Odd File

[Richard42]

Sometimes when I am working on my computer I get the following file appear on my desktop.

In the properties box is it listed as

Description '~' without inverted commas

Type of file: File

Size of file: 256 KB

Does anybody know where this file comes from and what it is, is it a virus, I run PC Cillin 2003 and the it is fully updated and scanned my computer and could not find any viruses.

Any help appreciated

[Kleinkramer]

It's because of an Outlook Express patch you appllied.

I believe it's created whenever you add a contact to your address book, or something like that.

It's OK to delete.

[Richard42]

Thanks for speedy reply.

In my add/remove program box I have Outlook Express Update Q330994 should I remove it?

[Kleinkramer]

No you shouldn't. Why would you want to do that?

Just because of this ~file?

The patch serves to address some very real security vulnerabilities affecting Outlook Express, and I'd much prefer scrapping that ~ file every very now and then to leaving myself unprotected.

[Richard42]

O.K.

Will leave patch installed.

Thanks for help

[Kleinkramer]

You're welcome.

There will probaly be a patch for this patch somewhere in the future... LOL

[Welshjim]

Richard42--Kleinkramer has given you the why about that file.
The what is that it is a corruption of your Address Book's .wa~ file. The .wa~ file is a backup of the Address Book (.wab file). So you are no longer generating an up-to-date backup of Address Book. However, the Address Book, itself, is being updated properly.
So this glitch probably has little practical effect, other than the nuisance of having to delete the .~ file. I never did know what the purpose of the .wa~ file was, anyway.
However, if you want to still have an up-to-date .wa~ file, click on the .~ file|click Rename, rename it yourusername.wa~ and substitute it for the old yourusername.wa~ file in the Address Book folder. On my Win98 PC the Address Book is in C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft.
BTW--you can read the .~ file by opening with wab.
And MS has promised a fix, but as yet none.

[lekort]

Sometimes when I am working on my computer I get the following file appear on my desktop.

In the properties box is it listed as

Description '~' without inverted commas

Type of file: File

Size of file: 256 KB

Does anybody know where this file comes from and what it is, is it a virus, I run PC Cillin 2003 and the it is fully updated and scanned my computer and could not find any viruses.

Any help appreciated

* * * * *

That was the posting by Richard42, which is at the bottom. Do I understand that the most recent posting is at the top?

This is my first time on VertualDr, so I hope I am doing this correctly. I am repeating the posting of Richard42, because this is my problem, too. I disagree that the file--with the windows icon and a file name of ~ when I click on Properties--has something to do with the address book. I can be doing NOTHING on my computer, just starring at the desktop, and the file will appear right before my eyes up in the left corner of my screen.

This just began happening about two months ago, and I have never seen it since I went online four years ago. I finally found someone who is experiencing the same problem, and it has him stumped, too. That person is my brother, who can build and repair a computer, himself!

I suspected tha it was some patch put on by Norton or a Windows update. I have run a virus check via a housecall through another antivirus program, and I do not have a virus. I have had my computer in the shop, and my hard drive has been cleaned, and the first day I had it home, the little maddening came back! My dealer told me that I had a non-significant virus or worm called (Unknown word, then the word Chachee, pronouced "Cache," but I think he spelled it wrong, because I cannot find a virus by that name. I use Ad-Aware, and I just got rid of Norton, because I was warned by my dealer not to install the 2004 version, because my dealer told me that they had many computers in the shop after the users had installed Norton 2004, and the computers were a mess! I am trying AVG but it doesn't make sense that it is not catching a thing, when I was bombarded with viruses that were being quarantined, and then, suddenly, Norton wasn't catching anything to quarantine.

Someone did upgrade my Outlook Express and my Internet Explorer, both of them, to the version 6.0. When the shop cleaned my hard drive they, also, reinstalled both of them.

Along with that problem, is the fact that I now have seven Identities, and I have 1,200 e-mails in the bowels of my computer, and I want to get them back inside of my e-mail, because they are important genealogy e-mails. No one seems to know how to merge identities (THEY ARE ALL ME!) or how to get my buried e-mails back!

I am losing sleep over these problems, and I just want to get back to work on my genealogy, because exciting things were happening before these problems began.

[Welshjim]

lekort--
It is possible you have come across a new ~ file, but I suspect it is the Address Book backup. The size you mention is about right.
You can create a ~ file anytime you close Outlook Express after having entered a new address in the Address Book. And you can enter a new address in the Address Book without even thinking about it, if you have checked the box "Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book" in OE Tools|Options|Send tab.
You can test this by clicking on the ~ file. You probably will get the Open With window. Scroll to "wab", highlight it, uncheck the box at the bottom "Always use this program..." and click OK. If you see a normal Address Book, then the ~ is the backup.
Of course if "wab" does not open it or you see something else, then try to describe it in more detail or post a webshot.
You can also check the dates on your present .wab and .wa~ files. If they are different, the backup .wa~ file is not being backed up, but due to the bug is showing up on your Desktop, where is useless.
As far as getting all your emails in one place, you could do some searching in http://www.tomsterdam.com/ . However, I suspect 1200 emails will choke a single OE account. Might be better to save them in a folder you create in My Documents (or any other place you prefer.)
P.S. Richard42's original post is at the bottom when you Post Reply, but at the top when you look at the thread.

[lekort]

Jim,

I do not have that box checked, the "Automatically put people I reply to in my address book." So, why has this never happened to me before, and why has it never happened to my brother before this? I do e-mail him, so that is why I asked him over the phone a week or so ago. I thought I might have a worm or a virus or a "Spy!" I never seen this before, and why has my brother never seen it? He has been online for several years? The size of the file varies from the size Richard42 mentioned to 311 KBs.

There are times that the file gets flung on my desktop right after I have been looking in Windows Explorer deleting my Temporary Internet Files or just looking for something. I guess I should ask my brother if he had upgraded his Internet Explorer and/or his Outlook Express, but I don't think he has OE.

You are right in that, if I ever find out how to put my e-mails back inside of my Inbox (500+) and Sentbox (600+), I should copy those e-mails to a folder, but they can only be read inside of Outlook Express, I understand. Well, I'll have to let the e-mail problem go and concentrate on fixing the maddening ~ (tilde) files!

There is no way to ask this question in a virus encyclopedia search line, so after going on Google and typing "Computer Problems Forum," I was brought right to this site. You can imagine my surprise to see this subject being discussed!

Thank you, and I will look closer at my address book.