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Hello,
I've found some strange hidden files in my Application Support folder, the names are listed below:
Again, these files are hidden. They are all zero byte 'document' file types and are a couple of years old. Does anyone know what they are, why they are there and if it's safe for me to remove them?
Thanks!
I don't know what they are, but they are hidden because their names begin with a .
So, nothing really mysterious, there.
By the name, I would say they are some app creating a lock file for some purpose. A lock file is commonly used to prevent more than one process instance from running, usually to prevent overwriting files that are in use. They would normally clean those up when done. Since they are empty files, the only way you might determine the origin is by matching those initials to some app function.
Searching for them reveals other people have them, but I do not. But, since they should be deleted when finished, not having them does not imply they were never created.
I don't know what they are, but they are hidden because their names begin with a .
So, nothing really mysterious, there.
By the name, I would say they are some app creating a lock file for some purpose. A lock file is commonly used to prevent more than one process instance from running, usually to prevent overwriting files that are in use. They would normally clean those up when done. Since they are empty files, the only way you might determine the origin is by matching those initials to some app function.
Searching for them reveals other people have them, but I do not. But, since they should be deleted when finished, not having them does not imply they were never created.
Thank you for your response, I never knew about the dot prefix hiding files, learned something new there!
So it would make no difference with whether or not I delete those files? I'm not really familiar with how such files work so I got a bit worried and thought it'd be best to rid them. I was unable to find anything online, so this got me even more concerned.
If they are two years old, I would just delete them.
I'm not certain they are lock files, but if they are, they would only exist for the time it takes to complete whatever process would need the lock held. Certainly not two years.
Thank you, those files are now gone.
I noticed there's another hidden file called 'Macrovision', the file name contains a version number (I think?) and a build number too, this one is also over a year old. I can't seem to find much information on this online; would you happen to know anything about it? *File size is 8 bytes, file type is document but has a .utc2 suffix
Sorry, no idea what that is.
No worries, thanks again for your help!
Strange Invisible Files In Application Support Folder
