Old Files Now appearing As .TXT.zycizhj.ecc

[Robert4]

Hello,

Have looked at a bunch of fairly old files that were originally saved as .TXT

They now appear as:

.TXT.zycizhj.ecc

What is .ecc ?
What is .zycizhj

Much thanks,
B.

 

[jerwin]

can you open up the files in a text editor?

a brief Google search suggests that the .ecc file extension is used by a strain of malware.

https://www.bugsfighter.com/remove-teslacrypt-and-decrypt-ecc-files/

 

[DeltaMac]

I think it would be bad form to try to open a potentially dangerous file, until you can be fairly certain what you have.
If you have possible malware, this would be a really good opportunity to use Malwarebytes to scan your system.
Download that if you don't have it. https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/

 

[jerwin]

what's the harm in running cat, or more?

 

[DeltaMac]

what's the harm in running cat, or more?

Probably no harm (hopefully) - this is not exactly about harm, but the possibility that the file may have been modified.
Why not do a quick scan, just as a first step? If no malware is reported, then you could easily go on to try a few things.