How did THESE get here? Windows 10 version
June 19, 2020 2:04 PM Subscribe
Today I discovered 2 files/applications on my Dell desktop/homescreen that have never been there before and I don't know how they got there. Can I just delete them? Are they nefarious? What's going on here?
Where did these guys come from? I didn't download them. I did however let Windows do an automatic update a few days ago, but these literally appeared only today, so ... ?
Right click on icon and this is what I learned:
Properties/File description: OpenSSL Shared Library Application extension 1.0.2.18
Properties/File description: ssleay32.dll Application extension (.dll)
Any explanation and/or advice on what to do is much appreciated. Thanks
Where did these guys come from? I didn't download them. I did however let Windows do an automatic update a few days ago, but these literally appeared only today, so ... ?
Right click on icon and this is what I learned:
Properties/File description: OpenSSL Shared Library Application extension 1.0.2.18
Properties/File description: ssleay32.dll Application extension (.dll)
Any explanation and/or advice on what to do is much appreciated. Thanks
OpenSSL is used for encryption. There's tons of legitimate software that uses it but just randomly appearing on your desktop is weird. Microsoft has their own equivalent libraries for encryption so it doesn't seem likely that Windows Update would have caused it to appear (nor would something Windows Update have dropped it onto your desktop). You can look at their file modification times and then search the system for other files that were created/modified at or around the same time to try to figure out what else might have been going on at the time they were put there.
posted by Candleman at 4:21 PM on June 19, 2020
posted by Candleman at 4:21 PM on June 19, 2020
I'd be pretty concerned if a .dll file showed up on my desktop. That's a pretty atypical place to put link library.
Check your add/remove programs and sort by date installed. Is there anything you have installed recently that would have installed something that needs to communicate?
posted by srboisvert at 5:09 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Check your add/remove programs and sort by date installed. Is there anything you have installed recently that would have installed something that needs to communicate?
posted by srboisvert at 5:09 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'd be tempted to look VERY closely as where they're supposed to be... and check that the versions installed are correct and up to date. SFC.exe (As documentation says you'll need to run it in Command Line CMD AS Administrator)... I'd also be tempted to run a full virus/malware scan (but that may just be me)
posted by Dub at 5:40 PM on June 19, 2020
posted by Dub at 5:40 PM on June 19, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by tmdonahue at 2:16 PM on June 19, 2020