Buzz
1. What is Desktop.ini?
Desktop.ini is a system file on the Windows operating system. By default, the desktop.ini file is set to hidden in folders. Windows uses the desktop.ini file to determine how to display a folder - such as the icon used for that folder, its name, sharing attributes, etc.
On the Windows operating system, you can easily configure how to share a file, any folder, and various other settings to control access rights to those files and folders. And these settings are stored in the desktop.ini file.
If you change the configuration and settings of a folder, those changes will automatically be saved to the desktop.ini file of that folder.
Desktop.ini is a hidden file, to see the file you will need to set to display hidden files and folders on the system. To do this, access File Explorer Options and uncheck the option Hide protected operating system files.
Is Desktop.ini a virus?
The file desktop.ini is not a virus. It's just a system file stored at the folder level, these files are created during user customizations of background, icons, or thumbnail images, etc.
Previously, Trojan viruses have 'linked' and attacked systems using the desktop.ini file name. If you see the Desktop.ini file even when you've set to hide system files, then it could be malware (malicious software).
Therefore, it's advisable to use antivirus programs to scan and completely remove any threats, avoiding virus attacks.
Can desktop.ini file be deleted?
You can delete desktop.ini files, however, folder display settings will be restored to default. This means that whenever you change folder icons or thumbnail images, sharing attributes, etc., all this information will be automatically stored in the desktop.ini file.
What happens if you delete the desktop.ini file from the folder. Then the configurations you changed will be lost and the folder settings will return to default state on the system.
If you feel uncomfortable, or don't want the desktop.ini file, you can hide the desktop.ini file on the system.
How to customize folders using desktop.ini file?
Using the desktop.ini file to customize folders isn't too difficult. You just need to create, update the original desktop.ini file to have the folder update its display and other settings. Here are some tips:
- Assign a custom icon or thumbnail to the parent folder.
- Create a tip providing information about folders when hovering over them.
- Customize how the folder is shared or accessed.
Follow the steps below to change how a folder is displayed using the desktop.ini file:
Step 1. Choose any folder you want to customize with the desktop.ini file. Remember to backup the files and store the backup elsewhere to restore them in case of any mishaps.
Step 2. Run the command below to select the folder in the folder system. This command will set the read-only mode for the folder and allow special behaviors for the desktop.ini file:
attrib +s FolderName
Step 3. Create a desktop.ini file for the folder in question. Generate hidden files to restrict access from other users. To accomplish this, simply activate the Read-only and Hidden options in the Properties window of the desktop.ini file.
Note: The desktop.ini file you create must be in Unicode format to ensure the character string is stored in a readable format.
Step 4. Below is an example of using the desktop.ini file to create a folder named FileInfo:
[.ShellClassInfo]
ConfirmFileOp=0
IconFile=ms.ico
IconIndex=0
InfoTip=Microsoft Wallpapers
In the example above:
[.ShellClassInfo] - Initial system attribute settings allow you to customize folders by assigning values to certain attributes that can be 'defined' in the desktop.ini file.
ConfirmFileOp - Setting this value to 0, ensures that when deleting or moving the desktop.ini file, the You Are Deleting a System Folder warning will no longer appear.
IconFile - If you want to set a custom icon for the folder, you can specify the icon file name here. To be sure, you should check the full path of the file.
IconIndex - If setting a custom icon for basic folders, you only need to set it here. Set the value to 0 if there's only one icon file specified for the IconFile attribute.
InfoTip - This special attribute is used to set a text string that can be used as an information tip about the folder. If this section is set to a text string and then mouse over the folders, the text strings stored in the desktop.ini file will be displayed there.
There are many types of files on Windows that not everyone knows about. Besides Desktop.ini, Pagefile.sys is one of those files. To learn what the Pagefile.sys file is, users can refer to the article on what Pagefile.sys is, whether it can be deleted or not that we have edited.
Locking the desktop screen is a way for people to shorten the time it takes to lock their computers from prying eyes. The method of locking the desktop screen is applicable to all current operating systems like Windows 7, 8, or Windows 10.
