Q: File folders turn into exec files

That is certainly an odd one.  I did a Google search and the only thing I found is a worm called "W32.SillyFDC":

http://forum.precisesecurity.com/computer-security/folders-changed-to-applicatio n-exe

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/threat/encyclopedia/entry.aspx?Name=Wor m:Win32/SillyFDC.O#tab=1

If all of your files/folders have been changed to .exe files then this worm, or another, may be the cause.  In any case, your Mac in not at risk but you should reformat your USB drive and let your school's IT staff know about the potentially infected PC.  Whatever you do, do not attach the flash drive to another PC until you have reformatted it.

We need some clarification here. Specifically, you say:

When I found the folders I was looking for, they had turned into exec files.

What turned into "exec" files? The folders, or the files inside them? And when you say they are "exec" files, what exactly are you seeing?

One possibility is that the files you created have all changed to look like this:

If that's the case, then most likely you have somehow created those files without an extension, which means that Mac OS X has no idea what they are. You need to add an extension at the end of the filenames: .html, .jpg, .pdf, etc.

One other possibility, which Tim mentions, is that you have connected this flash drive to a Windows PC that is infected with some kind of malware that has replaced all those files with malicious .exe files. These would not affect your Mac, but would certainly affect the data on the flash drive. Do the filenames end in .exe or .lnk?

If none of that matches what you're seeing, we'll need more details. Screenshots would help. Make a screenshot by following the directions here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5775

Be sure no sensitive personal information is displayed. To add that image to a post here, click the camera icon in the post editor toolbar.

Select one of those items in the Finder and choose Get Info from the File menu, then take a screenshot of that Get Info window and post it here. (Press command-shift-4, then press the space bar. The cursor should change to a camera icon. Now click on the Get Info window. This will take a screenshot of just that window.)

Make sure that the General, More Info and Name & Extension sections of the Get Info window are all expanded. The other areas can be collapsed, we don't need to see the information there.

I don't want to hijack the thread, just to join to say I'm getting the same thing, especially with mkv files. Here's a screenshot from my Macbook on Yosemite:

That is not a folder, it's just a file that your system doesn't know how to identify. Your situation is not the same. You'll need to start your own topic.

I don't really care to start a thread since it is only an icon and I have better things to worry about, I am just trying to help the individual voice the issue since I see the same issue. Would it help to know when I add this file to a folder the folder icon goes to "exec" icon and could the two not be related? I will unsubscribe to this thread as it seems my input isn't useful.

It is far more then possible. It is very likely that there are no virus files on the thumb drive.

Weird... that item started out as a folder? Whatever happened, it's now a file. In particular, a completely empty, zero-byte file.

This is unlikely to be due to Windows malware. If it were, that file would not be empty, and would probably contain a Windows malware executable. But it does not.

My best guess at this point is that the flash drive with these items on it is corrupt. Try using something like Data Rescue 3 to recover any files from that drive. You could also try repairing with Disk Utility, but the danger there is that a failed repair could potentially reduce the chance of successful file recovery.

Cauldie wrote:

 

All of the three items started out as folders. I will see what I can do. If I reformat my flash drive, will it help in the corruption?

It should. Of course, then you'll lose all the data on the drive. If these files aren't really that important, or after you have managed to successfully recover them, this is probably the next thing you should do before using the flash drive any further.