Solved Unknown icons appearing on my Desktop

OldGrantonian · Oct 17, 2025

.
There are new icons appearing on my Desktop. One icon per day. There are now six icon.

The latest is named 202510161222.db (from yesterday).

I scanned each icon with Windows Security, BitDefender, and Malwarebytes. All negative.

According to the built-in SQL browser, the files are completely empty.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks.

mta3006 · Oct 17, 2025

Did you try to open/edit them with Notepad? Perhaps there is some text inside that can give you a clue as to their origin.

Sir_George · Oct 17, 2025

OldGrantonian said:
.
There are new icons appearing on my Desktop. One icon per day. There are now six icon.

The latest is named 202510161222.db (from yesterday).

I scanned each icon with Windows Security, BitDefender, and Malwarebytes. All negative.

According to the built-in SQL browser, the files are completely empty.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks.

Visit the following website for some information regarding webp files, should help abit.

What Is a WebP File (and How Do I Open One)?

Created by Google to drastically reduce the size of images on the web, WebP is a modern image format designed to make web pages load faster.

www.howtogeek.com

LesFerch · Oct 17, 2025

Sir_George said:
Visit the following website for some information regarding webp files, should help abit.

The webp file was just how the OP posted an image of the icon. The file extension of the mystery item is "db".

OAT · Oct 17, 2025

Sir_George said:
Visit the following website for some information regarding webp files, should help abit.

What Is a WebP File (and How Do I Open One)?

Created by Google to drastically reduce the size of images on the web, WebP is a modern image format designed to make web pages load faster.

www.howtogeek.com

The name of the file has the extension .db
The OP used .webp as a screenshot so I am sure he knows how to open those.

@OldGrantonian , something that is running daily is creating those files.
You should back track 6-7 days to see what you may have installed that could generate those empty .db files.

Sir_George · Oct 17, 2025

LesFerch said:
The webp file was just how the OP posted an image of the icon. The file extension of the mystery item is "db".

Caught that after posting.

antspants · Oct 17, 2025

202510161222.db

2025/10/16 12:22

See if you can see anything in event viewer for that date and at or just previous to that time.

antspants · Oct 17, 2025

Do all 6 icon names end in 1222 or roughly that time?

antspants · Oct 17, 2025

Also take a look at/in any created task schedules.

What type of daily backups do you run, if any?

antspants · Oct 17, 2025

Have you been using things like, or something that may generate a .db (database) file, like:

Windows Search and thumbnail cache
Browsers and Electron apps (e.g., Chrome, Discord)
Adobe or media editing tools
Backup, telemetry, or logging utilities
Office apps and productivity software
Dev tools and package managers (e.g., npm, Visual Studio)

OldGrantonian · Oct 18, 2025

Here are 2 consecutive lines from one of the db files:

A n k i , e x a m i n e e a s e f a c t o r \ p a r

S a n d b o x i e ( n e e d A d m i n a c c t ) \ p a r

The line with "Anki" is a clue. It's obviously part of a "ToDo" list.

"Sandboxie" is a really ancient app that we used for running stuff downloaded from bulletin boards. These were usually loaded with viruses.

We also used Sandboxie for writing and testing our own apps.

I couldn't understand why such ancient stuff still existed on my laptop. But in fact, all the db files were in the Recycle Bin. They were deleted in JULY. (Emptying the Bin used to be the last action before shutdown in the evening !! Now the cheapest laptop has enough space for a lifetime.)

I'm still wondering why these DB files started appearing on my Desktop at one per day? (So far, nothing for today.)

All of the above is simply info that might help in troubleshooting.

I still need to reply to @antspants posts.

Thanks
.

antspants · Oct 18, 2025

I think checking task scheduler for anything that might indicate an action would be my first go to troubleshooting.

OldGrantonian · Oct 18, 2025

.
When viewing Desktop in File Explorer, the Creation dates are in a column, so it's much easier to see differences.

The last 4 databases (17th, 16th, 15th, 14th) were all timed at exactly 12:22 !! (Nothing for today at 12:29.)

(My money is on Brink. He's the only person capable of doing it

)

Thanks
.

antspants · Oct 18, 2025

OldGrantonian said:
My money is on Brink. He's the only person capable of doing it

of doing what?

Theres obviously a schedule of some kind, as I mentioed above, set for 12:22

My bet is still on Task Scheduler.
Check your installed programs, one of them is creating these files. Via Task Schedular or app/software settings.

antspants · Oct 18, 2025

It’ll be something that uses one of the following I posted above, most likely, as .db is generally a database file.

Windows Search and thumbnail cache, like “everything” search app or a photo viewer app.
Browsers and Electron apps (e.g., Chrome, Discord)
Adobe or media editing tools
Backup, telemetry, or logging utilities
Office apps and productivity software
Dev tools and package managers (e.g., npm, Visual Studio)

antspants · Oct 18, 2025

Add to that list:

SQLite-based scratchpads or logs from a custom or third-party ToDo/task manager
• Possibly generated by: A personal dashboard, productivity tracker, or spaced-repetition tool
• A script or app that logs timestamped entries to .db files (even if empty, it may preallocate or stub them)
• A portable or sandboxed app that writes to Desktop due to permission constraints

OldGrantonian · Oct 18, 2025

OldGrantonian said:
.
........Nothing for today at 12:29.

.
Sorry. There WAS a new entry for today at 12:29. The icon occupied an empty space on the Desktop
.

Solved Unknown icons appearing on my Desktop

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Like a rolling drone.

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Like a rolling drone.

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