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What are the ".chk" files in the Mozilla Firefox folder?

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John Corliss

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Apr 2, 2010, 10:50:21 AM4/2/10
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Lately, whenever I check for recovered file fragments (this is the
classical type of file assigned the ".chk" extension), I come up with
some of them in the "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox" folder. In
particular, the following three:

freebl3.chk
nssdbm3.chk
softokn3.chk

Anybody know what's going on here? Are the FF developers using that
extension for some other type of file?

TIA.

--
John Corliss

Bernd

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Apr 2, 2010, 11:48:59 AM4/2/10
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-------- Original-Nachricht --------

These are checksum files from NSS = Network Security Services

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/tech-notes/tn6.html

Bernd

John Corliss

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Apr 2, 2010, 5:42:01 PM4/2/10
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Bernd wrote:

Thanks very much for the links and info!

Do you know if it's safe to delete them then? I use a program that
checks the hard drive for .chk files (the file fragment kind) and lists
them. Then I delete them usually. These checksum files get listed along
with the fragments.

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John Corliss

Bernd

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Apr 2, 2010, 7:11:20 PM4/2/10
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-------- Original-Nachricht --------


/nss/tech-notes/tn6.html
>
> Thanks very much for the links and info!
>
> Do you know if it's safe to delete them then? I use a program that
> checks the hard drive for .chk files (the file fragment kind) and lists
> them. Then I delete them usually. These checksum files get listed along
> with the fragments.
>

I don't really know, but by reading the link's I'd rather say: hands off

One shouldn't always delete what one doesn't know ;-)

Bernd

Ron K.

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Apr 2, 2010, 8:41:09 PM4/2/10
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Bernd on 4/2/2010 7:11 PM, keyboarded a reply:

Deleting those files will screw up the Gecko backend security services
needed for secure logons. This will be true for Firefox, SeaMonkey, and
Thunderbird, as well as any XULRunner based application.


--
Ron K.
Who is General Failure, and why is he searching my HDD?
Kernel Restore reported Major Error used BSOD to msg the enemy!

G. R. Woodring

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Apr 2, 2010, 9:03:01 PM4/2/10
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Unless the newer versions of chkdsk work differently, any file fragments recovered as
.chk files will be in the root directory of the disk. .chk files found elsewhere are
probably created by another application for it's own use, don't delete them. IMHO
the use of the .chk extension was a mistake as the have been usually deletable
fragment files since the early days of DOS.


--
G. R. Woodring

John Corliss

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Apr 3, 2010, 3:53:08 AM4/3/10
to

Thanks for the info, and I agree. However, I guess now I'll have to
start manually checking and deleting .chk files whenever they occur and
aren't in any Moz folders.

--
John Corliss

John Corliss

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Apr 3, 2010, 3:56:35 AM4/3/10
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Ron K. wrote:

> Bernd wrote:
>> /nss/tech-notes/tn6.html
>>>
>>> Thanks very much for the links and info!
>>>
>>> Do you know if it's safe to delete them then? I use a program that
>>> checks the hard drive for .chk files (the file fragment kind) and
>>> lists them. Then I delete them usually. These checksum files get
>>> listed along with the fragments.
>>>
>>
>> I don't really know, but by reading the link's I'd rather say: hands off
>>
>> One shouldn't always delete what one doesn't know ;-)
>
> Deleting those files will screw up the Gecko backend security services
> needed for secure logons. This will be true for Firefox, SeaMonkey, and
> Thunderbird, as well as any XULRunner based application.

Okay. Not a big deal I guess, since .chk files (the fragment kind)
aren't that common of an event. Thanks for the info!

--
John Corliss

Christoph Schmees

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Apr 3, 2010, 6:53:46 AM4/3/10
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John Corliss schrieb:
> ...

> Thanks for the info, and I agree. However, I guess now I'll have to
> start manually checking and deleting .chk files whenever they occur and
> aren't in any Moz folders.
>

if I find unexpected *.chk files I'd look out for a new hard disk :-)
Seriously: run a chkdsk with all options checked. And watch the results
while checking. And perhaps run hardware tests available form the HD
manufacturers.

Christoph

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