Vista - Multiple mirror files w/ blocked permissions

I've recently encounted a whole series of newly created mirror files on my computer that have been assigned to the "Everyone" group with all permissions blocked - any idea what created all these duplicate files....they show up with "shortcut" icons and when clicked, respond "access denied". When I check the security under Properties, there is a new "Everyone" group.....I can delete the group and access the file contents, only to find that it's a mirror of existings. For instance, my current Documents file is now mirrored as "My Documents", same with Documents and Settings, and a whole series of files.......anyone have a thought on what caused this?