My xprotect randomly shot up to 3.5 gigs of ram, so i restarted. then it went back to normal levels. later, when i updated to 3.5.1, xprotect remediator started slowly using more ram and cpu. later, xprotect behavior started using more ram, but i dont know what it does. am i safe?
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.5
Snooping around "Activity Monitor" without any knowledge is guaranteed to end up badly. So you sit there and watch processes you know nothing about using ram and cpu cycles and you get all worried. Don't do that. Let the operating system do its job and manage its processes.
No, xprotect using up ram does not mean there's threat, it doesn't mean anything. Let the system deal with things. Also know that malware does not get on your system without YOU allowing it to by authorizing its installation because you fell for some too-good-to-be-true app or advertisement. Malware cannot, I repeat, cannot install itself without you allowing it. A very good way to get malware is by downloading and installing pirated software. Greed is the number one factor.
shantanu57 wrote:
My xprotect randomly shot up to 3.5 gigs of ram, so i restarted. then it went back to normal levels. later, when i updated to 3.5.1, xprotect remediator started slowly using more ram and cpu. later, xprotect behavior started using more ram, but i dont know what it does. am i safe?
Xprotect is Apple 'Antivirus'/ anti-malware app
I would not be concerned here.
Apple’s own built in security
macOS - Security - Apple macOS - Security - Apple
Apple Platform Security - Apple Apple Platform Security - Apple Support
Oh ok good. I’ve heard stories of getting malware by hovering over an ad and I thought that something like clicking on it could have caused xprotect to spike. I’ll go back to using my Mac as normal. Thanks for your answer, it’s my first time finding out about xprotect
No, you cannot get malware by hovering over an ad. The internet if full up to your eyeballs with misinformation, speculation, deception. Whenever someone on the internet says "I heard" or "Someone told me" don't ever believe it. It's all blathering nonsense.
Awesome. Just to be safe, I tried using malwarebytes and it says nothing showed up. In the process, I saw that xprotect wasn't given full disk access, which I assume is how its supposed to be.
Also, when I was on activity manager, I saw this thing called goob-something (forgot the second part), but my mac automatically removed it. this was before running malwarebytes.
shantanu57 wrote:
Tons of people here recommended it, so I tried it for peace of mind
It’s only recommended to remove adware people were tricked into installing. It does nothing else useful.
EtreCheck will do that for you and it doesn’t install a system modification which necessarily reduces security, not improve it.
This article from Apple should shed light on your question
refer below link
Mac app security enhancements - Apple Support (CA)
Does it use more ram if there is a threat?
What is XProtectBehaviorService?
How good is macOS at catching malware that isn’t for example cia level?
Why do I Spence this question is going in certain direction ?
Awesome. Just to be safe, I tried using malwarebytes and it says nothing showed up.
Why do you think some third-party developer understands the OS better than Apple?
Tons of people here recommended it, so I tried it for peace of mind
I don’t have a Mack computer all I have is an old dell
Is My mac security comprimised?
