Mysterious folder on hard disk

Question

I found a mysterious folder named e849ad3686d570a415 in the root of a hard disk. It contains a subfolder i386 which is inaccessible.

Do I have malware on my PC? How can I delete this folder?

Answer 1

It's an installation folder. I have one with an "amd64" and "i386" folder. The contents of the "i386" folder look like the installation files for a printer driver.

To take control of a folder see the answers to my question on the subject. Don't forget to turn "Simple File Sharing" off.

Answer 2

Malware is an outside possibility, but would normally do a better job of masquerading as something sensible and necessary. It is most likely debris left over from the install of some 32-bit software. Take a backup of it; remove it. If nothing witters over the next couple of weeks, you were safe. The name suggests that is not intended to be a permanent directory.

Answer 3

• Thats NOT Malware

• This is a conventional folder name, that Microsoft uses to place files in. The numbers (e849ad3686d570a415) represent Hexadecimal coding in set of pairs (e8 49 ad 36 86 d5 70 a4 15) so that it will not be recognized by software.

• TO DELETE

  1) Go to "tools" menu at the top

  2) Choose "folder options"

  3) Under View Tab deactivate the option "use simple file sharing"

  4) Now Select the Folder You wan to delete

  5) Right click on it and select "Sharing and security"

  6) Under Security Tab

  7) Add User to List

  8) Then Below in Permissions

  9) Select "Full Control"

  10) Apply and OK

Resource from here