What’s thumbs.db, is it a virus?
I have a file called “thumbs.db” on my desktop. I’ve deleted it a number of times but it keeps reappearing. Do I have a virus?
Thumbs.db is a system file. It tracks the thumbnail views of the files on your desktop. Thumbnails are the little previews of your files Windows sometimes shows depending on the folder view.
The file itself is harmless and if you delete it Windows will recreate it next time you restart. So deleting thumbs.db is really quite pointless.
Other system files though are not so happy if you delete them. Erasing a critical file can mean an expensive repair bill, so we generally like to hide them.
To hide them from daily view, open My Computer and click the Tools toolbar, then select the Folder Options.
In the Folder Options screen, select the View tab and tick the buttons next to “Do not show hidden files or folders” and “Hide protected operating system files”.
Click okay and you won’t see thumbs.db or any other important file again
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