How do I identify an unknown 'powerexperienced' process in Activity Monitor on Mac Studio M4 Max?

Question

How do I identify an unknown 'powerexperienced' process in Activity Monitor on Mac Studio M4 Max?

My Studio M4 Max running Tahoe restarted during the night without any problem alert. Due diligence with Intego VirusBarrier and NetBarrier revealed no issues. However, I did find a powerexperienced process in Activity Monitor which I can't identify via Google. Does anyone else have the and, ideally, know what it's for?

Many thanks

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Unidentifiable powerexperienced process

Mac Studio, macOS 26.4

Posted on Jul 10, 2026 5:39 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mac Jim ID

Community+ 2026

Level 10

86,728 points

Jul 10, 2026 5:52 AM in response to the original macman

VirusBarrier and NetBarrier are 2 pieces of software you would not find recommended here, along with any other third party software that claims will protect your Mac from a virus. They will conflict with your OS and crash that results in a restart.

Make sure you update your OS to 26.5.2 for the best security.

And finally, you can post the free EtreCheck report using the Additional Text option when posting. The report contains no personal information and will offer additional details on processes that have crashed or cause a hang. I would still recommend removing both of the previous identified software first before posting the report if you still experience problems after removal. That way it can be verified that all the files relating to those software packages have been removed, since remnant files will likely remain and continue to run on your computer if you just drag the files to your trash. Using an uninstaller on both is recommended.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

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Answer 2

Jul 10, 2026 6:27 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

Many thanks for your replies.

Whilst no AV software is infallible of course, I've had no bad experiences or OS conflicts with Intego in close to ten years. It's vastly superior to Norton and, for what it's worth, has a TrustPilot rating of 4.8. The copyright is actually 2026 on my installed app and the engine was updated in March of this year whilst the malware definitions are every few days.

I'm extremely cautious, but Intego has occasionally found Windows viruses which are of little consequence to me but could affect other users were I to forward an infected file do it's just due diligence.

I already follow best practices, for example checking Activity Monitor for unknown processes, which is how I came to post to the forum and, for better or worse, this just offers me a little additional comfort. powerexperienced turns out to have been installed in April along with a raft of others so appears to have been part of a system update.

Thanks

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Answer 3

weeklycod

Level 2

300 points

Jul 10, 2026 5:57 AM in response to the original macman

It is a very old software, as I can see; the last update was 5 months ago, and the copyright is old too. Real antivirus doesn't lack these things. As Mac Jim ID said, remove these software

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Answer 4

Jul 10, 2026 7:21 AM in response to the original macman

Sorry, there really is nothing else we can do if you are unwilling to remove the antivirus to test.

Don't forget that false positives are the cornerstone of the software in an attempt to prove their relevance by making you think they are actually doing something valuable to you. There is nothing on your device that it will protect and a Windows device should be using Microsoft Defender for its own virus mitigation, which is similar to the Gatekeeper/Xprotect processes built into Mac OS.

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Answer 5

weeklycod

Level 2

300 points

Jul 10, 2026 7:29 AM in response to the original macman

You might need these to read because you dont know the basics of Mac

Viruses, Trojans, Malware - and other aspects of Internet Security

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Antivirus, Cleaning and other third party Maintenance Apps

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How to remove malware manually

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About those will damage your computer messages

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Effective defenses against malware and other threats

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What is malware?

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