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FolderRisk: Caution

Cursors C:\Windows\Cursors

C:\Windows\Cursors: mouse pointer files (.cur and .ani) for the pointer schemes that ship with Windows.

Updated on By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

Cursors holds the images of the mouse pointers that ship with Windows: arrow, busy indicator, text select, resize and so on. The pointer schemes offered in the mouse settings are built on these files. There are no icons in it.

What it contains

  • .cur files (static cursors) and .ani files (animated cursors).
  • The cursors a user picks are stored under HKCU\Control Panel\Cursors. Each value (Arrow, Wait, IBeam…) points to a file, and that file is not necessarily in this folder.

Risks and best practices

  • A pointer scheme that references a deleted file shows a blank or default pointer, so leave the files supplied by Windows where they are.
  • To change pointers, use main.cpl (Pointers tab) rather than replacing files. If a pointer is corrupted, the “Use Default” button on that tab restores the standard scheme.
  • Only download third-party cursor packs from trusted sources: a malformed .ani file has been used as an attack vector before (the flaw fixed by bulletin MS07-017).

Useful commands

Fenêtre de terminal
# Pointer scheme currently configured for the user
Get-ItemProperty 'HKCU:\Control Panel\Cursors'


# Open the mouse properties (Pointers tab)
main.cpl

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