Hundreds of files in /tmp with just hex numbers for names

No malware or virus will be stored in the /tmp/ (which links to /private/tmp) directory.

I would not attempt to modify anything within this directory. It is a temporary directory (as the name suggests) and all files within the directory are removed once the computer has restarted. It will also clear if you turn your computer completely off and back on.

Your Mac has a lot of security features in place to prevent any malicious files or programs from executing on your system. If you did not do anything suspicious (downloading unknown programs, viewing suspicious sites, clicking links or attachments in emails, etc.) You are fine.

rpg25 wrote:

My guess is that this is just someone's sloppy coding.

You can submit your Apple Feedback or file a bug report here:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html

If you want to drill down on your /tmp Call Customer Support  (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753) and escalate your concerns.

or on line  Apple Support

rpg25 wrote:

I have hundreds of files like the following in /tmp:

-rw------- 1 root wheel 0 Jul 11 11:30 0000000007d513ce

They were all created today or yesterday. There are some postings here that claim that this is a problem with Time Machine (see, for example, Many /tmp/6365733* files during TimeMachi… - Apple Community).

Frustratingly, I don't see any explanation of how the posters fingered TimeMachine as creating these files. If I can confirm that TimeMachine is the cause, I can just work around by setting a script to garbage collect these files. But if I can't confirm this, then I am worried that it might be something else, potentially malware.

Thanks for any advice.

If no associated issues I would ignore these tmp files.

If you're concerned, go into your Mac's security settings and look at what privileges you've granted certain applications. If you don't want them accessing your camera, for example, disallow them from accessing it.