Identifying the program that creates unknown folders on your system...

Hello community!

This post intends to identify the software/ program that is responsible for unknown folders on your system.

I have seen that Revo Uninstaller doesn't fully identify all the crap that programs leave behind when they are uninstalled.

If you find a folder under any of the following locations:

1. C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local
2. C:\ProgramData
3. C:\Program Files (x86)
4. C:\Program Files

it may not be easy to identify the program that created it there.

One way to narrow down the list of potential culprits is to check the folder creation date and see which programs (softwares) have created their program folders on the same date (or time). This isn't foolproof, but can often be helpful.

Since these folders remain unidentified, it is quite possible that there are associated services running on your system that haven't been deleted when the program that created it was uninstalled.

I request all members to contribute with their own findings so that it helps the community as a whole. I would also request you to NOT discuss anything in comments to keep it easy for members to find something they want. Make just one post in the comments section with ALL your findings, and update it as per your convenience.

I also request Staff/ Moderators if they can take control of this post and keep it updated (summarized in one place) with information received from the community.

Thanks.

Here are my findings:

1. JxBrowser under C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local

The program that creates this folder is Crucial Storage Executive.


2. Caphyon under C:\ProgramData.

The program that creates this folder is most likely Surfshark VPN.

Trying to identify folders made by programs after the fact is quite the task, if you were interested in keeping a eye on this you would use something like Sysinternals Process Monitor and Explorer utilities (combined with Revo Uninstaller or similar) which allow you to set filters for tracking disk and registry access as it occurs (also very useful for identifying persistent unknowns).
Ideally you would set these up after a fresh OS install to maintain a list of folders. registry entries, services etc added to your system as you set up all your usual apps/ drivers/ utilities. The resulting list would be much more complete and applicable to your system from the outset. It just takes a bit of forward planning.
Not dumping on your idea for this thread, just adding something you can do pro actively. :)

After I uninstall a program with Revo and delete all the leftovers Revo finds I then scan with Search Everything for the Program name or maker depending on what the results say. Search Everything finds a lot, especially Prefetch

I had a quick look and found under C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local
I found a folder Cupid from CPU-Z
2 x empty folders from Dell and one Sa remediations also Dell
HHD Software folder from Neo hex editor
There are a few more I cannot trace

I also had a Temp folder in C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local It had lots of folders and files in. I ran C Cleaner and Disk Clean up and the majority of them disappeared but still left about 20, I guess these are in use or needed