doing a system scan with whatever it takes to discover which AV product finally smells something fishy when it sniffs them.
--torandson

 

[combo]

Thanks cdogg for the warning. Those files (except of 'cli.dll') are regularly deleted without any consequences. No warning from AVG and spyware (Ad-aware). It is a good idea to test all with other programmes.

combo

 

[tsuji]

To:torandson
Your case of fff... can be traced to here.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q221438/

 

[torandson]

tsuji:

A+, thank you!!! That is exactly it! Good thing I have been too busy downloading free antivirus and antispyware scanners to use any of them yet! Instead of going in there and ripping up a bunch of floorboards, I can just go directly to fixing the problem!

Yes, the whole thing dates back to running Detect and Repair in Office 2000 several weeks ago!

And this also explains why I get these pestiferous Script Debugging Error notification boxes that frequently pop up when I'm online! (Every time I got some malformed HTML was my guess.) Once, trying to logon to Hotmail it was so constant and circular that it effectively locked the machine in an endless loop! I couldn't get to another button quickly enough after clicking on OK to leave the page before another box appeared. I had to bang on CTRL-ALT-DEL to get my sanity back. I knew it was from something I had recently done with Office or the OS, but couldn't remember what it was.

This is one of those very satisfying cases in which a post here leads directly to identifying the exact problem for which a well documented workaround already exists. And the fix fixes another irritating problem as a bonus!

Thank you!

--torandson