New .ms-ad folder created in User account

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Wednesday while doing some backups on my home Windows 7 PC I noticed a new folder named .ms-ad in my root User account folder, i.e., C:\Users\Me\.ms-ad

This new .ms-ad folder was empty and remains empty.

Properties doesn’t show any indication of what this folder might be associated with.

I have searched online but I cannot find anything about this folder name, with or without the . in front although I do get a lot of hits on MS Active Directory (which I’m pretty sure doesn’t apply to me).

Putting .ms-ad into Windows search on the taskbar brings up only this one folder in the results box and takes me right there when I click on it.

Does anyone know what this .ms-ad folder is for and\or why it is there?

Thanks!

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I googled for [“.ms-ad” “folder”]. This “.ms-ad Folder (PDF)” question and answer says “Google Chrome version 102” creates it.

However DIR /A %USERPROFILE%\.ms-ad shows nothing before, during and after opening both a local and web-based PDF in Chrome on my system with current version of Chrome Version 102.0.5005.115 (Official Build) (64-bit) installed. Perhaps there is more to it than that. Perhaps Edge is actually what is doing this since it also is based on Chrome.

HP Compaq 6000 Pro SFF PC / Windows 10 Pro / 22H2
Intel®Core™2 “Wolfdale” E8400 3.0 GHz / 8.00 GB

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opti1

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It only gets created for me when I open a .pdf with Acrobat DC

Chrome does not create it on my PC (win 10 pro)

It’s always empty no matter how many .pdfs I open at once and it’s never re-created after I delete it until I open another one
Happy Holidays, I hope this gets figured out

Coincidently for some reason the 3D folder no longer is recreated….small favors 🙂

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@EyesOnWindows –

Thanks for your response and the possible clues therein.

Your double quotes around both search terms (which I did not use) made the difference. So  results from your search mention that at least one person, and maybe another, have traced the appearance of the .ms-ad folder in their Users\Username folder to opening PDF files with Adobe Acrobat Reader, and that Chrome may be involved as well.

Unfortunately I cannot replicate the behavior of Acrobat Reader creating the .ms-ad folder when it opens a PDF file.

Also, I use Firefox. Chrome and Edge are not installed on the affected PC although I did see that MS Edge Webview2 is installed.

I wonder if it’s possible that when I select a link to a PDF file while using Firefox that it would use Edge Webview2 and its Chromium engine to render the PDF file? I would think Firefox would handle the rendering itself.

I’m still puzzled about how that .ms-ad folder ended up in my User folder.

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I just saw the .ms-ad folder for the first time. The culprit is Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

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WCHS, geekdom, b

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I haven’t been able to prevent this folder from getting created but I do have a workaround solution. Right-click the folder and open its Properties. Tick the “Hidden” box, then click Apply. Close the File Explorer and reopen it to refresh the view. The folder will still be there but invisible so at least it won’t be so annoying.

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I left my .ms-ad folder in place just to see how it would behave. So far it has remained empty and has not been modified since it was created a month ago. Meanwhile I have used Adobe Acrobat Reader DC on a regular basis since then which does not appear to have had any effect on this folder. But it did appear to show up on a day when I had used the Reader. Strange.

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EyesOnWindows wrote:

Chrome Version 102.0.5005.115

Chrome 102 ? The latest Chrome version is 108. Since your 102 version Chrome fixed 9+ zero-day bugs

Always stay on the latest browser version.

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102 was the latest when that was posted six months ago.

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.2361 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Alex5723, satrow

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I changed the file attributes on the .ms-ad folder to “hidden”. Now it doesn’t bother me and Adobe is also happy

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