Downloaded file ownership?

[GRoston]

On my Windows 7 machine, I run Firefox, version 115.37.0esr (64-bit), as my default browser. Almost all of the time, then I click on a link to download a .exe file, I get two copies of the file on the default download folder: file.exe and file(1).exe. The size of the first is 0 bytes and the size of the second is the file's proper size.

An annoyance, but not the end of the world. However, there are times when I try to delete file.exe that it immediately reappears. That just happened today and when I right-clicked on it to see security details (like the file's owner), I was informed that I do not have the necessary privilege to see that info. This is weird - any idea as to why it is happening?

Note that after a few minutes, file.exe just disappears.

 

[Alejandro85]

Many browsers create temporary files when downloading files, one the real file you choose to save and another temp one that's filled as the download progresses. When in progress you'll see both files, then on finish the temp one gets deleted and the final file becomes available. This may be somewhat strange to drop temp files on the download folder, but expected behavior, I guess that's what you're seeing.

That just happened today and when I right-clicked on it to see security details (like the file's owner), I was informed that I do not have the necessary privilege to see that info. This is weird - any idea as to why it is happening?

Most likely, if you're using Windows Explorer, you're either trying to analyze the temp file or a file that's just been deleted. The real problem would be that the file no longer exists (so nothing to display) or the file is locked by the browser to prevent writes (where a file in use message would be more appropriate). For some of these errors Windows Explorer is notably buggy in its error messages, ie it's correct to not to show the info, but misleading about the underlying reasons.