Windows 10: Weird Registry Key in Current User

I was clearing out all the files from uninstalling AutoCAD when I noticed a registry key that looked odd. It is under HKEY_CURRENT_USER and starts with "u:591fbee8- " then continues with a long string of letters and numbers with intermittent dashes and periods. I'm not sure if this is a part of my user profile or should be removed. When I expand the folder, the only subfolder is "PolicyData" and the two keys inside it are "Default" and "CloudSettingDirtyMarks" which sounds concerning.Should I delete this "u:" registry key folder or not?

:)

 

Current active users that are friends

The other reason I suggested this is that users can add characters to their username that are not alphanumeric (e.g. user*). This confuses things somewhat when looking at the list.

 

Weird Registry Key

The registry key you mentioned, HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-xxx xx xxxx-4196419553-4271603927-1001_Classes\tmp_auto_file, is located in the HKEY_USERS hive of the Windows registry. The HKEY_USERS hive contains information about user profiles on the computer. The long string of numbers and letters in the key's path, "S-1-5-21-xxx xx xxxx-4196419553-4271603927-1001", represents a unique security identifier (SID) associated with a user account.

As I mentioned in my previous answer, the "tmp_auto_file" key doesn't appear to be a standard Windows registry key and its purpose is not immediately clear. If you haven't noticed any negative effects on your computer and your scans with antivirus and anti-malware programs have not detected any issues, it's likely that the key is not causing any harm. However, if you're still concerned, you can try removing the key and see if it causes any problems.

As always, be cautious when making changes to the registry, as modifying the wrong keys can cause your system to become unstable. It's a good idea to backup the registry before making any changes.

You can check the date when a registry key was created by using the Registry Editor built into Windows. Here's how:

Open the Registry Editor by pressing the Windows key + R, typing "regedit" in the Run dialog box, and pressing Enter.

Navigate to the registry key that you want to check the creation date for.

Right-click on the key and select "Export". This will save a backup of the key to a file.

Open the exported file in a text editor such as Notepad.

Look for the line that starts with "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00". The date and time of the registry key creation will be listed directly below this line in the format "; Created on: [date] [time]".

Note: If the key was not created recently, it may be difficult to determine the exact date it was created, as the information may have been overwritten or lost during an operating system update or other system event.

 

Weird Registry Key

There's a registry key called "tmp_auto_file". I'm unaware if this is a windows registry key, and it's not a product of anything I intentionally installed. I know this because another computer that has all my same apps and games does not have the key at all, and I looked at another one that doesn't have any of the same things (besides steam) and same result. Could someone please help me figure out what this is? I haven't been to any weird websites, and the key is located in HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-119954552-4196419553-4271603927-1001_Classes\tmp_auto_file. I also ran Malwarebytes and it found nothing.

Edit: I've seen other registry keys like this installed from other games but I have very few games on my PC right now and they do not create the key when ran.