In activity monitor, I have a ton of items that have the user as "root" instead of the computer username. Is this okay or do i have viruses?

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In activity monitor, I have a ton of items that have the user as "root" instead of the computer username. Is this okay or do i have viruses?

I was checking to make sure that my computer has not contracted any viruses. I had looked in the activity monitor and there are a bunch of processes running and "root" is the user - not the computer profile name. Are these some sort of malware or virus? I have also downloaded McAfee Antivirus and it has detected nothing, but my computer is taking longer to start up than normal.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 24, 2011 7:35 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 24, 2011 8:12 PM in response to pokesfan

1) No virus for Mac currently exist
2) "Root" is what controls what your machine is doing in the background to be alive and running. It's completely normal to have a user in Activity Monitor called "root"

3) Uninstall McAfee, which is a waste in the Mac world. If you want still an antivirus, use ClamXav, which scans your Mac for Windows viruses, so you don't pass them to friends by mail using Windows.

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Answer 2

Jul 25, 2011 10:51 AM in response to pokesfan

Try resetting the PRAM and SMC. Instruction can be found in Support.apple.com

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Answer 3

pokesfan Author

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Jul 24, 2011 8:29 PM in response to Mrguidogenio

Would there be a reason as to why my computer takes much longer to start up?

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